Andrew Wasike
22 July 2019•Update: 22 July 2019
NAIROBI, Kenya
The Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday released a report accusing Cameroonian security forces of killing civilians and raping a woman.
The rights watchdog said that security forces have killed at least four civilians and raped a woman since mid-June 2019 during security operations in the North-West region.
"Those killed include an elderly man with a physical disability and a young man with a mental disability,” it said.
Lewis Mudge, the Central Africa director at HRW, said: "These latest crimes add to a long string of abuses by Cameroonian security forces. Instead of seeing that justice is done, Cameroon’s authorities deny that their forces are killing and raping people, so it is essential to remind them that the world is watching.”
Different areas in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions have been rocked by violence that has killed thousands and displaced more than half-a-million people.
A witness who spoke to HRW said: "The military were all over, searching homes and threatening people. I saw them entering Nche’s home, and then I heard a gunshot. When the soldiers left, I rushed there and found Nche on the ground, outside the house. He had been shot in the chest. We covered him with plantain leaves.”
A woman who was raped told HRW: "Five soldiers broke in, beat me, and brought me out in front of my neighbors’ house. He followed me with a gun. He said: ‘If you scream or say anything, I will kill you.’ He raped me and left. When I went back home, I found that all my money had been stolen."
"Both Cameroonian authorities and the separatists should stop abuses against civilians and strictly respect human rights law," HRW said.
The Ministry of Defense in Cameroon told Anadolu Agency on phone that it will issue a statement concerning the report when they see it.
Armed rebellion erupted in 2017 in the country's western regions after a government crackdown on peaceful protests by English speakers who have long complained of being treated like second-class citizens.
