More than 80 people, mostly children have been kidnapped from a school in the city of Bamenda which is located in the Anglophone North-Western region of Cameroon.

According to a statement released by the country’s military on Monday, no one or group has claimed responsibility for the abduction in the English-speaking region where separatists have been fighting to form a breakaway state.

The separatists have imposed curfews and closed down schools as part of their protest against President Paul Biya’s French-speaking government.

The separatist movement gathered pace in 2017 after a government crackdown on peaceful demonstrations. Many people have fled Bamenda and other places to seek refuge in more peaceful Francophone regions.

According to a military source, a total of 81 persons were kidnapped from the school, including the principal and marched into a bush. This is even as a government spokesman said it was keeping track of the event.

“In total, 81 people were kidnapped including the principal. They were taken to the bush,” the source said.