- More than 30 Cameroonian women have been abducted by separatist rebels in the Northwest region for protesting against taxes levied on them by fighters.
- The Central African nation has been plagued by violence since separatists launched a rebellion in 2017.
- The military said the separatists were illegally collecting monthly payments from children, women and men, forcing families to pay $1,000 to bury their relatives and levying taxes on couples before they got married
More than 30 women have been kidnapped by separatist rebels in Cameroon for protesting illegal taxes levied on them by the fighters, the government said on Tuesday. The women were taken from Babanki, a farming village in the northwestern region along the border with Nigeria, said Simon Emil Mooh, a senior official in the area.
“We have reliable information that 10 of the women, who are basically farmers and traders, were tortured with guns and machetes,” she said.
The separatists levied monthly payments from children, women and men, levied taxes on couples before they got married and forced families to pay $1,000 to bury their relatives, he said.
GHANAYAN OFFICIALS BELIEVE $3 BILLION IMF LOAN WILL ‘RESET’ THE ECONOMY, MAKE IT STRONG
More than 30 women in Cameroon have been abducted by separatist fighters for protesting illegal taxes. (Fox News)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The Central African nation has been plagued by fighting since English-speaking separatists launched a rebellion in 2017, with the stated goal of breaking away from the area dominated by the French-speaking majority and creating an independent English-speaking state.
The government accused the separatists of committing atrocities against English-speaking civilians. The conflict has killed more than 6,000 people and displaced more than 760,000, according to the International Crisis Group.
Separatist leader Chief Daniel told the Associated Press on Tuesday that the women were abducted in mid-May. He said they would be punished for allowing themselves to be manipulated by the Cameroon government. He did not reveal their whereabouts.
Cameroon’s military says it has deployed troops to free the women.
