On November 9, the administration of the Saint-Laurent University Institute of Ndop announced that 11 of its students and their supervisors had been kidnapped by separatist fighters in the troubled Northwest region. According to the institute’s statement, the abduction took place on Saturday, November 2, around 10 a.m., during an academic activity. 

“The students and staff were traveling by motorcycle to Babessi for an outreach program when they were stopped by armed Ambazonian fighters at Baba 1. The armed men, identifying themselves as members of the Baba 1 Ambazonia fighters, took the 11 students and teachers hostage and disappeared into the surrounding bush,” the statement detailed.

Despite efforts to secure their release, “appeals from various stakeholders for the release of the students and staff have gone unanswered,” the institute’s administration said, adding that “local sources suggest the Ambazonian fighters are demanding ransom or using this abduction for political leverage.”

Schools have frequently been targeted by separatist fighters, who seek to disrupt educational activities by attacking campuses or kidnapping students and staff. In a recent report, the UN noted that in September 2024 alone, at least four attacks were documented—three in the North-West region and one in the South-West. These assaults affected public schools, religious institutions, and secular private schools alike.

One of the deadliest attacks took place on October 24, 2020, at the Mother Francisca International Bilingual Academy in Kumba, in the Southwest region. Armed men stormed the school, killing seven students, a tragedy that provoked widespread outrage both nationally and internationally.

Numerous international organizations have repeatedly called for schools to be spared from the separatist conflict that has destabilized the Northwest and Southwest regions since 2017. In September, the U.S. Embassy in Yaoundé issued a renewed appeal for an end to these attacks, emphasizing, “Schools are learning sanctuaries, and children should not be prevented from attending classes.” The embassy further condemned “all forms of violence against civilians.”

Source: Sbbc