YAOUNDE, May 5 (Xinhua) -- Three separatist fighters, including a key commander, were killed when government forces struck their hideout on Sunday in Cameroon's war-torn Anglophone region of Northwest, according to local and security sources.
The crackdown, as confirmed by a military official in the region who requested not to be named, was launched in the early hours of Sunday in the Ngoketunjia division of the region.
Among those killed was a key commander who referred to himself as "General Sagon."
"General Sagon" was among the first to take up arms in 2017 to fight the government. In 2021, he was the second in command when separatist fighters ambushed and killed 15 soldiers in a single combat in Ngoketunjia division, according to security reports by local police.
An official in the region who asked not to be named told Xinhua that his physical elimination is a "major" setback to the separatist insurgency in the region.
Fighting between government forces and separatist fighters has persisted in Cameroon's two English-speaking regions of Northwest and Southwest since 2017 when separatists attempted to establish an independent nation in these regions. ■