For nearly a decade, two English-speaking western regions of the mostly French-speaking country have been gripped by a deadly conflict between government forces and separatist groups.

Senior local official Simon Emile Moor told AFP that “armed terrorists” attacked a bar in the city of Bamenda at around 3:00 pm (1600 GMT) on Monday, leaving three people dead and four wounded.

He gave no further details on the attack or who carried it out.

As part of their insurrection, anglophone separatists have turned Mondays into general shutdown days, with all public places closed and no vehicles on the roads in the major cities.

The attack comes a week after a police officer was killed and five teachers kidnapped in the town of Wum, 80 kilometres (50 miles) from Bamenda.

The teachers were released a day later after a ransom was paid.

Conflict erupted with separatists in 2017 in the wake of a violent government crackdown on protests. Civilians fell victim to extortion, kidnappings for ransom and violence.

At least 6,000 have died since 2016, according to the UN.

More than 330,000 people were internally displaced in Cameroon in 2025 and over 100,000 others fled to neighbouring Nigeria.

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