AFRICA/CAMEROON - Catholic priest arrested in the south-east of the Country

Yaoundé (Agenzia Fides) - Catholic priest Fr. Bekong Tobias, was arrested last January 2 near the parish of Saint Charles Lwanga at Checkpoint-Molyko, Buea, in the Anglophone region of south-east Cameroon by gunmen believed to be from the security forces. For years there has been a conflict in the region between the state army and the independence movements based there.
According to a witness, the priest, who is also the rector of Saint Paul's College Bojongo, was brutally pushed into a military truck by gunmen. The soldiers are said to have searched the priest's car in this context, but found nothing suspicious.
A few hours later, army officers arrived at the scene of the arrests and attempted to establish the identity of the gunmen, claiming that it was not known to which unit or organization they belonged. However, according to witnesses, the arrest was carried out by soldiers from the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR), an elite unit of the Cameroonian army. A video of the arrest of Fr. Tobias was published on social media. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 14/1/2022)

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