Amba-detonated explosive kills one, injures six in Bamenda.

Mezam Senior Divisional Officer, SDO, Simon Emile Mooh confirmed the incident, and said defence and security forces were after authors of the heinous act.

The SDO recounted that: “On Thursday September 19, 2024, around 11:00 a.m, a group of armed terrorists, who had taken refuge around the Nkwen Market in Bamenda III Subdivision, detonated an Improvised Explosive Device, killing one person, Chung Julliet, a 30-year-old lady and wounding six other civilians amongst whom was an eleven-month-old baby”.

The senior civil administrator said the victims, all females, were shopping at the said market when the incident occurred.

He said: “In these painful circumstances, the Senior Divisional Officer for Mezam, on behalf of the Government, expresses his heartfelt sympathy to the bereaved family, while extending his compassion as well as wishes of swift recovery to the wounded whose medical bills are all being footed, as usual, by the Government”.

While vehemently condemning the barbaric act on unarmed civilians, the SDO called on the population to remain calm, stating that: “the defence and security forces are on ground to track down and hand the authors of this heinous act to the competent judicial authorities”.

It was not immediately known why the armed fighters targeted the market, but the attack came in the wake of an ongoing lockdown imposed by separatists.

It was gathered the armed men targeted vendors who usually sell around the scene on ghost town days.

In a video that circulated on social media, several food stems and a building are seen destroyed.

Amongst those injured are two women, a man and a child.

We learned they were later rushed to the hospital by residents of the area.

We also gathered that several gunshots were fired, immediately after the blast.

Security forces arrived the scene when the situation when relative calm had returned, we learned.

The incident sparked fear and panic in the area, as most of the women immediately closed their shops and retired home.

The incident came at a time the population of Bamenda, as well as those in other parts of the North West and South West Regions, have been witnessing a separatist-imposed two-week lockdown.

The lockdown is aimed at destabilising the smooth start of the 2024/25 academic year in the two English-speaking Regions.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post issue N0:3235 of Friday September 20, 2024