At least two civilians have been killed by soldiers in Wowo village, Ndu subdivision in the North West region of Cameroon, sources have confirmed.

The Divisional Officer of Ndu sub division Adamu Shuaibu said the civilians were “accidentally killed” by the soldiers as they raided the area in attempt to weed off separatist fighters in the area.

The soldiers had left Ndu for Wowo on Friday on a mission to clear off the village of any suspected armed separatist fighter and equally had to repair a bridge reportedly destroyed by the armed men, the D.O said.

On arriving a deserted Wowo village, they met with a few armed fighters who provoked the soldiers before taking off to their hideouts, the civil administrator said.

In pursuing the separatists, the soldiers mistakenly shot and killed two civilians- a young man and an elderly person- who were hiding in the bush, the D.O said while expressing condolences to the families of the bereaved. He added that this brings the number of civilians accidentally killed the sub division to three since January 2018.

The D.O once again called on the population to remain calm whenever soldiers enter the village rather than run away else they will be mistaken for armed separatist fighters.