Kumbo, the main town of Bui Division in the North West Region, has been plunged into mourning after gendarmes opened fire on crowds, leaving people dead and scores injured according to local accounts. The violence came as the blue and white flag of Southern Cameroons was hoisted in Kumbo Square, a symbolic act that the security forces sought to stop.
A tense day in Bui
Residents described a town that had been on edge for days, with shops closed under the ghost town operations and young people gathering in the streets. When the separatist flag went up in the square, security forces moved in. Witnesses say tear gas was fired before live rounds were heard, sending people running for cover in neighbourhoods around the town centre.
The injured were taken to health facilities in Kumbo, where medical staff struggled to cope. Families of victims have called for the bodies to be released for burial and for those responsible for the shooting to be identified.
What the flag means
For supporters of the restoration of Southern Cameroons, raising the flag is an assertion of a separate identity rooted in the territory's history as a British-administered trust territory. For the government, it is a challenge to the unity of the state and a criminal act. Clashes over the flag have become a flashpoint across the North West and South West regions, as the Anglophone crisis has moved from teacher and lawyer strikes to open confrontation.
Information blackout
Reporting from Kumbo is difficult. Internet restrictions in the Anglophone regions have limited the flow of images and testimonies, and many accounts reach the outside world through videos shared once residents can get online. This makes it harder to establish an exact toll, and figures circulating on social media often differ.
Calls for restraint and accountability
Religious leaders and civil society organisations in Bui have appealed for calm and for the protection of civilians. Human rights groups argue that firing on unarmed crowds cannot be justified, whatever the political message of a demonstration, and that independent investigations are needed into every death.
The government, for its part, has blamed secessionist agitators for provoking the security forces and endangering public order. Between these two narratives, families in Kumbo are left counting their losses.
What comes next
The events in Kumbo add to a list of incidents that have hardened positions on both sides. Each death fuels anger, recruitment into radical groups and distrust of the state. Many observers believe that without genuine dialogue addressing the root causes of the Anglophone problem, scenes like the one in Kumbo Square will repeat themselves in other towns.