Yonde: A video of a group including priests who were abducted last month from the Diocese of Mamfe in Cameroon has been released with a request to intervene to free them. Five priests, one nun and three laymen have been abducted.

In the video, Aloysius Fondong Abangalo , Bishop of Mamfe Diocese, pleads for the release. On September 16, unknown gunmen attacked St. Mary's Catholic Parish in Nchang. 9 people were abducted after the temple and its premises were set on fire.

A priest named Fr. Cornelius Jing makes the appeal via video message. All the captives look very weak. The video, in which Father Jing describes the conditions of the prisoners, is 45 seconds long. The video started circulating on social media yesterday.

After being imprisoned, he lived in very difficult conditions for so many days. Father Jing revealed that it is very difficult to continue like this. We beg you to do everything possible to free us from here.

Detainees die if release is delayed. I'm sick. The priest has revealed in the video message that those who are with me are also not feeling well.

Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya of Cameroon’s Bamenda Archdiocese had said that the kidnappers were only asking for money. At first they asked for 100,000 dollars, but the ransom was reduced to 50,000 dollars.

But the archbishop said the church did not have the money to pay the ransom. The kidnappers, who claim to be separatist fighters, see such attacks as a way to make money, he added.

The gunmen abducted them after setting fire to St. Mary's Catholic Church in Nchang, Mamfe village in the Anglophone region. The relic was found undamaged in the tabernacle of St. Mary's Catholic Church after the fire.

Two Nigerian Priests, Three Cameroonian Priests, One Cook, a Nun, a Littel girl, and Assistant Catechist were kidnapped from the Saint Mary Catholic Church in Nchang, Mamfe on September 16, 2022

The Catholic bishops of Cameroon have already demanded the immediate release of the abducted Christians through a statement. The assailants have demanded a ransom for their release, but the church leadership has completely rejected it. The decision to pay the ransom was abandoned in view of the possibility that kidnapping would become a regular occurrence.

Pope Francis has also come forward to request the release of the Catholic faithful, including the abducted priests. The Pope said he joins the appeal of the bishops of Cameroon for the release of the abductees in the Diocese of Mamfe, including a priest and a Catholic nun.

Speaking at the end of a Mass in the southern Italian city of Matera, the Pope said he prayed for peace in Cameroon, which continues its civil war.