Human Rights NGO Report on the Extrajudicial Killing of Unarmed Civilians and Arson in EKONA, the South West Region of Cameroon

A Cameroonian based NGO, the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa has, in a human Rights report publish on their official website on 14 july 2023, blamed the Cameroon military for extra judicial killing of five youths in Ekona, a locality in the South West Region of Cameroon. According to the organization, the killings were unacceptable as the victims in the time of the killing were not directly involved in hostility against the military in one way or the other. The organization is also on the opinion that the victims could have been arrested and brought before the law

Read the full report as publish on their official website below.

On the 24 of June 2023, members of the Defense and Security Forces (DSF) brutally killed five youths in Ekona town, a locality in Muyuka Subdivision, South West Region. These individuals, aged between 20 and 37 years, were not armed nor actively participating in hostility at the time of the incident. Though there were no clear-cut reasons for the killings, a resident described the killings as barbaric and horrific while suggesting that the attack could be because of the consumption of illegal drugs by the victims.[1]

Before the horrific incident, on 23 June 2023, the State Defense and Security Forces and armed separatists had a gun battle around the Mpundu neighborhood right up to the Mautu stretch, a locality after Ekona. This gun battle left casualties on both sides. CHRDA was not able to get the exact number of casualties. It was after the confrontation that the military came up at the Ekona Three Corners Square, and proceeded to the market area where they reportedly harassing some random people. They reportedly continued the crackdown the next morning by patrolling and searching houses in one of the quarters known as the “Coffee Quarter” where young men usually gather to allegedly consume illegal drugs. As narrated by an inhabitant of Ekona, the DSF were in their vehicle with one person who pointed out the location the victims were, and as a result, the military entered the house and shot the victims, after killing them, some were allegedly butchered with axe.

While talking to another inhabitant of Ekona, he corroborated that five young men ages ranging from about 20 to 37 years were shot and butchered. He alleged that one of the victims was the distributor of the hard drugs and the other four had come that early morning to purchase and consumed the said drug. CHRDA simply identified the victims as: Bertrand 27, Samba about 37, Clinton 20, Junior 18, and Striker 27. In a video, published and circulated on social media, the bodies of those killed could be seen lying in a house. According to an inhabitant we interviewed, “This house harbors young men who come and smoke hard drugs and take strong liquor, most often about 30 to 40 of them will gather to smoke, it was luck that day that only a few of them were there, if not the pain would have been unbearable perhaps”

It is worthy to note that, immediately the incident occured, the victims were buried by their family members as narrated by an eye witness. According to him, ‘It is an abomination to keep such corpses, it is painful and unbelievable that these young boys were just killed mercilessly by the military’

A few meters from where the victims were killed, a house was equally burnt down.[2] According to another source in the Ekona community, ‘after killing the young men, the military then moved to another house about 600 meters away from the scene of the shooting and set it on fire’.This house was allegedly hosting individuals promoting the activities of armed separatists.[3]

As of the time of this report, the government has not yet made any official statement as regards to these killings. These killings are happening a few days after the Big Babanki and Belo incidents in the North West Region. It should be recalled that Ekona has been one of the hottest spots of violence in the ongoing crisis of the Anglophone Regions of Cameroon.

We urge the Cameroon government to caution its forces and launch an impartial investigation into the incidents and bring the perpetrators to justice. We reiterate that suspects who are unarmed are not targets. Suspects should be arrested and brought before the law. The extrajudicial killing of suspects is a violation of human rights and thus unacceptable.

Read the full repor on CHRDA’s official pager here

Berinyuy Cajetan, Publisher

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.