Image copyright . Image caption In the video released of the children the man holding the camera turns it on himself at the end

Dozens of people, mostly school pupils, have been kidnapped from a boarding school in the west of Cameroon.

At least 79 students and three others, including the principal, were seized early on Monday morning in Bamenda, the capital of the North-West region, a government official has told the BBC.

A massive search operation involving the Cameroonian army is now under way.

Cameroon's North-West and South-West regions have been hit by a secessionist rebellion in recent years.

Regional governor Adolphe Lele L'Afrique blamed separatist militias for the kidnapping.

Militias, who have been demanding the independence of the two English-speaking regions, have called for a school boycott.

But no single group has said it carried out the kidnapping at Bamenda's Presbyterian Secondary School, which has pupils aged between 10 and 14.

A video of some of the children, believed to have been filmed by one of the kidnappers, is being shared on social media.

The students, all boys and crammed into a tiny room, all look nervous as the person holding the camera orders them to say their names and where they are from.

They also repeat the phrase: "I was taken from school last night by the Amba boys, I don't know where I am."

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption What's happening in Cameroon?

Amba is short for Ambazonia, the name of the new country that the separatists want to create.

One student, who managed to avoid capture by hiding under a bed, told the BBC that events unfolded quickly as the kidnappers entered the school.

"One of my friends, they beat him mercilessly. All I could think about was to just stay quiet. They threatened to shoot some people... all the big boys they rounded up, and the small ones they left them behind."

A teacher at the school described what she saw as she entered the principal's office after students had been taken from different dormitories.

"The military came in and went to the principal's house where we realised that her door was bashed and entered into, the glasses are still there on the ground," she told the BBC.

'Praying for the kidnapped'

The moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, the Right Reverend Fonki Samuel Forba told the BBC that he had spoken to the kidnappers.

"They don't want any ransom. All they want is for us to close the schools. We have promised to close down the schools," he told the BBC.

"We hope and pray they release the kids and the teachers," he added.

It is not the first time students have been abducted in the area, known to be a stronghold of separatist fighters, reports the BBC's Ngala Killian Chimtom.

On 19 October, five students of the Atiela Bilingual High School were taken by unidentified gunmen. Their whereabouts are still unknown.

The separatists say that the Cameroon school system suppresses the English-speaking system that the North-West and South-West regions inherited from the British.

Separatist rebellion

The militias, who want to create Ambazonia, began to emerge in 2017 after a security force crackdown on mass protests, led by lawyers and teachers, over the government's alleged failure to give enough recognition to the English legal and education systems in the North-West and South-West.

The government was accused of relying heavily on people trained in the French legal and educational tradition to work in key posts and generally marginalising Cameroon's English-speaking minority, who make up about 20% of the population.

President Paul Biya, who has been in power since 1982, was recently re-elected for a seventh term with more than 70% of the vote.

Opposition parties allege that the poll was rigged, but legal attempts to overturn the result failed.

Cameroon - still divided along colonial lines

Image copyright Alamy Image caption Africa's borders were "carved up" up by colonial powers

Colonised by Germany in 1884

British and French troops force Germans to leave in 1916

Cameroon is split three years later - 80% goes to the French and 20% to the British

French-run Cameroon becomes independent in 1960

Following a referendum, the (British) Southern Cameroons join Cameroon, while Northern Cameroons join English-speaking Nigeria

Read more: Cameroon timeline</s>Cameroon's president on Tuesday warned Anglophone separatists to lay down their arms or face the full force of the law, a day after dozens of schoolchildren were abducted in the rebel region.

YAOUNDE: Cameroon's president on Tuesday warned Anglophone separatists to lay down their arms or face the full force of the law, a day after dozens of schoolchildren were abducted in the rebel region.

Clashes between a secessionist movement and the army began more than a year ago in west Cameroon, killing over 400 civilians and forcing thousands to flee their homes.

On Monday, unidentified assailants kidnapped 79 children, their principal and a driver from the PSS Nkwen school in Bamenda in Northwest region and took them into the bush outside town, military and government sources said.

An army spokesman blamed separatists for Monday's kidnapping. A separatist spokesman denied involvement and said government soldiers had carried it out, as a ploy to discredit the insurgents.

