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Separatists denounce attack
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said eight children died, some with machetes, and 12 were injured.
Videos circulating on social media filmed by local journalists showed adults running out of school with children in their arms, surrounded by crying spectators.
A photo verified by Reuters showed the interior of a classroom, where dried blood had collected on the floor near scattered sandals.
Local education official Ahhim Abanaw Obase confirmed six deaths of children between the ages of 12 and 14, adding that another eight had been taken to hospital.
Anougou and another official blamed the attack on the secessionists, but offered no evidence.
Prominent separatist leader Ayuk Tabe described the attack as “inhumane” in a Twitter post, saying that “anyone responsible for these atrocities should be held accountable.”
Still, many splinter armed groups have emerged within the separatist movement since 2017, and one voice rarely speaks for all.
Anglophone secessionists have imposed curfews and closed schools as part of their protest against the French-speaking government of President Paul Biya and its alleged marginalization of the English-speaking minority. Human rights groups have documented abuses against civilians on both sides.
Last year, officials blamed separatists for kidnapping dozens of school children, which the separatist leaders denied.
