Cameroon Bar Explosion Claims One Life in Anglophone Region

By Xinhua 

May 27, 2024

At least one person was killed late Saturday when a makeshift bomb exploded in a crowded bar in Cameroon’s war-torn English-speaking region of Northwest, according to local and security sources.

An army official told Xinhua that the improvised explosive device detonated in a neighborhood just meters away from a police station.

“People were gathered to watch an important final match when the explosion occurred. The perpetrators of this terrorist act will be pursued and punished according to our laws,” the official, who requested anonymity, said.

Several people were injured, and the death toll could rise, the official said, adding that security forces often frequented the bar.

Although it remains unclear who planted the explosive device, local authorities have attributed the attack to separatist fighters active in the region since 2017. The separatists aim to establish an independent nation in Cameroon’s two Anglophone regions of Northwest and Southwest.