SECURITY forces escorted hundreds of people demonstrating against violence on Sunday after at least seven children were shot dead in the English-speaking part of Cameroon.

“We have to make it stop, [children] are our future, we need our education, they are our future leaders, violence must stop,” said one of the protesters.

The children, aged between 12 and 14, were killed when gunmen burst into the Mother Francisca School in the town of Kumba, in south-west Cameroon, on Saturday afternoon.

No group has claimed responsibility for the killings, but the government has blamed anglophone separatist militia.

The United Nations described the attack as “the worst atrocity” in the region, taking place just weeks after schools reopened.

It is the latest act of violence as fighting between government forces and secessionists continues to escalate. Unrest has plagued the English-speaking north-west and south-west regions since separatists demanded independence in 2016.