In Cameroon the attack on the mayor’s convoy happened as he was travelling from Mamfe to the nearby village of Eshobi, state broadcaster CRTV said.

Ashu Priestley Ojong, mayor of Mamfe, approximately 500km (300 miles) from the capital Yaounde, was killed by the “terrorist secessionists” on May 10 in the morning, Bernard Okalia Bilai said in a statement on May 11.

The convoy travelled there after receiving a tip-off that some rebels would be laying down their arms, the report said.

Ojong is among a few senior elected officials killed in the conflict between Cameroon’s army and the English-speaking militias. He was elected in February in legislative and municipal polls the separatist rebels insisted to be boycotted.

English speakers are the liguistic minority, and represent one-fifth of the 24 million Cameroonians, who are mainly French-speaking.

The conflict began after the government cracked down violently on Enlgish-speakers peaceful protests by lawyers and teachers in 2016 who complained of marginalisation by the French-speaking majority.

Years of neglected grievances produced a declaration of independence in the Anglophone regions in October 2017, which was followed by a government crackdown.

The declaration has not been recognised internationally and President Paul Biya (87),in power for almost four decades, has definitely refused demands to return to a federal system.

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However, the government has lately decentralised some of its powers after a “national dialogue” on the anglophone crisis which was nevertheless boycotted by the separatists.

Human Rights groups have accused both sides of atrocities in the conflict, which has left more than 3,000 dead, 700,000 displaced, and severe disruption in health and education systems.