President Paul Biya, making an inauguration speech after re-election last month that extends his 36-year-old rule, did not mention the kidnapping but attacked the separatists.

"They need to know that they will face the rigour of the law and the determination of our defence and security forces," Biya said in the national assembly.

"I appeal to them to lay down their arms."

Last week, an American Baptist missionary was shot dead amid fighting between the army and separatists in Bamenda.

The secessionists have imposed curfews and closed schools as part of their rebellion against the French-speaking government, which they say has marginalised the Anglophone minority.

Samuel Fonki, a minister of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, said he had been mediating with the kidnappers for the children's release. He said separatists were responsible.

The search for the children continued on Tuesday. About 200 parents gathered outside the school, waiting to hear if their children were among those who had been abducted or had remained unharmed at the school.

Authorities denied parents access to the school, according to six parents and a security guard who spoke to Reuters.

The kidnapping was a chilling echo of the 2014 abduction of the Chibok girls by Boko Haram in neighbouring Nigeria. There are no known links between the Cameroon separatists and the Nigerian Islamist militant group.</s>The kidnappers say they will not release the students until a new state is created.

YAOUNDE, Cameroon — Armed separatists kidnapped at least 79 students and three staff members from a Presbyterian school in a troubled English-speaking region of Cameroon, the governor said Monday.

North West Region Gov. Deben Tchoffo said the students abducted Sunday night were ages 11-17, and they were taken from Nkwen, a village near the regional capital, Bamenda, along with school staff that included the principal.

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

A video purporting to show the kidnapped students was posted on social media from a group of men who call themselves “Amba boys,” a reference to the state of Ambazonia that armed separatists want to establish in Cameroon’s Anglophone North West and South West regions.

In the video, men who identified themselves as the kidnappers forced several boys to give their names and those of their parents. The boys also said they were taken by the armed men late Sunday and didn’t know where they were being held.

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

“We shall only release you after the struggle. You will be going to school now here,” the men said. The video could not be independently verified, but parents said on social media they recognized their children in the recording.

Fighting between the military and separatists increased after the government clamped down on peaceful demonstrations by English-speaking teachers and lawyers protesting what they said were their marginalization by Cameroon’s French-speaking majority.

Hundreds have been killed in the past year.

The separatists have vowed to destabilize the regions as part of the strategy for creating a breakaway state.</s>Seventy-nine school students were kidnapped on Monday in an English-speaking region of Cameroon where separatists are fighting an armed campaign for independence, a government source said.

The students were abducted along with their principal, a teacher and a driver, the official said, as a source at the school confirmed the kidnapping of the pupils.

They were enrolled at the Presbyterian Secondary School in Bamenda, capital of Cameroon’s Northwest Region — one of two regions hit by attacks by anglophone militants that have met with a brutal crackdown by the authorities.

No tags for this post.</s>YAOUNDE, Cameroon — Armed separatists have kidnapped at least 78 students and their principal from a Presbyterian school in Nkwen village in Cameroon's restive northwest region, a governor said Monday.

The kidnapping late Sunday took place near Bamenda, the capital of the troubled English-speaking region, according to Governor Deben Tchoffo.

A video purportedly of the kidnapped children has been released on social media via men who call themselves "Amba boys," a reference to the state of Ambazonia that armed separatists are trying to establish in Cameroon's Anglophone northwest and southwest regions.

In the video, the kidnappers force several young male students to give their names and the names of their parents. The children say they were kidnapped late Sunday by the armed men and they don't know where they are being held.

The men who identify themselves on the video as the kidnappers say they will only release the children when they achieve what they want.

"We shall only release you after the struggle. You will be going to school now here," say the men. The video could not be independently verified, but parents have said on social media that they recognize their children in the video.

In a statement on Monday, Amnesty International Deputy Regional Director for West and Central Africa Samira Daoud called the abduction "appalling" and said they exemplify the price the general public is paying as violence escalates in the region.

"The abduction of schoolchildren and teachers can never be justified. Whoever is responsible must release and return the victims immediately," Daoud said.

She added: “We express solidarity with the families of these children and demand that the Cameroon authorities do everything in their power to ensure all the pupils and school staff are freed unharmed. In a case with a chilling echo of the 2014 kidnappings of the Chibok schoolgirls in Nigeria, it is vital that Cameroon’s government act swiftly and decisively to reunite these children with their loved ones."

