The murder of some 20 civilians, including 13 children, on February 14 in English-speaking Cameroon in the grip of a bloody separatist conflict, was perpetrated by "government forces" and a Peul allied militia, accused Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday. ).
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And in the evening, the Constitutional Council canceled the legislative elections of February 9 in a part of the two regions populated by the Cameroonian English-speaking minority which had largely ignored the ballot, in support of the separatists or even out of fear of these armed groups which had prohibited them to vote.
"Government forces and members of the Fulani ethnic group have killed at least 21 civilians, including 13 children and a pregnant woman ... in horrible conditions," HRW wrote in a report. The army denied from the first days, asserting that it was the consequences of an "unfortunate accident" - the explosion of fuel containers following an exchange of fire between soldiers and separatist rebels - and n spoke of the deaths of only 5 civilians.
Majority of children killed
Happened on February 14 in the Ngarbuh district of the village of Ntumbo, in the North-West region, the tragedy claimed the lives, according to the UN, of 23 civilians, including 15 children - nine under 5 years old - and two pregnant women. "The horrific killings of civilians, including children, are heinous crimes which should be investigated effectively and independently and those responsible should be brought to justice," said HRW.
According to the NGO, which quotes testimony, the murders were committed by 10 to 15 "soldiers of the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR), an elite unit of the Cameroonian army, and at least 30 armed Fulani". “They burned five houses, looted many other possessions and beat the residents. The corpses of some of the victims were found charred in their homes, "said HRW in a report, also referring to satellite images.
The NGO claims that "self-defense militias" Fulani accused by the separatists of being "close to the government" have attacked in the recent past "communities where armed separatists are deemed to operate". "Armed separatists have targeted the Fulani to take over their cattle," said HRW.
Since 2017, fighting between soldiers and separatist armed groups, as well as the atrocities and crimes committed by the two camps, according to NGOs, has left more than 3,000 dead in three years and 700,000 displaced. It is precisely in these two regions that the Constitutional Council canceled Tuesday evening the legislative elections of February 9, in 10 constituencies of the North West and in one of the South West.
Low turnout
Armed separatists had called on Cameroonians not to vote on February 9 for the legislative and municipal elections, threatening those who would. Voting took place calmly across the country with the exception of one incident in the northwest. One of the two main opposition parties to Paul Biya had called for a boycott.
Participation was "low", however, across the country, according to the African Union, but especially in the English-speaking areas. Neither the official results nor the participation rate have been made public to date.
The date of the new ballot in the constituencies where the Constitutional Council canceled the vote was not made public, nor were the reasons for its decision.