10 killed in Cameroon's restive Anglophone region

Cameroon army said Monday that at least 10 people have been shot dead by separatist fighters in Bamenda, a city in Cameroon's troubled English-speaking region of Northwest.

Army spokesman Cyrille Serge Atonfack Guemo said they were killed at about 7:30 p.m., local time, Sunday in the Nacho-Junction neighborhood of the city.

Local authorities said women were among those killed.

Two others were seriously injured, said Guemo, adding that the killing was carried out by separatist fighters who were "deceptively dressed" in military attire.

Separatist fighters have denied responsibility.

"Combing operations are ongoing to apprehend the perpetrators," Guemo said in a statement.

The killing came barely two days after five boys were shot dead in Awing locality in the region in renewed clashes between the military and separatist fighters.

A prolonged armed separatist conflict is in progress in Cameroon's two Anglophone regions of Northwest and Southwest where separatists want to create an independent nation.