Hundreds have been killed in Cameroon's Anglophone regions in the past year, where violence between armed separatists and the military has increased since a government crackdown against protesters in the northwest and southwest regions. The demonstrators claim that as the English-speaking minority they are marginalized by the French-speaking government.

Violent separatists have since taken up arms to destabilize the Anglophone regions to win independence for the areas they want to declare a separate state, which they call Ambazonia. They have mounted attacks against civilians who do not support their cause.

There have been other kidnappings from schools in the region, but this is the largest number kidnapped at once. Armed separatists have even killed teachers who defied instructions to keep schools closed. They have torched at least a hundred schools and chased students and teachers from schools which they then take over as training grounds.

Last week separatist militants attacked workers on a state-run rubber plantation in southwestern Cameroon, chopping off their fingers because the men had defied an order to stay away from the farms.

An American missionary also died in the northwest region around Bamenda when he was shot in the head amid fighting between armed separatists and soldiers.

The turmoil in Cameroon comes as President Paul Biya, who has led since 1982, easily won a seventh term last month in an election that the United States says was marked by irregularities. The government did away with presidential term limits several years ago, part of a trend in Africa that has dismayed many. Biya will be inaugurated Tuesday, and many opposition supporters have said they will continue demonstrations until he leaves power.</s>YAOUNDE, Cameroon
• Armed separatists kidnapped at least 79 students and three staff members from a Presbyterian school in a troubled English-speaking region of Cameroon, the governor said Monday.

North West Region Gov. Deben Tchoffo said the students abducted Sunday night were ages 11-17, and they were taken from Nkwen, a village near the regional capital, Bamenda, along with school staff that included the principal.

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

A video purporting to show the kidnapped students was posted on social media from a group of men who call themselves “Amba boys,” a reference to the state of Ambazonia that armed separatists want to establish in Cameroon’s Anglophone North West and South West regions.

In the video, men who identified themselves as the kidnappers forced several boys to give their names and those of their parents. The boys also said they were taken by the armed men late Sunday and didn’t know where they were being held.

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

“We shall only release you after the struggle. You will be going to school now here,” the men said. The video could not be independently verified, but parents said on social media they recognized their children in the recording.

Fighting between the military and separatists increased after the government clamped down on peaceful demonstrations by English-speaking teachers and lawyers protesting what they said were their marginalization by Cameroon’s French-speaking majority.

The separatists have vowed to destabilize the regions as part of the strategy for creating a breakaway state. They have attacked civilians who do not support their cause, including teachers who were killed for disobeying orders to keep schools closed.

There have been kidnappings at other schools, but the group taken Sunday was the largest number abducted at one time in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions. The separatists also have set fire to at least 100 schools and driven out students and teachers from buildings taken over as training grounds.

“These appalling abductions show just how the general population is paying the highest price as violence escalates in the Anglophone region,” said Samira Daoud, Amnesty International deputy regional director for West and Central Africa. “The abduction of schoolchildren and teachers can never be justified.”</s>Armed men have kidnapped at least 78 students and their principal from a Presbyterian school in Nkwen village in Cameroon, a governor has said.

The kidnapping late Sunday took place near Bamenda, the capital of the troubled English-speaking region, according to Governor Deben Tchoffo.

A video purportedly of the kidnapped children has been release on social media via men who call themselves Amba boys, a reference to the state of Ambazonia that armed separatists are trying to establish in Cameroon’s northwest and southwest regions.

In the video, the kidnappers force about six of the children to give their names and the names of their parents.

The children say they were kidnapped late on Sunday, and they do not know where they are being held.

The men who identify themselves as the kidnappers say they will only release the children when they achieve what they want.

“We shall only release you after the struggle. You will be going to school now here,” say the men.

While the video could not be independently verified, parents have been reacting on social media saying they recognise their children in the video.

Hundreds have been killed in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions in the past year, where violence between armed separatists and the military have increased since a government crackdown against protesters in the northwest and southwest regions who claim that as the English-speaking minority they are marginalised by the French-speaking government.

Violent separatists took up arms to destabilise the Anglophone regions to win independence for the areas they want to declare a separate state, which they call Ambazonia.

