Separatist fighters in Cameroon have kidnapped hundreds of people since 2017, Human Rights Watch (HRW) says in a report.
Those abducted include students, clergy, political leaders and humanitarian workers, the US-based rights group says.
Very often the kidnappers ask for ransom payments before releasing the captives.
The HRW report cites the case of a medical doctor who was kidnapped on 27 February, but was later released after a ransom of $544 (£391) was paid.
But the separatists are also known to kidnap and kill those they suspect of co-operating with the Cameroonian military, HRW says.
It gave as an example the case of three chiefs from Essoh Attah village in the South-West region who were killed by separatist fighters on 13 February for allegedly refusing to hand over profits from their cocoa sales and for participating in regional elections in December.
The rights group said the Cameroon military was also guilty of abuses in its operations against the separatists.
Multiple attempts to get government reaction to the report have been futile.
The UN estimates that at least 3,500 people have been killed in the English-speaking regions of North-West and South-West Cameroon since the secessionist conflict began in late 2016.
Anglophone activists say the country’s French-speaking majority is marginalising the English-speaking minority.
