The army announced the release of nine hostages following a successful operation in Pinyin, a large village in the district of Santa in the Mezam division, on the night of Saturday to Sunday.
“Our men carried out a cordon operation, which resulted in the release of all the hostages, nine of them civilians. There was no loss of human life, everything went well as we planned ” explained Brigade General Nka Valère, Commander of the Fifth Joint Military Region, during the presentation of the hostages yesterday Sunday, April 18, 2021 in Bamenda.
The Military Chief also informed that his men arrested during this operation, the kidnappers and also recovered weapons, ammunition, improvised explosive devices and many other dangerous objects.
“Security measures have been reinforced, we appeal to the populations for frank collaboration with the defense and security forces,” he added. The hostages, all men, had been kidnapped in Santa five days ago in circumstances not yet disclosed to the press.
The kidnapping of people from their homes, their places of work or in the street, followed by execution or release against payment of ransom, are part of the separatist abuses against the civilian population and men in uniform in the North-West and in the South-West, the two English-speaking regions in the grip of a political and security crisis for more than four years.