Counter accusations from government and separatists on the Ngahbuh Massacre.
At least 35 civilians have reportedly been killed and 40 homes torched in less than a week in Cameroon’s English-speaking Northwest region, following bloody clashes between government troops and separatists
fighting for the creation of an independent English-speaking state called Ambazonia.
Both the rebels and the government blame each other for the gruesome murder of civilians, including children trapped in their
burning homes. Affected relatives and communities that have escaped to the French-speaking capital, Yaounde, are trying to deal with the situation.
James Nunan, an official from the UN’s humanitarian coordination agency OCHA, told the BBC that a pregnant woman was among those killed.
Fourteen children, including nine under the age of five, were also among the dead, he said.
Mr Nunan said the incident has “terrified” the local population.
“Whichever group has done this has threatened that there will be more violence ahead,” he said. “The people we’ve spoken with are extremely traumatised and didn’t expect this.”
In a statement, one of the country’s main opposition parties – The Movement for the Rebirth of Cameroon – blamed “the dictatorial regime” and the head of Cameroon’s security forces for the attack.
Agbor Mballa, a leading human right advocate , also suggested “state defense forces were responsible”.
‘Military responsible for the killings’
Like Ngeh, they all said it was the military that was responsible for the killings.
The military said many people were killed in raids but gave no further details. Local media reported that at least 35 civilians were killed in the crossfire between separatist fighters and the military or burned when their
houses were torched.
Most of the killings have been orchestrated with the approval of the governor, Adolphe Lele L’Afrique and the army commanders in charge of military operations in the North West region.
It is still a doubt to many why the military will randomly kill children and pregnant women.
The government has been calling on all those in the bushes to return to their homes. But each time they attempt to do so, the soldiers will attack, kill them and burn their houses.
At the same time, the UN coordinator call on the attention of armed separatists not to attack humanitarians bring help to victims.
The Yaounde government has been using disproportionate force in the two English-speaking regions of the country in order to put an end to an insurgency that began since 2016.
The president of the Republic had promised to crush separatist fighters as a way of ending the crisis.
Despite calls from the international communities, the government of Biya believes that only military violence is the only way to solve the crisis.
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