September 22, 2021, Bafia Village, Fako State, Southern Ambazonia, Cameroon Occupation Forces carried out a brutal assault on innocent and unarmed civilians. Eyewitnesses reported that over nine civilians were abducted, tortured, and ultimately killed by these forces.

The victims, all non-combatants, were subjected to inhumane treatment, and their lives were brutally cut short. The violent actions, conducted in cold blood, left the community in shock and grief, as families lost loved ones to senseless violence.

These killings, committed in the midst of an ongoing conflict, are part of a disturbing pattern of deliberate targeting of civilians and non-combatants by the Cameroon forces in their occupation of Ambazonia.

This event constitutes a War Crime under international law. The Geneva Conventions of 1949, specifically Article 3, prohibit any violence against persons who are not participating in hostilities, including murder, torture, and cruel treatment. These conventions explicitly protect civilians from the brutalities of war, ensuring that they are treated humanely and with dignity.

The actions of the Cameroon Occupation Forces violate this fundamental principle, as they deliberately targeted and killed civilians who were not engaged in any form of combat. Additionally, Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) criminalizes the intentional killing of civilians during an armed conflict, making such actions a grave violation of international law.

The use of torture, as described by witnesses, further compounds the severity of the crime, falling under the scope of war crimes related to inhumane treatment and the infliction of unnecessary suffering. The systematic and repeated nature of such offenses calls for immediate accountability, as these actions are part of a broader strategy of suppression and intimidation by the occupying forces.

These violations not only breach international humanitarian law but also constitute crimes against humanity, as defined under Article 7 of the Rome Statute, due to the widespread and systematic nature of the attacks on civilian populations. This pattern of violence, if left unaddressed, will only perpetuate further suffering for the people of Ambazonia and demand urgent intervention from the international community to ensure justice and the protection of civilians.

GENOCIDE IN AMBAZONIA