Armed men suspected to be separatists on Saturday night attacked and overran a detention facility located in the North-Western Region of Cameroon, freeing over 160 prisoners in the process.

According to local media, the overnight attack on the Ndop Prisons in Ngohketujia was two-pronged as the gunmen were reported to have torched the penitentiary using gunfire as cover.

Confirming the attack, Head of Ngohketujia Region, William Benedict Emvoutu revealed that some of the escapees had voluntarily returned and were due to be transferred to Bamenda, the regional capital.

Emvoutu further disclosed that operations were underway to locate and apprehend other fleeing inmates. The attack  is the first of its kind since the outbreak of the Anglophone crisis in 2016.