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Cameroon army said Friday its troops have killed at least three armed separatists who launched coordinated attacks on a military patrol team in the country’s restive Anglophone region of Northwest.

Weapons used by the separatists were also seized during the attacks that took place early Friday in Santa, a locality in the region.

“The terrorists (armed separatists) who were well-armed ambushed and attacked the team that was securing the area. Our soldiers were so brave and professional and succeeded in killing three of them in a gun battle that followed. The rest escaped with bullet wounds,” a senior military officer who asked not to be named told Xinhua.

There have been no reports on casualties on the side of government forces.

Clashes between government forces and armed separatists have recently intensified in the region, despite repeated calls for a ceasefire amid COVID-19 by the United Nations.

On Thursday, three civilians were killed in the region’s chief town of Bamenda during a “fierce” battle, according to security reports.

Since 2017, government forces have been clashing with separatists who want to secede from largely French-speaking Cameroon and create an independent nation in the two English-speaking regions of Northwest and Southwest.