YAOUNDE, June 4 (Xinhua) -- At least three civilians were killed and several others injured in violent clashes opposing armed separatists and a muslim community in Wum, a locality in Cameroon's restive English-speaking region of Northwest, the region's governor Adolphe Lele Lafrique said on Tuesday.

Following "an attack staged by secessionist activists" in Thursday that led to the killing of a local Hausa community leader, "a group of Hausa and Aku youths" carried out Monday "targeted acts of vandalism," killing two and injuring five, Lafrique said in a statement Tuesday.

The violence also caused "destruction of houses and property" of the both sides, he said, adding that prompt intervention of government forces on ground significantly contributed to check the situation from degenerating.

"Investigations are ongoing to identify and punish all those responsible for such unfortunate initiatives that undermine national unity, national cohesion and our territory integrity," Lafrique said.

The attack, pitting a civil community against armed separatists, was the first of its kind since November 2017 when separatists began clashing with government forces to demand the independence of the minority two Cameroon's Anglophone regions of Northwest and Southwest.

Separatist leaders have condemned "inter-tribal conflict" in the restive regions blaming the government for fueling the dispute in order to "weaken" support for the armed separatists from the locals.

At least 430,000 people have been displaced internally by the conflict, according to the United Nations. Enditem

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