Recent findings published by international human rights organisation has indicted soldiers for “deliberately” killing at least nine civilians including a woman and child, in Mautu village, near Muyuka in Fako Division, South West region on 10 January 2021.
Pics of some victims of Mautu killings
In the report published in Nairobi, Kenya by Ida Sawyer, Deputy Africa Director at Human Rights Watch, HRW, Thursday 4 February 2021 in which it claims to have interviewed by telephone, 17 witnesses, including five relatives of victims, the NGO equally arraigns soldiers for looting scores of homes, injuring and threatening other civilians.
“Human Rights Watch research indicates that government forces deliberately killed civilians in Mautu. Witnesses and residents said that soldiers entered the village on foot at around 2 p.m. on January 10, and then began shooting at people as they ran away in fear. The soldiers left the village at about 4:30 p.m. with at least four vehicles, which had arrived with additional soldiers after the attack began,” partly read the NGO report which also condemned the mode of operations of the soldiers and called for further impartial findings to punish perpetrators.
“Killing civilians and looting their homes in the name of security are serious human rights crimes that fuel the escalating cycles of violence and abuse in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions. Cameroonian authorities should rein in abusive units and, with the assistance of the African Union and United Nations, establish a credible, impartial inquiry into the Mautu killings and prosecute those responsible,” the report added.
“As Cameroon’s army tries to root out separatist fighters in the Anglophone regions, soldiers are instead targeting, abusing, and even killing civilians,” Sawyer said adding that “the authorities should send a strong message that such crimes will no longer be tolerated by investigating and prosecuting those most responsible for the Mautu massacre and by compensating victims and their families”.
Army spokesperson, Colonel Atonfack Guemo Cyrille Serge had in a release issued 11 January 2021 refuted all the claims, stating that “terrorist groups” attacked soldiers from the 21st BIM while they were carrying out “preventive raid” forcing the soldiers to respond, killing several “terrorists” and seizing their weapons.
“As a result of the skirmish, some terrorists were neutralised, others who were injured took to their heels, weapon and munitions were recovered,” partly read his release, adding that combing operations were still ongoing in the area to find any injured fugitives.
He added that “terrorist leaders” had fabricated “a jumble of gruesome images” in order to blame the Mautu killings on the army.
By Doh Bertrand Nua
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