The events took place on September 8, 2026, in Wum, the capital of the Menctchum department, as part of the back-to-school activities for the 2026-2027 school year.
A police commissioner was killed and six teachers kidnapped on Tuesday during an ambush in the Anglophone region of the Northwest of Cameroon, security sources said. The victim, Mbah Tobie Damase, police commissioner, was in a convoy of administrative officials including the prefect of the department, Abdoullahi Aliou, and members of the security forces when it was targeted by armed men suspected of belonging to separatist groups, according to the same sources.
The convoy was touring schools to ensure the resumption of classes after the start of the school year, set for September 7.
Six teachers were kidnapped during the attack and security forces are pursuing the assailants, an official said on condition of anonymity. According to sources, the killed commissioner, originally from the Eastern region of the country, was about to retire. Leading the convoy towards the Normal School for Technical Education Teachers in Wum, he fell in the line of duty in a security crisis zone.
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The Anglophone regions of the Northwest and Southwest have been embroiled in an armed conflict since 2017, opposing government forces to separatist groups demanding independence for these territories. Schools and teachers have regularly been targeted since the beginning of the conflict.
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