Children killed in attack on Cameroon school

At least eight children were killed and a dozen wounded after attackers stormed a school in southwestern Cameroon with guns and machetes, the United Nations says.

The men arrived on motorbikes dressed in civilian clothes and attacked the private Mother Francisca International Bilingual Academy in the city of Kumba on Saturday.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

It was described by the UN as “the worst atrocity” since the school year started earlier this month.

It was not clear if the attack was linked to a struggle between government forces and armed groups in the English-speaking west seeking to form a breakaway state.

The region has seen unrest between Anglophone groups and government security forces in two western districts.

The conflict has cost more than 3,000 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands.

A local education official said the victims were aged between 12 and 14.

Some students were injured when they jumped from the second floor to escape the attack.