Cameroon: Armed forces kill 6 civilians and arrest 7 health workers, says HRW


Devdiscourse News Desk | Yaounde | Updated: 28-07-2020 08:47 IST | Created: 28-07-2020 08:47 IST
Cameroon: Armed forces kill 6 civilians and arrest 7 health workers, says HRW
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  • Cameroon

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said on July 27 that Cameroonian armed forces have attacked a health facility in the North-West region and arbitrarily arrested seven health workers in the South-West, while armed separatists have killed at least six civilians, including a humanitarian worker and a teacher, since May 2020, according to a news report by Cameroon Online.

The violence took place despite peace talks between the government and jailed leaders of the Ambazonia Interim Government (IG), a separatist group, on June 16. Other separatist groups, such as the ‘Ambazonia Governing Council’ and a splinter faction of the IG did not participate.

Central Africa director at Human Rights Watch, Lewis Mudge said, "the talks between the government and separatist leaders should include ensuring respect for human rights and accountability for abuses."

"All parties to the talks should publicly commit to immediately end abuses against civilians and ensure that victims of abuses have access to effective remedies, "he added.

Human Rights Watch has previously called for individual sanctions on members of the military and separatist groups responsible for grave abuses in the Anglophone regions.

Based on information reported by the media and non-governmental organizations, Human Rights Watch estimates that at least 285 civilians have been killed in about 190 incidents since January 2020 in the North-West and South-West regions, where violence has been acute since late 2016, as separatists seek independence for the country’s minority Anglophone regions.

Human Rights Watch has not been able to independently verify each case since January 2020. Violence has also displaced tens of thousands of people in the past two months, adding to the hundreds of thousands who have fled their homes since the conflict began in late 2016.

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