368:. At least 42 schools came under attack between February 2017 and May 2018. Separatists regard schools to be legitimate targets because the French language is taught as a mandatory subject, and have warned parents to keep their children at home for their own safety's sake. Attacks on schools have involved destruction of property and abduction of staff, and the purpose of these attacks is to force schools to shut down.
393:
According to a
Presbyterian minister who was involved in negotiations, no ransom was demanded. The kidnappers wanted the school to close down, as part of the school boycott declared by separatists the year before. Students who were kidnapped said the kidnappers told them to stop going to school, and
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According to a spokesperson of the
Ambazonia Self-Defence Council, the kidnappers had nothing to do with the separatist cause. Separatists claimed they had sent their own fighters to go search for the students, and alleged that the whole affair was staged by the Cameroonian government to smear the
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On
November 7, all 79 students were released, while the principal and three staff members remained under captivity. On November 12, the remaining captives were released too. Although the Cameroonian authorities had been unable to locate the students, they nevertheless took some credit for the
342:, Cameroon. All 79 students were released without ransom or prior notification on November 7, while the principal and the staff members were held for five more days. The circumstances of the incident remained unclear. While the kidnappers identified as "Amba Boys" (a common noun for
381:, bypassing numerous security checkpoints that operate in and around Bamenda. The students were between the ages of 11 and 17. The following day, Cameroonian authorities announced that the military would be sent to find and free the students. These searches were unsuccessful.
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According to students who were kidnapped, armed men woke them up at 3 a.m., had them sit down in front of the school, and then made their selection. 79 students, a principal and three staff members were taken into the bush, then marched to
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tasked them with conveying the message to other students. Although the details of the negotiations have not been released, the school was closed following the incident.
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Around 3 a.m. on
November 4, 2018, armed men kidnapped 79 students, a principal and three staff members from the Presbyterian Secondary School in Nkwen, a town near
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separatists. Commenting on a video that was released by the kidnappers, they claimed to recognize one of the kidnappers as a French-speaking man from
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Kidnappers release all students without ransom on
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Since 2017, Ambazonian separatists have attacked and burnt down schools across
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release, claiming the kidnappers gave up due to fears of being surrounded.
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Schools Fail to Open in
Cameroon's Restive English-speaking Regions
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465:, Journal du Cameroun, Oct 12, 2018. Accessed Oct 12, 2018.
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separatists), separatist groups claimed the incident was a
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Cameroon: Principal of PSS Nkwen, three others released
516:, the East African, Nov 6, 2018. Accessed Nov 7, 2018.
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Kidnapped children in
Cameroon released without ransom
448:, Deutsche Welle, Nov 7, 2018. Accessed Nov 8, 2018.
504:, Africa News, Nov 9, 2018. Accessed Nov 9, 2018.
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475:Burning Cameroon: Images you're not meant to see
350:operation staged by the Cameroonian government.
502:Cameroon kidnapped student speaks after release
489:, Reliefweb, Sep 4, 2018. Accessed Sep 4, 2018.
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477:, BBC, Jun 25, 2018. Accessed Jun 25, 2018.
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514:Cameroon vows to rescue abductees
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322:Ambazonian leadership crisis
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253:Kidnappings of John Fru Ndi
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221:Battles and violent events
389:Purpose of the kidnapping
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80:5.9965795°N 10.1612954°E
548:Kidnapping in the 2010s
327:Major National Dialogue
273:Operation Bamenda Clean
258:July 2019 prison riots
85:5.9965795; 10.1612954
268:Operation Free Bafut
20:PSS Nkwen kidnapping
412:List of kidnappings
283:Operation Bui Clean
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366:Southern Cameroons
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543:Conflicts in 2018
538:Anglophone Crisis
360:Anglophone Crisis
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44:Nkwen, near
25:Part of the
83: /
58:Coordinates
527:Categories
418:References
372:Kidnapping
354:Background
348:false flag
344:Ambazonian
71:10°09′41″E
52:, Cameroon
288:Bamessing
248:PSS Nkwen
116:Amba Boys
68:5°59′48″N
406:See also
172:Timeline
112:Suspects
41:Location
400:Yaoundé
340:Bamenda
309:Egbekaw
294:Missong
263:Ngarbuh
96:Outcome
46:Bamenda
304:Bambui
299:Akwaya
232:Batibo
104:Deaths
379:Bafut
278:Kumba
237:Ndop
214:2024
209:2023
204:2022
199:2021
194:2020
189:2019
184:2018
179:2017
107:None
33:Date
242:Wum
529::
494:^
453:^
426:^
402:.
48:,
149:e
142:t
135:v
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