In an attack in western Cameroon, a rival ethnic group killed at least 30 residents, including women and children. Some people were beheaded, while others were burned.
According to Reverend Fonki Samuel Forba, spokesman for the Presbyterian Church of Cameroon, the atrocity took place on Saturday and Sunday in the hamlet of Bakinjaw in the Akwaya commune, just a few kilometers from the Nigerian border. He said, “More than 30 individuals died.”
The tragedy between the Oliti and Messaga Ekol ethnic groups occurred in the South West region, one of Cameroon’s two English-speaking regions, where armed separatist groups and the police have been engaged in a deadly conflict for more than five years, with civilians suffering the majority of the casualties.
“The Oliti attacked and killed numerous Messaga Ekol on their fields on April 29, following a land dispute between them and the Messaga Ekol of Akwaya. Once organized, the Oliti attacked the Messaga Ekol with great violence, cruelty, and devastation, assisted by armed men they had hired “According to a statement supplied to AFP by Reverend Forba.
The statement included images of the bodies of twelve victims, including children, lying on the dirt floor of a village, some of whom were burned or otherwise mutilated, as well as information about the five Nigerians who were killed in the attacks on Saturday and Sunday.
“Armed men attacked the Messaga community, killing young men, women, children, and even the old. Some were killed at home, while others were killed while traveling to the fields, “Officer of the army told AFP.
“In Akwaya, there has been an intercommunal conflict for many years. The Oliti, who reside in the district’s center (Akwaya), are frequently attacked by people from nearby communities. The bloodshed was caused by their rebellion, “stated the local NGO’s director.
The Far North region, which is landlocked by Nigeria, Chad, and Niger and where such skirmishes are rather common on both sides of the frontiers, had at least 44 fatalities and 111 injuries in a fortnight at the end of December 2021.
Armed groups seeking the independence of a nation they call “Ambazonia” and security forces massively deployed by the authority of President Paul Biya, 89, who has ruled Cameroon with an iron fist for nearly 40 years, have been engaged in a deadly conflict in the North-West and South-West regions for more than five years.
In this French-dominated nation, a portion of the English-speaking minority feels excluded and marginalized. According to the non-governmental organization International Crisis Group, the war has killed more than 6,000 people since the end of 2016 and displaced more than a million people (ICG).
