HRW accuses the Cameroonian military of executing a dozen people during its operations in the northwest of the country

Aug. 14 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW), specialized in monitoring the humanitarian situation, has accused the Cameroonian military of the summary execution of a dozen people during their operations against the insurgency in the Northwest region between April 24 and June 12.

The organization’s report, published this week, also accuses the military of a whole spectrum of abuses: it holds them responsible for burning a dozen houses, looting medical centers, arbitrarily detaining at least 26 people and participating in the forced disappearance of up to 17 others.

All this during the military operations against the independence groups of the two English-speaking regions of Cameroon, Northwest and Southwest, which in turn have also been accused by the organization of serious abuses committed during the same period, including murders and kidnappings of civilians. and attacks on students, teachers, and schools.

HRW highlights incidents such as the one that occurred on June 1 in the Missong community where, according to witnesses consulted by the NGO, soldiers from the 53rd Motorized Infantry Battalion (Bataillon d’infanterie motorisée, BIM) killed nine people, including four women and one 18-month-old girl during a reprisal operation against the inhabitants of the town, accused by the Army of harboring separatist combatants.

Human Rights Watch has tried to get a response from Cameroon Army spokesman Colonel Cyrille Serge Atonfack Guemo, but has so far received no reply.

Lastly, the NGO recalls the serious political and security crisis that has been going on since 2016 due to the conflict between the Army and the armed separatist groups seeking the independence of their self-proclaimed state of Ambazonia.

The violence has caused some 6,000 deaths, almost 600,000 people internally displaced within and neighboring Anglophone regions, and more than 77,000 people have been forced to become refugees in Nigeria. It is, according to the United Nations, one of the most forgotten crises in the world.