Opinion holders in and out of Cameroon are struggling to the rationale and trends of events that has led to the most recent atrocious televised act of the Ambazonia fighters in Anglophone Cameroon, after a video footage of 2.17sec emerged online.
The video opens at a grave side, estimated at 1×2m (1metre in height and 2m in length) with unidentified faces typical of Ambazonia fighters, requesting their female victim in the grave to repeat after them that, No Blackleg will get into Guzang and go scot-free. Unfortunately, the victim, a grown-up female from her grave seemingly tortured, could not offer a word.
The scene appears to have about 3 males speaking in pidgin and Moghamo dialect. One guy is heard asking that the victim should be buried alive while others dispute to say, she might later on escape.
The commander then asked that to be on the safe side, she must be shot at with face down in the grave before burial.
After throwing soil on her in a typical burial style of the Grassfield people of Cameroon, she is declared to Rest in Peace. She is told by the commanding voice that, they are sending her to continue in heaven while he commands his accomplice, probably not a good gun shooter, to fire the shot.
At 1:14sec, a short gun is displayed firing a faced-down female in her grave. The commander commences in Moghamo dialect “It has gone through” validating that the shooter has hit the right spot.
Another young man is also heard requesting to cover the body with soil, even if she isn’t detected dead yet. The video ends with laughter from the boys who sound accomplished.
Many who mounted courage to watch the hard scene video have taken to different online platforms to completely condemn what they say is the most barbaric and shocking video of late.
Though the time when it was recorded is not known yet by just watching, it is clear that it was done in Guzang Village, Batibo Subdivision, Momo Division, Northwest Region of Cameroon. This village is considered one of the boiling spots that harbors the Amba fighters since the crisis in the region morphed to an armed conflict late 2017.
Few weeks ago, another village that serves as Neighbour to Batibo, Bali Nyonga, had seem a similar scene with 3 female and their babies victims termed blacklegs, severely tortured with machetes and threatened with guns. All these add to many other acts like chopping of victim’s fingers, heads, legs and mutilation of other body parts by these fighters.
Experts have been unanimous that, these acts are war Crimes and Crimes against humanity, indicating that perpetuators will pay for them any time soon.
While the fighters have been on ground to act, well known Diaspora activists like Eric Tataw, Tapang Ivo and Chris Anu based in the USA have been on a persistent call for more killings on people they consider going against their rules like Ghost Towns and Lockdowns in the cities across Anglophone Cameroon. They use social media platforms to communicate these dreaded messages. The separatists too never accept responsibility for crimes committed by their forces, but rather accuse Cameroon Military of the misdeed of these fighters.
The recent video has brought to mind a similar ugly scene that happened in the Far North Region of Cameroon early 2019, where some women with babies on their backs were guided to a quiet place and all fired in their skulls by Cameroon military men.
President Paul Biya, 86, has on Tuesday September 10th, 2019, called for an Inclusive Major National Dialogue with all strata of the Cameroonian society including separatist fighters of the Ambazonian state. The separatists have refused what some nationals term “an olive branch” from Biya. However, analysts say a ceasefire would have been proper to end hostilities while the September month end dialogue is awaited.
The trapped population of the Anglophone Regions in Cameroon haven been in what some diplomats term as the most barbaric war zone in recent times, are wondering if the same Amba fighters as they are called, are actually for the protection of their populations as they claimed before picking arms. They say the fighters are still involved in punishing their own people more than their supposed enemy through kidnaps, rapes, looting, target killings etc.
So far, more than 2000 persons have died because of the 3 years’ war, 50,000 more as refugees in neighboring countries and more than 250,000 as internally displaced people within the nation of Cameroon.
Prime Minister, Joseph Dion Ngute, Head of the Declared National Dialogue Commission is currently receiving proposals, suggestions and opinions from every group of persons who wish to add a voice for normalcy to return to the turbulent regions and the country as a whole. The U.N and other international stakeholders have indicated their interest to mediate in the peace process.
