Human Rights Watch Report Cameroon: At least 80 civilians have recently been killed during Boko Haram Attacks in the Far North region
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The Human Rights Watch has reported that the Islamist armed group Boko Haram has stepped up attacks on civilians in towns and villages in the Far North region of Cameroon since December 2020. The attacks according to Human Rights Watch (HRW) report have killed at least 80 civilians. In addition to these killings, the group has also looted hundreds of homes in the region.
“Boko Haram is waging a war on the people of Cameroon at a shocking human cost,” said Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. “As Cameroon’s Far North region increasingly becomes the epicenter of Boko Haram’s violence, Cameroon should urgently adopt and carry out a new, rights-respecting strategy to protect civilians at risk in the Far North.”
Though with the alarming number of confirmed deads, the HRW is says that the number of killings could be much higher given the difficulty of confirming details of attacks and the possibility of unreported attacks “Human Rights Watch documented how a Boko Haram suicide bomber blew up fleeing civilians, dozens of local fishermen were killed with machetes and knives, and an elderly village chief was assassinated in front of his family. Research suggests that the actual number of casualties is much higher, given the difficulty of confirming details remotely and that attacks often go unreported.”
HRW reported that between the periods of January 25 to February 25, 2021, they have interviewed 20 victims and witnesses to 5 Boko Haram attacks since December 2020 in the towns and villages of Blabline, Darak, Gouzoudou, and Mozogo in the Far North region, as well 4 family members of victims, 2 humanitarian workers, and 5 local activists. Human Rights Watch also interviewed 2 victims and a witness to human rights violations in the region by Cameroonian soldiers. Human Rights Watch reviewed reports from humanitarian and other nongovernmental organizations and local media reports on attacks in the region and consulted with academics, political analysts, and representatives of the African Union, the United Nations, and the European Union.
One of the deadliest recent attacks according to HRW was in Mozogo on January 8, “when Boko Haram fighters killed at least 14 civilians, including 8 children, and wounded 3 others, including 2 children. As fighters shot at residents and looted homes, a female suicide bomber infiltrated a group of fleeing civilians and then detonated her explosive vest, witnesses said……“As the shooting started, I ran away toward the forest,” a 41-year-old resident said. “I heard a powerful explosion and lay on the ground. I saw a 7-year-old child covered in blood running toward me. He took me to the place where the kamikaze detonated her explosive vest. It was a bloodbath.”
HRW is recommending that the government should take concrete measures to both increase protection to vulnerable communities and ensure a rights-respecting security force response to the worsening violence.
Read full report through the following link: Cameroon: Boko Haram Attacks Escalate in Far North | 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.
