By Boris Esono Nwenfor
BUEA, Cameroon – A recent report by Un Monde Avenir, co-sponsored by the Canadian High Commission in Cameroon, has unveiled the dire death toll and escalating violence in the North West, South West facing separatist violence and Far North region facing the Boko Haram insurgency.
According to the report, the North West and South West regions bore the brunt of the violence, with 403 fatalities recorded. In the Far North region, 169 people lost their lives, while 26 deaths were reported in other parts of the country.
This is a significant increase in human rights violations, compared to 2022, with murders being the most common form of abuse. Un Monde Avenir revealed that among those killed were at least 335 civilians, 134 members of the defence and security forces, and 130 members of non-state armed groups.
The report highlighted several egregious incidents, including the killings of journalists, Martinez Zogo and JeanJacques Ola Bébé. The report also documented 209 cases of kidnapping, with 161 occurring in the North West and South West regions, 25 in the Far North Region, and 48 in other regions. Arbitrary arrests were also prevalent, with 911 cases reported; of which 869 were in the North West and South West.
The non-governmental organization called on the Cameroonian government to take immediate action to address the abuses. It urged the government to establish mechanisms to denounce abuses by prison staff and the extortion of prisoners. It also called for transparency in the investigations launched against state agents suspected of killing civilians, with a demand to make the results public
English-speaking separatists have been fighting government forces for the past years to carve out an independent state called Ambazonia. The clashes for the past seven years have killed tens of thousands and displaced hundreds more. Some figures put those killed at more than 6,000.
Government forces have been criticized by Human Rights Watch for responding to separatist attacks with a heavy hand, often targeting civilians across the North West and South West Regions. Separatist fights have also been condemned for killing, torture, assault, and kidnappings of civilians – the very people they seek to liberate.
