A priest in Cameroon has been shot dead, allegedly by government soldiers

Father Cosmas Omboto Ondari, 33, a Kenyan missionary with the Mill Hill religious order, died when men in combat fatigues opened fire on his church at Kembong, around 20 kilometres from Mamfe, last Wednesday.

Cameroon is in the grip of a crisis driven by tensions between its French-speaking majority and English-speaking minority, some of whom want their own independent state. A government release blamed forces loyal to separatist Eric Tataw, saying: 'First indications demonstrate clearly that the perpetrators of this crime have used treachery in order to put the responsibility for their crime on the Defense and Security Forces.'

The Kenyan ministry of foreign affairs said Fr Ondari's killing was 'allegedly by Cameroon Government soldiers' and that it had 'urgently and formally inquired from the Government of the Republic of Cameroon about the circumstance leading to Father Ondari's death'.

According to The East African, the Bishop of Mamfe, Andrew Nkea, said in a statement: 'He was killed by government soldiers, who were shooting at random from their passing vehicle.'

He added: 'I visited Kembong Parish on Thursday, November 22 and personally counted 21 bullet holes on the church building... the blood of the murdered priest was still clearly seen on the cemented entrance, just at the door.' He called for the killers to be brought to justice.

Ondari had been a priest for only a year when he was killed. Recommending his candidacy, his rector said: 'He is a man of peace and will seek ways of keeping people together and resolving issues in an amicable way.' He was described by those who knew him as a 'calm, soft-spoken and confident person'.

He is the third foreign missionary to be killed in Cameroon in recent months. In October US Baptist missionary Charles Wesco was shot near the the northwestern town of Bamenda, while in July a Roman Catholic priest, Fr Alexander Nougi Sob, was killed in the southwestern town of Muyuka.