YAOUNDE, Cameroon — The 79 school children kidnapped by unidentified gunmen from a school in Cameroon have been released, but two of the three staff members abducted are still being held, said a church official.
“They were brought last night to one of our churches … near Bamenda (the regional capital). They look tired and psychologically tortured,” said the moderator of the country’s Presbyterian Church, Fonki Samuel Forba. The students are between 11 and 17 years old.
He pleaded with the kidnappers to “free the staff still in their keeping.”
The church leader said he had asked parents and guardians to take home all their children.
“It is unfortunate we have to close the school and send home 700 children,” he said. “Their security is not assured by the state and armed groups constantly attack and kidnap them.”
