May 10, 2025 – Wututu, Limbe, Fako State, Southern Ambazonia: Unlawful Arrests by Cameroon Occupation Forces
This morning, Cameroon Occupation Forces launched a sudden, aggressive raid in Wututu, Limbe, pulling young men from their homes without warning or justification. Doors were knocked on under false pretenses, only for residents to be immediately seized and taken away upon opening. No charges were issued, and no legal explanation was provided.
Detention Without Legal Rights or Medical Care
Those arrested are currently being held at the Gendarmerie near the Gardens area in Companee. They have been denied access to legal representation, communication with families, or even medical attention. Several detainees reportedly suffer from chronic health issues such as gastritis and hypertension, which require urgent and consistent care. Denying them this is a violation of International Laws regarding detainee rights and humane treatment.
Analysis of War Crimes and Violations of International Law
The actions carried out by the Cameroon Occupation Forces on May 10, 2025, in Wututu, Limbe, clearly constitute multiple violations of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law. The unlawful arrests, arbitrary detention, denial of medical care, and extortion of civilians are grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention (1949), particularly Articles 31, 32, and 33, which prohibit coercion, brutality, and collective punishment against civilians in occupied territories. Furthermore, the forced detentions without charge and denial of legal representation directly violate the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), specifically Articles 9 and 14, which protect the right to liberty, fair trial, and legal defense.
Additionally, the extortion of 15,000 FCFA for release without formal charges constitutes a clear violation of the prohibition against arbitrary detention under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT). It also amounts to war profiteering, a practice condemned under Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which criminalizes the unlawful exploitation and extortion of civilians during armed conflicts. The systemic nature of these acts—targeting young men, denying due process, and extorting civilians—suggests a deliberate strategy of state-sponsored terror and repression, potentially rising to the level of crimes against humanity under Article 7 of the Rome Statute if it can be proven to be widespread and systematic. Therefore, urgent international intervention is necessary to investigate, document, and hold accountable those responsible for these egregious violations of international law.