Brit missionary, 83, and his assistant ‘ABDUCTED by armed thugs in Cameroon’ as church group begs for their release
A BRIT missionary, 83, and his assistant have been abducted by a group of armed men in Cameroon, the church group revealed.
Huub Welters and his assistant Henry Kang were brutally captured in Bambui on Tuesday.
The town is located in the country's separatist conflict-hit anglophone northwest.
Welters and Kang were making their way to a project to build classrooms for underprivileged children in the nearby area of Ilung, The Catholic Mill Hill Missionary say.
In Wednesday's update on the pair, the Catholic missionary said they have "no idea" where Welters is.
The organisation revealed in a statement: "They were abducted by unknown armed men, and as of now, no one knows where they are.
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"What weighs heaviest on our hearts is his fragile health.
"He has already endured multiple joint replacements, a back operation, and now, on top of all that, the cruel mental and emotional suffering of being held hostage by those he only ever wanted to help."
NGO African Conscience shared with AFP that it believes the pair have been abducted by separatist fighters.
The NGO added: "The authorities of the Archdiocese are currently working for their release.
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"We pray. We plead. We wait."
Violence and abductions in Cameroon's Northwest and Southwest regions are a pressing issue.
The areas are mainly populated by Cameroon's English-speaking minority.
Separatists have frequently targeted and murdered civil servants like teachers.
Elected officials have also been accused of "collaboration" with the central government in Yaounde - a French-speaking establishment.
The army and cops are also accused of carrying out raids against those who they accuse of being pro-separatists.
In 2016, conflict began after President Paul Biya violently squashed peaceful demonstrations by Anglophones in both regions.
He has ruled Cameroon chillingly unchallenged for a whopping 42 years.
At least 6,000 civilians have been heinously killed by government forces as well as separatist fighters since the unrest began, Human Rights Watch reports.
