Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon: A verified report on the burning of Ndanifor Ecovillage Bafut, North West Region allegedly by the Military
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On 21 October 2022, on Africa Human Rights Day, the Cameroon Anglophone Crisis Database of Atrocities releases five new verification reports of atrocities perpetrated in the Anglophone conflict in Cameroon. The reports, crafted in partnership with teams at universities around the world and the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa (CHRDA), include attacks at a market, health centre, ecovillage, drinking spot, and remote settlements in 2021 and 2022. Incidents were perpetrated by the Cameroonian military, non-state armed separatist fighters, or Fulani herdsmen.
Burning of Ndanifor Ecovillage, Bafut: According to the report published on the the website of CHRDA, Verification found that this incident occurred in Bafut on January 12, 2021. Video narration and corroborating evidence implicate the Cameroonian military in the burning. Prior to its destruction, the ecovillage was a permaculture site promoting sustainable development in the area. It won the 2015 Gaia Excellence Award as Africa’s Most Inspiring Project.
Executive Summary (As published)
The Database received a video, split into three parts, each depicting the aftermath of an alleged attack on different parts of the Ndanifor Permaculture Ecovillage (henceforth “the Ecovillage”) by Cameroon’s military. The video showed signs of burning, rubble, and several demolished buildings. Several voices can be heard narrating the footage and describing the alleged events. Researchers geolocated the burnings to the Ecovillage at 6° 3′ 33.1056″N, 10° 7′ 12.3528″E with a high degree of certainty. Geolocation was aided by several features, such as roads and buildings visible on satellite imagery.
Researchers believe that the video was filmed between 16:00 and 17:00 (Cameroon Local Time) on January 12, 2021. This means that the attack occurred before 16:00 (Cameroon Local Time) on that date. Smoke is visible in the video, which also suggests that the attack occurred earlier that same day. There is a high probability of the video being authentic and reliable due to (i) the fact that it appeared online 7 to 9 hours after the video appears to have been filmed; and (ii) that researchers were unable to discover any other images online that corresponded to the keyframes from the video.
Although the video does not depict the perpetrators in action, the narrators of the video along with other corroborating evidence indicate that the Cameroonian military was responsible for this attack. It is the researchers’ opinion that this report and the material contained herein could be of probative value in future litigation and/or accountability efforts, although more information is required regarding the identities of the perpetrators.
It is worth noting that this Ecovillage, which was a permaculture site promoting sustainable development in the region, won the 2015 Gaia Excellence Award as Africa’s most inspiring project.
Read original Publication HERE
Or Downlead the full report through the link below:
To anonymously submit photos, videos, or documents to the Database, go to: https://cameroondatabase.ushahidi.io/posts/create/4
To view published verification reports, go to: https://borealisdata.ca/dataverse/cameroon
For more information on the Database, go to: https://research.rotman.utoronto.ca/Cameroon/
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.
