Armed separatists kidnap 30 passengers travelling by buses in Cameroon

Local authorities on Saturday said that 30 passengers were kidnapped by armed separatists along the Fundong-Bamenda highway here after they were forced to step off the buses they were travelling in by the insurgents.

The region where the incident took place is one of the two war-torn, English speaking regions of the African nation, according to Xinhua.

"Three transport buses left Fundong for Bamenda and were stopped at Belo by armed separatists," Samuel Nkwain, one of the witnesses to the incident, said.

"All passengers were ordered to step down and hand over their identification cards. They were then taken to the bush to an unknown destination. There are still with them right now," Nkwain added.

Locals told Xinhua that the abductions occurred after in-fighting between armed groups in the region.

"The other group was angry that another group collected their weapons and refused to hand over to them, so they say they are holding the passengers hostage until the weapons are handed over to them," one of the local residents said.

Authorities state that a search for the missing hostages is on.

As per the United Nations (UN), internal displacements are on the rise in Cameroon. UN estimates state that more than 430,000 people have been internally displaced after the government forces took on armed separatists around two years ago.

( With inputs from ANI )