February 23, 2020, Bamenda, Mezam State, Northern Ambazonia, the Cameroon Occupation Forces carried out another horrific attack against innocent civilians. Eyewitnesses recounted the harrowing events in which more than five unarmed individuals were abducted, subjected to brutal torture, and ultimately executed in cold blood.
The sheer brutality of the killings and the merciless nature of the execution reflect the systematic and widespread violence perpetrated against civilians in Ambazonia. Reports from the local community paint a distressing picture of an ongoing genocide, as the Cameroon Occupation Forces continue their ruthless campaign of terror, targeting unarmed men, women, and children.
The victims were taken from their homes, detained under unknown conditions, tortured, and then executed without due process, leaving families and the entire community in a state of mourning and despair. The increasing scale of these war crimes has sparked fear, outrage, and urgent calls for international intervention.
The abduction, torture, and extrajudicial execution of innocent civilians by the Cameroon Occupation Forces constitutes war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide under various international legal frameworks. These atrocities violate several provisions of international humanitarian law, including:
Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions (1949): The execution of unarmed civilians violates the fundamental rules of war, which prohibit murder, mutilation, cruel treatment, and torture of persons taking no active part in hostilities United Nations Convention Against Torture (1984): The systematic use of torture, inhumane, and degrading treatment violates Article 1 of the Convention Against Torture (CAT), making it an international crime Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) – Article 7 & 8: The deliberate targeting, torture, and execution of civilians constitute crimes against humanity and war crimes, as they are committed as part of a broader attack against a civilian population International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) – Article 6 & 7: The arbitrary deprivation of life and use of torture are clear violations of International Human Rights Law (IHL), which guarantees the right to life and protection from cruel treatment Genocide Convention (1948): The eyewitness accounts describing the mass killings as “too much genocide” raise concerns that these repeated massacres may amount to genocide, which is the intentional destruction of a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.
This massacre in Bamenda is yet another clear example of War Crimes and crimes against humanity, demonstrating a pattern of systematic killings aimed at terrorizing and suppressing the Ambazonian people. The international community must take decisive action to hold the perpetrators accountable and put an end to these heinous atrocities.
GENOCIDE IN AMBAZONIA