Cameroon’s anglophone conflict reached a new low last week when gunmen killed eight children and injured 12 others at a school in the southwestern town of Kumba.
Officials blamed anglophone separatists, who are demanding independence from the majority French-speaking country, though no group has claimed responsibility.
Separatists have enforced an education boycott on English-speaking regions since 2017 as part of their three-year struggle against the government.
Talks between the warring sides have taken place in recent months in Yaoundé, the capital. But hardliners from both camps are hampering efforts, and violence has increased on the ground, where more than 700,000 people are now displaced.
On Tuesday, Kumba residents held a vigil outside the school, as injured children battled for their lives in hospital.
“I have not eaten, I cannot sleep because of this war, this nonsense crisis,” one woman told France 24. “Why should we kill our own children?”
