Tunisian engineer killed, colleagues rescued after Cameroon kidnapping

One Tunisian engineer has been killed and one rescued during an operation by the Cameroonian army to free them from separatist hostage.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab & agencies

21 March, 2018

Unrest on the streets of Kumba, southwest Cameroon, near the site of the kidnapping [Getty]

The Cameroonian army on Tuesday rescued a Tunisian and two of his colleagues in a special operation but the other Tunisian was killed by his abductors, the government said.

The army strike "enabled the freeing of three employees of a Tunisian company kidnapped on March 15 by some terrorists" from a construction site, a statement said.

The second Tunisian engineer, named as Khaled Tinsa, was "killed by his abductors" and his corpse retrieved, government spokesman and Communications Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary said, adding that "four terrorists died in the operation."

The kidnapping took place in Cameroon's anglophone region where tensions have soared since separatists on October 1 declared the self-proclaimed republic of "Ambazonia".

The group - consisting of two Tunisian engineers and two Cameroonian technicians - was working for Tunisian construction company Soroubat and building a road between the towns of Kumba and Isangele when they were kidnapped.

The Tunisian's death was the first killing of a foreigner in the restive region.

In recent weeks, the separatists in the Southwest and Northwest English-speaking regions have repeatedly threatened to attack foreign businesses, however the kidnapping is a notable change in tactics as the group have until now focused on ambushing police and army checkpoints.

The west African country has had a tortuous colonial history that saw it pass from German rule to French and British hands, and the anglophone minority complain of having long been marginalised by the French-speaking elite.

At the weekend a kidnapped top civil servant, Ivo Leke Tambo, recently appointed chairman of Cameroon's anglophone educational board, was released but did not reveal the circumstances surrounding his liberation.

The security situation has further deteriorated since 47 separatists, including their leader, Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, were extradited in January from Nigeria back to Cameroon.

Northern Cameroon has further suffered a Boko Haram insurgency, as militants from the extremist group carried out a score of attacks that killed dozens of Cameroonians.

Al-Qaeda have also been seeking to exert its influence in the restive region.