New Video shows more Brutal Killings by Cameroonian Armed
Forces
10 August 2018: A horrifying video obtained by Amnesty
International shows Cameroonian security forces shooting at least a dozen
unarmed people during a military operation in the village of Achigaya in the
Far North region of the country, the organization said today.
Using advanced digital analysis
tools, Amnesty International experts were able to confirm that the video, shot
at an unknown date but prior to May 2016, corroborates previous accounts of
extrajudicial executions which the Cameroonian authorities have denied.
“This shocking video shows armed men
lining people up face down or sitting against a wall and shooting them with
automatic weapons. A second round of shooting ensures no survivors. Here is yet
more credible evidence to support the allegations that Cameroon’s armed forces
have committed grave crimes against civilians, and we are calling for an
immediate, thorough and impartial investigation. Those suspected to be
responsible for these abhorrent acts must be brought to justice,” said Ilaria
Allegrozzi, Amnesty International’s Lake Chad Researcher.
“Last month we analyzed footage from
another location which showed two women and two young children being killed by
soldiers who were clearly members of Cameroon’s armed forces. What further
evidence do they need before they act on these atrocities?”
Amnesty International has documented
multiple extrajudicial killings, as well as the widespread use of torture by
Cameroonian security forces who are fighting against the armed group Boko Haram
in the Far North region of the country.
Amnesty International researchers
analyzed the weapons, dialogue and uniforms visible in the latest video, as
well as testimony and satellite imagery, to conclude the approximate timing and
exact location of the executions, and determined the suspected perpetrators to
be members of the Cameroonian security forces.
The footage shows a group of soldiers
in their distinctive “lizard stripe” camouflage uniforms, patrolling the
village of Achigachiya. Some are armed with Zastava M21 rifles, and others are
mounted on a pick-up truck with a ZPU-2 anti-aircraft gun.
The video, apparently recorded by a
member of the security forces, shows soldiers burning structures which are
likely to be homes, and then focuses on a group of 12 people lined against a
wall, all sitting or lying down. At 01:40 minute into the video, numerous
soldiers using automatic weapons fire into the group for an extended period,
from several meters away. A soldier then walks forward and fires again at close
range at several persons in the group, presumably to ensure there are no
survivors.
Speaking in French, the soldiers
describe themselves as carrying out a “kamikaze” operation.
The footage supports evidence of
extrajudicial executions previously documented by Amnesty International in a
July 2016 report. The report documented the unlawful killings and extrajudicial
executions of over 30 people, including several elderly, in Achigachiya
following an operation by the security forces seeking to recover the bodies of
the soldiers killed by Boko Haram on 28 December 2014, which were abandoned in
front of the military base destroyed by the insurgents. This operation by the
army was also done as a collective punishment against the population perceived
as supporting Boko Haram.
The
Cameroonian government announced an investigation following the release of the
video in July, but their rapid dismissal of the video as “fake news” casts serious
doubt on whether this investigation would be genuinely impartial and effective.
“In
failing to hold suspected perpetrators to account for the horrific crimes
documented by Amnesty International and others, the Cameroonian authorities
have created a climate of impunity in which the armed forces have free reign to
kill and torture,” said Ilaria Allegrozzi.
“There must be accountability for
these brutal killings. In the face of reams of hard evidence, the blanket
denials of the Cameroonian authorities amount to complicity and the tacit
endorsement of these crimes.”
For more information or to request an interview with
spokespeople please contact: Amnesty International press office
press@amnesty.org or , in Dakar (West and Central Africa Office) + 221 77 658
62 27 sadibou.marong@amnesty.org ; TWITTER : @AmnestyWaro
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