The violent conflict launched by separatists in Cameroon, which has caused at least 4,000 deaths in the past several years, has now become a question of money, according to Father Humphrey Tatah Mbuy, a spokesman for the country’s episcopal conference.

He explained that guerrilla now frequently seize hostages and demand ransom, and “it is very difficult to separate a person from his source of income, even if that source is human blood.” The separatists are not alone in kidnapping for profit, he said; government troops have been guilty of the same practice.