A soldier was killed on Wednesday in a rebel attack on Cameroon’s western city of Buea, where Afcon 2021 Group F teams are camped.

The separatist group is seeking to establish a breakaway state called Ambazonia and has carried out deadly attacks on civilians and the army since 2017.

According to Reuters, the rebels exchanged gunfire with the army inside the city just hours before the match between Mali vs Tunisia in Limbe, 30km outside. The soldier was killed by an improvised explosive device (IED) during the attack.

The news agency also clamed that separatist group wanted to disrupt preparations for the two Group F games that were played on Wednesday in Limbe.

Both matches, however, went ahead with with heavy police presence around the stadium. Mali beat Tunisia 1-0 in an early kick off while Gambia also registered a victory over Mauritania the second match of the double header in Limbe.