Last week separatist militants attacked workers on a state-run rubber plantation in restive southwestern Cameroon, chopping off their fingers because the men had defied an order to stay away from the farms.

An American missionary also died in the northwest region around Bamenda after he was shot in the head amid fighting between armed separatists and soldiers in northwestern Cameroon.

The turmoil in Cameroon comes as President Paul Biya, who has led since 1982, easily won a seventh term last month in an election that the United States says was marked by irregularities.

The government did away with presidential term limits several years ago, part of a trend in Africa that has dismayed many.</s>Yaounde, Cameroon: Armed separatists kidnapped at least 79 students and three staff members from a Presbyterian school in a troubled English-speaking region of Cameroon, the governor said on Monday.

North West Region Governor Deben Tchoffo said the students abducted Sunday night were ages 11-17, and they were taken from Nkwen, a village near the regional capital, Bamenda, along with school staff that included the principal.

"It is rather unfortunate that this is happening, that 79 of our children and three of their staff can be picked up by terrorists," Tchoffo said. "We have asked our military to do everything and bring back the kids alive."

A video purporting to show the kidnapped students was posted on social media from a group of men who call themselves "Amba boys," a reference to the state of Ambazonia that armed separatists want to establish in Cameroon's Anglophone North West and South West regions.</s>Secessionists Blamed For Kidnapping Of Students In Cameroon

Tensions are rising between Cameroon's English-speaking regions and the dominant French-speaking government. In the latest developments, nearly 80 children were abducted from a school in Cameroon</s>YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AP) — Armed separatists kidnapped at least 79 students and three staff members from a Presbyterian school in a troubled English-speaking region of Cameroon, the governor said Monday. North West Region Gov. Deben…

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AP) — Armed separatists kidnapped at least 79 students and three staff members from a Presbyterian school in a troubled English-speaking region of Cameroon, the governor said Monday.

North West Region Gov. Deben Tchoffo said the students abducted Sunday night were ages 11-17, and they were taken from Nkwen, a village near the regional capital, Bamenda, along with school staff that included the principal.

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

A video purporting to show the kidnapped students was posted on social media from a group of men who call themselves “Amba boys,” a reference to the state of Ambazonia that armed separatists want to establish in Cameroon’s Anglophone North West and South West regions.

In the video, men who identified themselves as the kidnappers forced several boys to give their names and those of their parents. The boys also said they were taken by the armed men late Sunday and didn’t know where they were being held.

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

“We shall only release you after the struggle. You will be going to school now here,” the men said. The video could not be independently verified, but parents said on social media they recognized their children in the recording.

Fighting between the military and separatists increased after the government clamped down on peaceful demonstrations by English-speaking teachers and lawyers protesting what they said were their marginalization by Cameroon’s French-speaking majority.

Hundreds have been killed in the past year.

The separatists have vowed to destabilize the regions as part of the strategy for creating a breakaway state. They have attacked civilians who do not support their cause, including teachers who were killed for disobeying orders to keep schools closed.

There have been kidnappings at other schools, but the group taken Sunday was the largest number abducted at one time in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions. The separatists also have set fire to at least 100 schools and driven out students and teachers from buildings taken over as training grounds.

“These appalling abductions show just how the general population is paying the highest price as violence escalates in the Anglophone region,” said Samira Daoud, Amnesty International deputy regional director for West and Central Africa. “The abduction of schoolchildren and teachers can never be justified.”

Amnesty International expressed solidarity with the students’ families and demanded “that the Cameroon authorities do everything in their power to ensure all the pupils and school staff are freed unharmed.”

Last week, separatist militants attacked workers on a state-run rubber plantation in southwestern Cameroon, allegedly chopping off their fingers because the men defied an order to stay away from the farms.

An American missionary also died in the North West region near its capital, Bamenda, when he was shot in the head amid fighting between separatists and soldiers.

The turmoil in Cameroon comes after President Paul Biya won a seventh term last month in an election the U.S. said was marked by irregularities. Biya, who has been in office since 1982, is set to be inaugurated Tuesday.

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A kidnapping occurs at a school in Bamenda, the capital of the North-West region of Cameroon, with at least seventy-eight students and three staff taken, including the principal. The Anglophone Crisis is a conflict between separatists and the government of Cameroon.