Bus attack kills one, wounds several in anglophone Cameroon

A coach driver was killed and several other people were injured in an attack on a passenger bus convoy in strife-torn northwestern Cameroon, a public broadcaster said late Sunday.

The attack launched by armed men on Saturday night is the latest violence in the restive region, where English-speaking separatists have declared an independent state.

Images shared on social media of the incident appeared to show five coaches with their front windows and roofs smashed in by construction equipment.

Witnesses told local media that the attackers had also used heavy machinery to dig a large trench in the middle of the road, which was undergoing repairs in the village of Akum near the city of Bamenda.

The assailants "forced their way on to the construction site and seized an excavator which they used to dig a hole through the road", said an employee of the roadworks company managing the project.

Separatist unrest in Cameroon's two minority English-speaking regions -- North-West and South-West -- has left scores dead and displaced about 200,000 people since late 2016.

Years of resentment at perceived discrimination at the hands of Cameroon's majority French speakers have led to almost daily acts of violence and retribution, triggering an army crackdown.

A total of 109 members of the police and security forces have been killed, according to government figures.