At least eight civilians have been killed in military raids in Wum, Menchum Division in the North West region, local and security sources said Wednesday.

The raids in Wum, the chief town in Menchum, came after Ambazonia Revolutionary Guards killed a government soldier who was on a night patrol in the area, according to a military official who asked not to be named.

From Monday to Tuesday, government troops accompanied by pro French Cameroun armed Mbororo vigilantes raided the locality.

The attacks were described by four villagers Wednesday, who said they had fled into nearby bushes or cowered at home while soldiers rifled through their belongings. They said they saw seven dead people, including three armed separatist fighters and four civilians.

The military official said troops were conducting a raid on separatist positions when they came under fire and killed what he labelled as terrorists.

The Cameroonian army has beefed up security in the region after armed separatists ambushed and killed 15 soldiers in a single combat in September.

The army has since 2017 been fighting English-speaking militias seeking to form a breakaway state known as Ambazonia in the two Anglophone regions of Northwest and Southwest.

Reported by Cameroon Concord News and Xinhuanet.com