About 12 people, including 10 passengers on a bus, were kidnapped early Tuesday by suspected Atanga Nji Boys in the Northwest Region, where an armed separatist conflict is ongoing, according to locals and security sources.

The bus left the locality of Ndop and was heading to Bamenda, the chief city in the North West when it was intercepted by gunmen who were reportedly armed and equipped by the current Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji.

“The Atanga Nji Boys stopped the bus in the Sabga locality and took 10 passengers, including the driver. Two individuals who witnessed the incident were also carried away. They took them into the bush,” a security source in the region said.

Movement along the highway has been halted, and a search operation for the hostages has been launched, according to local authorities.

Kidnappings for ransom are common in the Northwest and Southwest regions, where Ambazonia Restoration Forces have been clashing with government soldiers since 2017, seeking to establish a new nation.

By Fon Lawrence with files from Xinhuanet