Human Rights Watch report: Cameroon Soldiers raped at least 20 women on March 1, 2020, during an attack in Ebam, a locality in the South West Region
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In their recent report, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused the Cameroonian soldiers of mass rape during an attack, which took place in Ebam, a locality in the South West Region of Cameroon. The report indicates that during the attack on March 1, 2020, at least 20 women were rape including four disabled women.
The report also states that at least 35 men were arrested during the raid and one man was killed in the process. As stated on their website “An attack by Cameroonian soldiers on March 1, 2020, has come to light in which soldiers raped at least 20 women, including four with disabilities, arrested 35 men, and killed one man..”
According to the Human Rights Watch, there was also burning of homes and looting of properties by the soldiers “The soldiers also burned one home, looted scores of properties, and severely beat the men they took to a military base. Based on information obtained by Human Rights Watch, there has been no effective investigation, and no one has been held accountable for the crimes.”
The Ongoing-armed conflict in the North West and South West Region of Cameroon has witnessed gross human rights violations including rape, mass killings, torture, etc. The Human Rights Watch describe the atrocious act at Ebam as one of the worst committed by the military during the Anglophone armed conflict “The attack on the village of Ebam in the South-West region was one of the worst by the army in recent years”
Since the year 2016, violence has continued in the North West and South West Regions of Cameroon where the Separatists (Ambazonians) are fighting for the independence of the British Southern Cameroons. The national and international stakeholders have ceaselessly been calling for the cessation of hostilities in vain.
At least 50 soldiers raided the area on the said day according to HRW as stated in their report, “Witnesses said that over 50 soldiers entered Ebam, in Manyu division, in the South-West region, at about 3 a.m. on March 1, 2020, on foot leaving their vehicles in the outskirts. They broke into almost all the 75 homes in the village, looting money and other items, and dragging men out. Some soldiers rounded up men in the village center, while others sexually assaulted the women, including four with disabilities, mostly in their homes……………“Five masked soldiers entered my home,” a 40-year-old woman told Human Rights Watch. “It was dark, and I was alone. They searched the house and stole my phone and money. One of them abused me. He said: ‘If you don’t have sex with me, I will kill you!’ I was too afraid to say or do anything. After the rape, I ran into the bush where I spent two months. I am still upset and traumatized.”
“Sexual violence and torture are heinous crimes that governments have an obligation to immediately, effectively, and independently investigate, and to bring those responsible to justice,” said Ida Sawyer, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “One year on, survivors of the Ebam attack are desperate for justice and reparations, and they live with the disturbing knowledge that those who abused them are walking free and have faced no consequences.”
The Human Rights Watch says they conducted telephone interviews between August 1, 2020 and January 5, 2021, with rape survivors, four men who were beaten and consulted the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa, a Cameroonian Human Rights Organization before releasing the report. “Human Rights Watch conducted telephone interviews between August 1 and January 5, 2021 with 20 rape survivors, four men who were arrested and beaten, four witnesses to the attack, two relatives of the man who was killed, a medical doctor who screened the rape survivors, two aid workers who helped the victims, and two United Nations officials with knowledge of the incident. Human Rights Watch also consulted confidential reports by an international nongovernmental organization and the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa, a Cameroonian rights group based in Buea, South-West region, which corroborated the findings.”
Read the full report through the following link: Cameroon: Survivors of Military Assault Await Justice | Human Rights Watch (hrw.org)
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.
