Cameroon's government on Sunday blamed separatist fighters for the massacre of children in their classrooms in the English-speaking southwest of the country.

It said there were six victims of the attack, aged between nine and 12, while the United Nations had reported a death toll of eight.

The government said 13 children had also been wounded during the raid on the bilingual school in the town of Kumba -- seven of them seriously.

Communications Minister Rene Emmanuel Sadi described the attack as "a terrorist act of unbearable cruelty and barbarity".

The Cameroonian government said 13 children had also been wounded during a raid on a bilingual school in the town of Kumba -- seven of them seriously
The Cameroonian government said 13 children had also been wounded during a raid on a bilingual school in the town of Kumba -- seven of them seriously AFP / Vincent LEFAI

It was carried out by "groups of armed secessionist terrorists", he added.

Around 10 people on three motorbikes burst into the compound of the private Mother Francisca International Bilingual Academy, he said.

They "coldly opened fire on the pupils who were in the classrooms", he added.

A statement Saturday from the local UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the assailants had also used machetes.

A handout photo from MSF (Medecins Sans Frontieres / Doctors Without Borders) on October 25, 2020 shows a medic treating one of the victims of a school shooting in Kumba, southwestern Cameroon
A handout photo from MSF (Medecins Sans Frontieres / Doctors Without Borders) on October 25, 2020 shows a medic treating one of the victims of a school shooting in Kumba, southwestern Cameroon Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) / Antoinette BUINDA

African Union Commission chief Moussa Faki Mahamat condemned the "brutal attack" in a statement on Twitter.

Sadi said the aim of the attackers had been to stop the return to schools that had been taking place in the Northwest and Southwest provinces, where English-speaking separatists are fighting for independence.

The two English-speaking regions in this mainly francophone country have become the centre of the conflict, with separatists targeting the army and demanding local government offices and schools close.

Rights groups have accused both the separatists and government troops of having killed civilians during the conflict since 2017.

The fighting has claimed the lives of more than 3,000 people and forced over 700,000 people to flee their homes.

Last year, two students were killed by separatists in Buea, the capital of Southwest region in what an official described as "reprisal" for opposing the forced school closures.

In 2018, insurgents killed a principal, mutilated a teacher and attacked several high schools.

Separatists have also increasingly resorted to kidnappings and extortion, along with attacks on troops and police, and arson assaults on public buildings and schools.

The government has responded with a crackdown, deploying thousands of soldiers.

Cameroon Twitter