Pope condemns Cameroon kids massacre

(ANSA) - VATICAN CITY, OCT 28 - Pope Francis on Wednesday condemned a massacre of children in a Cameroon school Saturday as a "cruel and senseless act".
    "I join in the pain of the families of the young students barbarically killed at Kumba in Cameroon last Saturday," Francis said at the end of his weekly general audience.
    A group of armed men entered the school and killed at least eight children.
    "I feel great dismay for such a cruel and senseless act, which ripped from life the little innocents while they were following their lessons in school.
    "May God illuminate hearts so that similar acts are never again repeated and so that the tortured regions of the north west and south west of the country may finally rediscover peace.
    "I hope arms will fall silent and the safety and security of all may be guaranteed, along with the right for all young people to an education and a future".
    The Kumba school massacre took place at Mother Francisca International Bilingual Academy during the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon.
    Around noon on 24 October 2020, men in civilian clothing arrived on motorcycles and stormed the school. With machetes and guns, they killed at least eight children and wounded at least twelve.
    Some children were also injured when they jumped from windows to escape. According to an official, the dead children were all between 12 and 14 years old.
    According to one of the survivors, there had been twelve attackers, most of whom were dressed in military or police uniforms. A local claimed that the school had been making regular payments to the separatists in the area in return for safety; the school would not confirm this.
    No one claimed responsibility for the attack.Local authorities blamed Ambazonian separatists, while the Cameroonian government and separatist movements accused each other. The Cameroonian government said that around 10 separatist fighters had carried out the massacre. The Ambazonia Governing Council quickly claimed to possess evidence that the Cameroonian Army was responsible, while the Interim Government of Ambazonia drew parallells to the Ngarbuh massacre. Cameroonian Communication Minister Rene Sadi strongly denied that the Cameroonian Army had been involved.
    Separatists have a history of attacking schools, which some of them regarded as legitimate targets because the French language is taught as a mandatory subject. While students have been abducted and mistreated numerous times throughout the Anglophone Crisis, and several teachers have been killed, the attack on Mother Francisca International Bilingual Academy was the first school massacre to take place during the war.
    The attack was condemned by the United Nations. Matthias Z.
    Naab, the Humanitarian Coordinator in Cameroon, stated that he was "shocked and outraged by the killing of innocent school children which were attending school to get an education". The World Health Organization offered medical supplies to hospitals in the area. (ANSA).