At least five people were reportedly killed in a military operation in Cameroon’s Northwest Region. Troops from the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) carried out an operation in Melim, in the Kumbo district, on October 13.
According to Le Bled Parle, three separatist fighters and two civilians were killed, although the circumstances surrounding the civilians’ deaths remain unclear. One of those killed was an armed-group leader known as “Bullet,” allegedly involved in kidnappings for ransom.
Residents accused his group of extortion and of abducting five people travelling to a funeral in Ndu, in Donga-Mantung division. The victims were said to have been released after a ransom was paid.
The Northwest is a central theatre of Cameroon’s Anglophone crisis, which escalated in 2016–2017 into an armed conflict between government forces and separatists seeking independence for the country’s English-speaking regions.
Recently, six passengers were abducted on September 30 after armed men intercepted public transport vehicles on the Bamenda-Ndop road in Babanki Tungo.
The incidents come as Cameroon strengthens its military presence around Lake Chad, where jihadist violence has displaced more than 11,300 residents following attacks in Darak, Bargaram and Hilé-Alifa. Cameroon’s Defense Ministry has recently announced the creation of a BIR Lake Chad unit, with new bases inaugurated at Bargaram and Hilé-Alifa.
The reported killings in Cameroon’s Northwest reflect a wider pattern of armed violence, disputed control over territory and resources, and the limits of military responses. While the new power might improve immediate safety for civilians, its effectiveness hinges on reaching real territorial management and collaboration with neighboring nations’ defense and safety forces.
