Anglophone armed conflict Cameroon: Verification Report on the burning of Bali Nyonga Market, North West region.
2 min read
The Cameroon Anglophone Crisis Database of Atrocities is the product of an impartial, independent group of researchers and civic leaders, dedicated to recording and investigating human rights abuses committed by all actors during the Anglophone Crisis. Our team includes researchers at University of Toronto, Leiden University, the Edinburgh International Justice Initiative (EIJI), University of California-Berkeley’s Human Rights Center Investigations Lab, and Amnesty International’s Digital Verification Corps, with support from the Anglophone Crisis Monitoring Project, other OSINT verifiers, and the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa (CHRDA).
The Database accepts incidents through an anonymous reporting portal, using Ushahidi software, and also through WhatsApp and email submissions. Researchers work to investigate and verify incidents where the level of evidence permits. This Database is apolitical and will always avoid any partisan interference. It is hosted at University of Toronto (Canada) for reasons of neutrality and cybersecurity.
Executive Summary
A video submitted to the Database of Atrocities (hereafter the “Submitted Source”) on January 21, 2020, depicts the aftermath of an alleged attack by armed forces on a civilian market, involving burning and possible looting. Throughout the course of the footage, there is visible building damage, with active fires persisting within some of the structures. The events of the alleged raid are narrated by the cameraperson.
Researchers were able to geolocate the events depicted in the Submitted Source as Bali Main Market (also known as Tankoh Open Market), Bali, Mezam Division, North-West Region, Cameroon (Latitude: 5°53’39.0516”N, Longitude: 10°0’34.6932”E). Geolocation was aided by several factors, including buildings, distinct roads, and natural geographic features. Researchers were able to determine with a high degree of certainty that the Submitted Source film was created on January 19, 2020, between 06:40 (Cameroon Local Time) and 10:00 (Cameroon Local Time), and that the incident may have started on January 18, 2020. Researchers confirmed the day and time of the event through extensive date and time research, which involved analysing keyframes of the Submitted Source against weather and sun position data from the date in question.
There is high probability of the Submitted Source being authentic and reliable due to the fact that the video appeared online within hours after the event occurred. Further, the researchers were unable to discover any images that corresponded to keyframes from the Submitted Source. Researchers were unable to conclusively verify the perpetrators using the visual evidence in the Submitted Source. Corroborating evidence indicates some information about victims and perpetrators of the incident, including consistent allegations that the Cameroonian military was responsible for the burning
Read and download full report through the following link: Verified incident: Burning of Market in Bali Nyonga, Cameroon (January 2020) – Published Verification Reports (scholarsportal.info)
Berinyuy Cajetan is the founder and publisher of Human Rights and Legal Research Centre (HRLRC) since 2017. He has intensive experience in strategic communications for Civil Society Organizations, campaign and advocacy, and social issues. He has an intensive experiencing in human rights monitoring, documentation and reporting.
