Cameroon denies human rights violations

The Cameroon government has hit back at Human Rights Watch (HRW) over its report that accuses the military of gross human rights violations in the fight against separatists in Cameroon’s English-speaking North West and South West regions.

Government spokesman Rene Sadi accused the HRW of “obvious bias in favour of armed gangs”.

The HRW report says the Cameroon security forces “have committed extrajudicial executions, burned property, carried out arbitrary arrests, and tortured detainees”.

The report however documents abuses on both sides, including arson attacks on homes and schools.

The militias began to emerge in 2017 after a security force crackdown on mass protests, led by lawyers in wigs and teachers in suits, over the government’s alleged failure to give enough recognition to the English legal and education systems in the North-West and South-West.

After some groups declared independence on 1 October 2017, the government dismissed the armed groups as “terrorists”, and state radio reported that Mr Biya had “declared war” on them. BBC News