Two unidentified men were found dead early Monday morning, January 26, 2026, in a gutter in the New Road area of Bamenda, North West Region. Residents discovered the bodies with gunshot wounds following heavy gunfire heard late Sunday night, according to information gathered by BaretaNews.
The incident came hours after armed men reportedly attacked a small market near Dr Mundih Junction. Witnesses said several people were abducted during the raid, while two motorcycles were set ablaze, heightening fear among traders and residents in the area.
It remains unclear whether the two men found dead were among those abducted earlier or whether they were caught in a separate incident. However, authoritative sources in Bamenda who spoke to BaretaNews stated that the killings were the result of what they described as a retaliatory shooting carried out on two innocent civilians by the colonial military.
“These were unarmed civilians,” a local source told BN. “There was no exchange of fire. What happened was a deliberate act against innocent people in a neighbourhood already traumatised by constant military operations.”
BaretaNews sources further accused the occupational forces of La République du Cameroun of continuing sustained onslaughts against innocent civilians across Ambazonia, particularly in urban centres such as Bamenda, where military presence has intensified in recent months.
According to local human rights observers, the latest killings add to the thousands of Ambazonians who have been summarily executed since the outbreak of the conflict. Many others, they say, have been arbitrarily arrested and detained in military camps and detention facilities under harsh conditions.
Sources told BN that these summary executions form part of a broader strategy aimed at killing more and more Ambazonians as a means of silencing their collective voice and resistance. “The message they want to send is fear,” one source said. “But these actions only deepen the anger and pain of the population.”
As the Anglophone Conflict nears its tenth year, insecurity continues to rise in Bamenda. Residents say nightly gunfire, raids, and civilian casualties have become routine, with little accountability, leaving communities trapped between fear, grief, and uncertainty about what the next day will bring.
By Lucas Muma
