A Catholic priest was killed in south-west Cameroon on Friday amid ongoing violence between the military and separatist forces.
Agenzia Fides reports that it is unknown whether Fr Alexandre Sob Nougi was killed by a stray bullet during crossfire or deliberately targeted when he was fatally shot on a road about 25 kilometres north-east of Buea.
The 42-year-old, parish priest at the Sacred Heart Parish in Bomaka – a neighbourhood in Buea, was reportedly the secretary for Catholic education in the Diocese of Buea and currently undertaking a PhD.
Fides reports that tension has increased in two English-speaking regions in Cameroon after some activists symbolically declared their independence in October last year. Hundreds have been killed and wounded in clashes between separatists and police and tens of thousands of English-speaking Cameroonians have left their homes to see refuge elsewhere in Cameroon or abroad.
In May this year, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Cameroon released a statement urging an end to the violence.
