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| Cameroon kidnap: Bamenda students freed | Cameroon kidnap: Bamenda students freed |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Schoolchildren kidnapped from a boarding school in Cameroon's North-West region have met the regional governor after being freed. | |
| The 78 boys and girls and three others were seized early on Sunday in the region's capital, Bamenda. | |
| A driver was also released, but the school's principal and a teacher are still being held. | A driver was also released, but the school's principal and a teacher are still being held. |
| The government has accused separatists in the English-speaking region of being behind the kidnapping. | The government has accused separatists in the English-speaking region of being behind the kidnapping. |
| The Anglophone separatists have denied they were involved. | The Anglophone separatists have denied they were involved. |
| The secessionist movement took up arms last year to demand independence for the North-West and South-West regions - the two English-speaking regions in a country where French is the most widely spoken official language. | The secessionist movement took up arms last year to demand independence for the North-West and South-West regions - the two English-speaking regions in a country where French is the most widely spoken official language. |
| The kidnapped students, aged between 11-17 years old, were "frightened and traumatised but in good shape", Rev Fonki Samuel, Presbyterian Church Moderator in Cameroon, told the BBC Focus on Africa programme. | |
| He said that they were being given food and being checked by the doctors before being reunited with their parents. | |
| One of the hostages, 17-year-old, Alain, said the kidnappers forced them to run after seizing them. He told Reuters news agency that they were not mistreated and the captors gave them food. | |
| "They gave us kontchap [a mix of corn and beans] to eat... It was not enough but they still gave us some. They also gave us water," he said. | |
| Rev Samuel said the Bamenda's Presbyterian Secondary School - where the students were seized - had been closed. | |
| How were the children freed? | How were the children freed? |
| According to the Presbyterian Church of Cameroon, the students were abandoned in one of their buildings in the town of Bafut, about 24km (15 miles) from Bamenda. | According to the Presbyterian Church of Cameroon, the students were abandoned in one of their buildings in the town of Bafut, about 24km (15 miles) from Bamenda. |
| "The release was done peacefully... by unidentified gunmen. They [students] were brought into the church premises," Rev Samuel said. | "The release was done peacefully... by unidentified gunmen. They [students] were brought into the church premises," Rev Samuel said. |
| "The first information we got from them [kidnappers] is their call and they were telling us they intended to release the children yesterday [Tuesday] morning... but unfortunately it rained so heavily that could not happen. | "The first information we got from them [kidnappers] is their call and they were telling us they intended to release the children yesterday [Tuesday] morning... but unfortunately it rained so heavily that could not happen. |
| "So [on] the evening of yesterday, surprisingly and by God's grace, the children were brought back to us." | "So [on] the evening of yesterday, surprisingly and by God's grace, the children were brought back to us." |
| Rev Samuel told the BBC that 78 students, not 79 as earlier reported, had been released. | Rev Samuel told the BBC that 78 students, not 79 as earlier reported, had been released. |
| He also revealed that Sunday's kidnapping was the second such case at the school in less than a week. | He also revealed that Sunday's kidnapping was the second such case at the school in less than a week. |
| In the earlier 31 October incident, 11 boys were taken and then released. It is unclear who the kidnappers were but the church paid a ransom of $4,000 (£3,000) to secure their release, he said. | In the earlier 31 October incident, 11 boys were taken and then released. It is unclear who the kidnappers were but the church paid a ransom of $4,000 (£3,000) to secure their release, he said. |
| The army had been deployed to try and find the children taken on Sunday. | The army had been deployed to try and find the children taken on Sunday. |
| Who was behind the kidnap? | Who was behind the kidnap? |
| Rev Samuel told the BBC he was not concerned about who was behind the kidnapping, only "overwhelmed and happy" that the schoolchildren had been freed. | Rev Samuel told the BBC he was not concerned about who was behind the kidnapping, only "overwhelmed and happy" that the schoolchildren had been freed. |
| He said, "armed groups, gangsters and thieves" could be taking advantage of the insecurity in the region to kidnap people, and blame it on the government and separatists. | He said, "armed groups, gangsters and thieves" could be taking advantage of the insecurity in the region to kidnap people, and blame it on the government and separatists. |
| Cameroon's authorities have blamed the kidnap on Anglophone separatist militias - who have called for schools in English-speaking regions to be closed. | Cameroon's authorities have blamed the kidnap on Anglophone separatist militias - who have called for schools in English-speaking regions to be closed. |
| They want to create an independent state called Ambazonia. | They want to create an independent state called Ambazonia. |
| There have been a spate of kidnappings in the Anglophone regions at other schools but Sunday's incident involved the largest number abducted at one time, the AP reports. | |
| It said that the separatists had set fire to at least 100 schools and taken them over as training grounds. | |
| On Tuesday, anxious parents gathered at the Presbyterian Secondary School to try to get information about their children. | |
| A video of the hostages released on Monday showed one of the captives saying they had been seized by "Amba Boys" - the widely-used term to describe the separatist rebels. | A video of the hostages released on Monday showed one of the captives saying they had been seized by "Amba Boys" - the widely-used term to describe the separatist rebels. |
| An Anglophone group, the Ambazonia International Policy Commission (AIPC), has however denied that the separatists were behind the kidnapping, noting that the person recording the video appears to have a poor grasp of Pidgin-English, the language spoken widely in the Anglophone area of the country. | An Anglophone group, the Ambazonia International Policy Commission (AIPC), has however denied that the separatists were behind the kidnapping, noting that the person recording the video appears to have a poor grasp of Pidgin-English, the language spoken widely in the Anglophone area of the country. |
| One of the kidnappers was also apparently heard speaking French. | One of the kidnappers was also apparently heard speaking French. |
| What is happening in English-speaking parts of Cameroon? | What is happening in English-speaking parts of Cameroon? |
| English-speakers in Cameroon have long complained that they face discrimination from Cameroon's Francophone majority. | English-speakers in Cameroon have long complained that they face discrimination from Cameroon's Francophone majority. |
| They say that they are excluded from top civil service jobs and that government documents are often only published in French, even though English is also an official language. | They say that they are excluded from top civil service jobs and that government documents are often only published in French, even though English is also an official language. |
| Cameroon - still divided along colonial lines | Cameroon - still divided along colonial lines |
| Read more: Cameroon timeline | Read more: Cameroon timeline |