Armed men suspected to be Ambazonia fighters abducted five priests, a nun, and two parishioners in western Cameroon this weekend and burned their church to the ground.
The church of St Mary in the village of Nchang, of the Mamfe Catholic diocese, was “burned by unknown armed men” on Friday evening, the Bamenda Provincial Episcopal Conference (BAPEC) said in a statement published Sunday.
It was with “great shock and utter horror” that we learnt of the burning down of the St Mary’s Catholic Church, Nchang and “the kidnapping of five priests, one religious sister and two lay faithful by unknown gunmen,” said the statement, which was signed by Archbishop Andrew Nkea, president of the Cameroon Bishops’ Conference.
“This act was completely unprecedented and, as of now, no concrete reason has been given for this heinous act against the house of God and the messengers of God,” it added.
The bishops also noted that “the people have suffered terribly and men and women of God have been soft targets of kidnappers, torturers, and unscrupulous gunmen” ever since the beginning of the country’s Anglophone crisis in 2016.
The statement points to “a wave of persecution against the Church hierarchy” and missionaries, while adding that similar attacks have been aimed at Presbyterian and Baptist churches as well.
For his part, Mamfe’s Bishop Aloysius Fondong Abangalo called the attack on the church an “abomination,” adding that the Catholic Church “will not come to Nchang again.”
So far no one has claimed responsibility for the attack and no ransom has yet been demanded for the release of the kidnap victims.
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