10 separatists killed in Cameroon army operation

Cameroon's government said 10 "separatist terrorists" were killed by the army in the English-speaking west of the African country, denying online reports of civilian deaths in the weekend military operation.

Rebels have been fighting for independence for two anglophone provinces in the majority French-speaking country since 2017.

Communication Minister Rene Emmanuel Sadi said on Monday in a press release that a separatist commander known as "General Fire Man" was among those killed on Saturday in fighting between rebels and soldiers.

"Ten separatist terrorists were neutralised, including three women" in Small Babanki in the Northwest Region, he said.

Since the weekend, claims have been circulating in online media and on social networks that 10 civilians, including women and children, were killed in the operation.

These were dismissed by the government as "false propaganda" and "totally unfounded allegations, contrary to reality".

Fighting between the two sides -- and reprisal attacks on civilians -- have left more than 3,000 dead in the two western regions during the three-year conflict.

Human Rights Watch has also accused Cameroon's armed forces of taking part in the killing of at least 21 civilians on February 14 in a remote part of Northwest Region. The army has denied the accusations.

Agence France-Presse