Buea: Deadly attack on police officers an “act that violates human life”: Bishop Bibi ⁰

The Catholic Bishop of Buea Diocese in Cameroon has “strongly” condemned the killing of police officers in the country’s Southwest region following an attack on their security post located in his Episcopal See.

In a statement shared with ACI Africa on Monday, August 26, Bishop Michael Miabesue Bibi weighs in on the August 24 attack that reportedly resulted in the death of three police officers and injury of others; he appeals for peace in the troubled regions of the Central African nation.

“On Saturday, August 24, 2024, three policemen were killed by unidentified gunmen at Bwitingi, a locality in Buea Subdivision, Fako Division of the Southwest Region of Cameroon, Diocese of Buea,” Bishop Bibi says.

He adds, “From my visit to the site of the incident, three police officers on duty were killed in an attack which occurred around 10:30 P.M. The makeshift police post where the attack happened was established as a measure to protect civilians in the context of the ongoing armed conflict in the North-West and South West regions of Cameroon.”

“I strongly condemn any act that violates human life and pray for the conversion of the perpetrators of violence in our midst and for a return to peace and stability,” the Cameroonian Catholic Bishop says.

He continues, “The Church remains close to the families, friends, and relatives of the deceased. We equally pray for the eternal repose of the souls of the victims of this attack.”

“Every time we hear of killings in the context of the ongoing crisis, we are reminded that if we do not abandon the path of violence and seek the path of peace, violence will definitely continue to inflict pain, hurt, and trauma on us all,” he said.

The Catholic Church leader, who has been at the helm of Buea Diocese since December 2019, first as Apostolic Administrator, and since February 2021, as the Local Ordinary adds, “As Christians and people of goodwill, we must always remember the commandment of God: Thou shall not kill.”

Cameroon’s English-speaking regions plunged into conflict in 2016 after a protest by lawyers and teachers turned violent.

An armed movement of separatists claiming independence for the so-called republic of Ambazonia emerged following the government’s crackdown on protesters.

School boycotts have become common in these areas, as have enforced moratoriums on public life, resulting in what is known as “ghost towns”.

In his August 25 statement, Bishop Bibi reflects on the ongoing crisis, emphasizing the value of giving peace a chance.

“The integral development of our country requires peace. This peace that we seek as Christians is true peace. Peace which is not limited to maintaining a balance of powers between adversaries,” he says.

The Catholic Church leader who started his Episcopal Ministry as Auxiliary Bishop of Cameroon’s Bamenda Archdiocese in March 2017 explains that “peace cannot be attained on earth without safeguarding the goods of persons, free communication among men, respect for the dignity of persons and peoples, and the assiduous practice of fraternity. Peace is the tranquillity of order. Peace is the work of justice and the effect of charity.”

He appeals to the people of God under his pastoral care “to pray for a speedy return to peace in the North West and South West Regions of Cameroon, the peaceful repose of the souls of the departed victims of Saturday’s incident, and for stakeholders of the crisis to seek peaceful means to sustainable peace.”

Source: aciafrica