79 students and three staff members kidnapped from school in Cameroon

At least 79 students and three staff members have been kidnapped from a Presbyterian school in Cameroon.

The students and staff including the headteacher were kidnapped in Nkwen, in Bamenda, part of the troubled English speaking region of the country.

They were kidnapped by a group of men, calling themselves the “Amba Boys”, a reference to the state of Ambazonia that armed separatists want to establish in Cameroon’s north west and south west regions.

North West Region Governor Deben Tchoffo said: “It is rather unfortunate that this is happening. That 79 of our children and three of their staff can be picked up by terrorists. We have asked our military to do everything and bring back the kids alive.”

Video footage posted by the “Amba Boys” shows the kidnappers forcing several of the students to state their names and the names of their parents.

The kidnappers said they would only release the students once the goal of creating a new state is achieved.

They said: “We shall only release you after the struggle. You will be going to school now here.”

There has been an increase in fighting between the military and separatists after the government clamped down on peaceful demonstrations by English-speaking teachers and lawyers protesting what they said were the marginalisation by Cameroon’s French-speaking majority.”

Hundreds of people have been killed amid the violence in the past year.

The armed separatists have vowed to destabilize the regions as part of the strategy for creating a breakaway state.

They have mounted attacks against civilians who do not support their cause, including teachers who were killed for disobeying orders to keep schools closed.

Additional reporting by AP.