August 15, 2020, Likoko, Fako State, Southern Ambazonia: became the scene of a horrifying assault by the Cameroon Occupation Forces. What began as an ordinary day for the residents quickly spiraled into chaos as armed forces descended upon the community, leaving behind a trail of bloodshed, destruction, and despair. The soldiers, acting with impunity, abducted, tortured, and executed innocent and unarmed civilians in a deliberate act of terror.

Eyewitness accounts paint a grim picture of fear and devastation as families were forcefully separated from their loved ones. The victims, helpless and defenseless, were subjected to gruesome acts of torture, enduring beatings, humiliation, and psychological torment before their lives were brutally cut short. The merciless executions were carried out without any legal process or justification, demonstrating the occupation forces’ complete disregard for Human Rights and International Law.

In addition to the unlawful killings, the soldiers turned their fury toward the villagers’ properties, setting homes, farms, and businesses ablaze. The flames devoured everything in their path, reducing livelihoods, belongings, and years of hard work to ashes. The destruction was not accidental; rather, it was a calculated move to cripple the economic survival of the community and force its residents into submission. The burning of homes, food supplies, and essential goods meant that even those who survived the killings were left to face starvation, homelessness, and unimaginable hardship.

This ruthless act of terror has left the people of Likoko in unbearable grief and fear. Families mourn their lost loved ones, while those who survived are now displaced and struggling to rebuild their lives from nothing. A once-thriving village has been reduced to ruins, its people living in constant fear of further attacks.

The abduction, torture, extrajudicial execution of civilians, and deliberate destruction of civilian property are clear War Crimes under International Humanitarian Law (IHL). Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions prohibits murder, cruel treatment, and torture of civilians in conflict zones.

Article 8(2)(c)(i) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) explicitly criminalizes the intentional targeting of civilians, acts of torture, and executions without trial. Furthermore, Article 8(2)(b)(ii) of the Rome Statute forbids the extensive destruction of civilian property unless absolutely justified by military necessity. These heinous violations demand urgent international intervention to ensure justice and accountability for the victims of this atrocity.

GENOCIDE IN AMBAZONIA