After 45 days in captivity, gunmen have freed worshipers and priests who were kidnapped from a Catholic church in South-West Cameroon.
On Sunday, the nine kidnapped people were freed, according to a representative for the Cameroonian Episcopal Conference.
Last month, gunmen broke into St. Mary Catholic Church in the Nchang parish and took the victims away. The church was later burned by the assailants.
Bishop Aloysius Fondong expressed his gratitude to everyone who participated in securing the abductees’ release and safety in a statement.
One of the priests who had been kidnapped was captured on camera expressing gratitude to the “freedom fighters of Ambazonia,” an armed separatist organization operating in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions.
He continued by saying that no ransom was paid to release them.
Since the details of their release have not been made public, the BBC has been unable to independently confirm the claim.
A video of the prisoners begging with the Catholic Church to save them surfaced two days prior to their release.
