February 21, 2011
YAOUNDE (Reuters) - Kidnappers have
released all 11 local government officials taken hostage in Cameroon's oil-rich
Bakassi Peninsula region earlier this month, the central African state's
government said last week.
The group were captured by suspected
rebels in a Feb. 6 attack on their boat just off the Bakassi coast.
"All are doing relatively well
except one gendarme who was seriously injured," government spokesman Issa
Bakari Tchiroma told reporters. He declined to say whether a ransom was paid or
give details of their release on Wednesday.
The hostage-taking was suspected to
be the work of a local rebel group called the Africa Marine Commando (AMC).
The AMC is a splinter faction of the
Bakassi Freedom Fighters group, which is seeking compensation on behalf of
Nigerians compelled to leave the Bakassi Peninsula after the disputed land was
handed over to Cameroon in 2008.
No comments:
Post a Comment