More than 30 Women in Cameroon Kidnapped by Separatists for Protesting Against Taxes

Cameroon's government said the separatist rebels had kidnapped more than 30 women for protesting illegal taxes imposed on them.

According to the senior Babanki district official, Simon Emile Mo, “the women were kidnapped from Babanki,” a farming village in the northwest region along the border with Nigeria.

"We have reliable information that 10 of the women, mostly farmers and merchants, were tortured with guns and machetes," the official said.

He explained that "the separatists collect monthly payments from children, women, and men.

They also collect taxes from those who want to marry, and force families to pay $1,000 to bury their relatives."

The central African country, Cameroon, has been beset by violence since Anglophone separatists launched an uprising in 2017, with the stated aim of breaking away from the francophone-dominated region and creating an independent Anglophone country.

According to the International Crisis Group, the conflict has killed more than 6,000 people and displaced more than 760,000 people.