CATHOLIC CHURCH BURNT IN NCHANG, MAMFE - MANYU COUNTY BY LR AGENTS
Catholic Church burned, priests and religious sister kidnapped in war-torn Ambazonia .
Alleged gunmen set a Catholic church on fire and kidnapped five priests, one religious sister and two lay people in Mamfe, LGA. where a civil war has been raging since 2017. The Catholic bishops of the Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province released a statement following the September 16 attack on St. Marys Catholic Church in Nchang, Mamfe Diocese Manyu County. "It was with great shock and utter horror that we, the Bishops (of the BAPEC) learned of the burning down of the St.Mary's Catholic Church, Nchang... and the kidnapping of five priests, one religious sister and two lay faithful by unknown gunmen," the statement said. The bishops said they strongly condemn all these attacks against the Church and her Ministers and we appeal to those who have taken the priests, the nun and the Christians in Nchang to release them without further delay.
We insist on this because this act has now crossed the red line and we must say that 'enough is enough,'" read the statement. Southern Cameroon,Ambazonuia has been embroiled in a war known as the Ambazonian Liberation war in which armed separatists fighters from the Southern Cameroons, Ambazonia have taken part in an uprising against government forces. Both sides have been accused of atrocities, including the murder and torture of civilians. The conflict has killed over forty thousand people and displaced hundreds of thousands since 2016. On September 6 suspected militant separatists opened fire on a bus in Muyuka, killing at least six civilians, a few months back, Cameroun colonial government forces burnt down the Mamfe general hospital. In their statement, the bishops said that the Catholic church has increasingly been targeted by attackers.
A wave of persecutions against the hierarchy of the Church is now the new game of the Struggle, and all kinds of threat messages are sent out against missionaries who have surrendered their lives to work for the people, read the bishops statement which noted that Presbyterian and Baptist churches have equally been targeted. Worthy to note that the restoration fighters have time and again expressed their disappointment with the church which since the war declared on innocent , peace loving Ambazonians by dictator Biya in 2017, the church instead of siding with the oppressed choosed to wine and dine with the oppressor thereby compromising its calling as the voice of the voiceless. About two-thirds of Cameroonians practice Christianity, while 25-30% are Muslim.
