YAOUNDE, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Cameroon's army said on Tuesday that a "famous" separatist commander popularly known as Colonel Virus, and one other armed separatist were killed Tuesday afternoon in a clash in Makanga, a remote locality in Southwest, one of the two English-speaking regions of the country.
"The famous colonel virus of Makanga was neutralized today 05 Feb. 2019." the army said in a statement.
"He is the author of several abuses in Muyuka including, burning cars, kidnappings, etc.," the statement added. Muyuka is a locality in the Southwest where clashes between government forces and the separatists have become intense recently.
Earlier Tuesday, local authorities said at least four civilians were shot dead in the two war-torn Anglophone regions of Northwest and Southwest as armed separatists began what they called a "10-day lockdown."
Separatists have banned all sorts of activities in the regions from Tuesday to Feb. 14 as a move to disrupt National Youth Day activities expected to be celebrated on Feb. 11.
Since November 2017, government forces have been clashing with armed separatist forces who want the two regions to secede from the largely French-speaking nation and form a new country called "Ambazonia."
