A police commissioner was killed and six teachers were abducted Tuesday in an ambush in Cameroon’s conflict-hit Anglophone Northwest region, security sources and local residents said.

The victim was identified as Police Commissioner Mbah Tobie Damase. He was traveling in a convoy in Wum, the chief town of Menchum division, when suspected separatist fighters ambushed the team, a security official in the region said.

The official, who requested anonymity, said the convoy comprised administrative officials and security forces who were touring schools to monitor the effective resumption of classes for the new academic year.

“They abducted six teachers from the Government Technical Teachers’ Training College in Wum. Our forces are pursuing the attackers,” the official said.

The incident comes amid renewed clashes in Cameroon’s two English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions. Since Monday, separatist fighters have attempted to enforce a weeklong lockdown to disrupt the start of the school year.

Armed conflict has persisted in both regions since 2017, when separatists began fighting to create an independent state they call Ambazonia.