BY ATEMNKENG. E $ SONITA. N
Church Service in Bali, North West Region of Cameroon on Sunday August 22, 2021, went sour as a member met her maker unpredictably during worship. Christians of a local Presbyterian church Ntanfoang says armed men believed to be soldiers opened fire on the church building, killing one of the christian mothers and injuring their Pastor.
KNews learnt, the service turned bloody as they heard gunfire which kept them curious as to what was going on. A source narrates that ,” we however remained silent listening to the sounds because we have been used too this but this change when we heard a lady scream”.
She had been shot by a bullet that got into the church building. With another shot taking the pastor on his hand.
The lady, he reveals died on the spot as the assailant moved on shooting all over the village.
A relative to the lady shot dead says, he believes the victim was not being targeted . He says, “it was a random shooting” as there was no attack. I think they must have been after Amba fighters . As they just came closely and then started shooting which affected the church.
He confirms that, his brother’s wife died immediately and the pastor was taken to the hospital. Following the attack, a source narrates that, the men ran out of the church as many other young boys out of the church was on the run as gun shots persist because we heard valid rumours that men are being arrested indiscriminately at the moment.
He adds that, the women and old men were left with the corpse of the victim . While , the pastor was rushed to the hospital. They were really 13 in numbers, 12 came close and one stood on guard. They were firing randomly when they fired at the church.
Recently, Bali has witnessed relative calm these past days, though this is not the first time locals are paying the price of the war against separatist fighters. The last time they came was during a market day. They came and harrased women, demanded money from men and punished women to sit on the ground.
To add, such a gory incident happened in recent time Fresh in the minds of many is the Ngarbuh Massacre where soldiers shot and killed villagers in Ngarbuh, North West Region.
Hence, this lastest incident came as a surprise to them as he reiterates “Nothing has happened within these days , for the separatist fighters haven’t even attached them for days now”. This incident comes days after soldiers cleared road blocks mounted by Separatist fighter. Following the activity, they promised hell to the population; if they fail to co-operate and weed out the separatist fighters from Bali.
This reminds people of a similar incident that happened in Kumba. Where, unknown gunmen shot dead students in a school and have till date gone unpunished .
Enter condemnation of PCC
The Presbyterian church in Cameroon has condemned the incident in Ntangfang- Bali Presbyterian church that resulted to the death of one of her Christian’s, leaving the Pastor shot on his arm during Sunday service August 21, 2021.
In a communique signed by the Moderator of the Presbyterian church in Cameroon Rt. Rev. Fonki Samuel who feels embarrassed as the lives of Christians are wasted.” What is more frustrating is the hardening of the hearts despite repeated appeals of a ceasefire to the government and the ” Abazonians” separatist militia who have taken up arms on our people with both sides unyielding to the numerous calls for peace and this worries us”. He says
Enter civil society condemnation
Some civil society organizations have denounced this action by demonstrating in the streets of Cameroon with a call for peace. According to a tweet by the Association of society organizations, ” it is an exhibit of the darkness and anarchy that comes with war”. Pleading on the government to take actions.
In response to this hilarious incident, the military forces denial all accusations by the cameroonian population as the head of communication division Navy captain Atonfac Guemo cyrille Serge says” secessionist propaganda supported by certain media and international non governmental organizations of well known editorial lines and ideologies are trupeting an alleged attack by the defense and security forces against faithful in a place of worship in Bali , this is a shame he says
As the Presbyterian church in Cameroon mourns the life of one of her members, the message of peace continues to surface the streets of Cameroon appealing to the government to provide long term solutions to the Anglophone Crisis.
However, it should be reminded that this is not the first time such cases of gunshot between separatist forces and the military forces have resulted to the death of civilians with the recent case happening in the South West region of the country in a locality called Buea living a civilian death and several others injured.
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