Cameroon Security Forces Illegally arrest more than 40 Bike Riders in Oku.
The ongoing war of occupation and genocide being waged by Cameroun forces in the Southern Cameroons – Ambazonia for the past five years now, has been characterized by numerous and systematic killings, war crimes and atrocities committed by security forces against innocent Ambazonians. A week ago, more than 40 motor bike riders were arbitrarily abducted by the notorious ‘BIR’ forces in Oku, in the Northern Region during a funeral occasion, and ferried to an unknown destination. The Cameroun army claimed that the ‘arrests’ were made thanks to the collaboration of the population. A claim that is totally false, as the Cameroon tries to misinform the international community about the progress they’re making in fighting the Ambazonian struggle for Self-Determination. Since the Cameroun forces launched a violent crackdown on peaceful Southern Cameroons demonstrators in October 2016, a full-fledged armed conflict has been going on now, with the Cameroun forces suffering heavy losses at the hands of a determined resistance movement.
The random arrests, abductions, torture, imprisonment and summary execution of innocent Southern Cameroonians, especially young men has been the modus operandi of the genocidal occupation forces of Cameroun for over five years now since the fighting erupted in 2017. The latest such incidence was the abductions of these young men, who went to Oku to bury a colleague, Mkong Roland, who was shot dead by government soldiers in Bamenda. These young men committed no offences, and were not seperatiat fighters as the government may want the international community to believe. Their innocence was ascertained after thorough investigations carried out by the Interim Government of Ambazonia headed by Dr. Samuel Ikome Sako. Such human rights violations by the Cameroun occupation forces is certainly no surprise to those who have followed the conflict since it erupted in 2016. Cameroon government forces simply rounded the said bike riders, accused them of being seperatist fighters without any evidence, and took them away to unkown destinations. Inspite of the general ourcry of the population, who are opposed to this illegal action, and have been the victims of these excesses by the same Cameroun security forces, the government of Cameroun continues to hold these innocent young men illegally in undisclosed locations without access to any legal representation, where they’re being beaten and tortured in an attempt to extract confessions from them
Since the start of the conflict in 2017, thousands of Southern Cameroonians, mostly young men have been arbitrarily arrested, beaten, incacerated, and many of them summarily exeduted based on such false allegations. In many cases, the dreaded BIR security forces have seized their motor bikes. And in some cases, they homes of parents suspected seperatist fighters have been burned down, and sometimes with old people in them, unable to flee the ravaging of these genocidal forces. Meanwhile, in this recent case in Oku, no weapons were discovered on these young men to justify the accusations of being separatist fighters, so the families of these young men, as well as the population in general, are still shocked at the illegal actions of the security forces. Unable to defeat the resistance forces due to the massive support they get from the Southern Cameroonian population, the armed forces of Cameroon have turned their guns on innocent civilians, usually accusing them of sympathizing or sheltering the freedom fighters.
As reported by one of the foremost reporters covering this conflict now for the past five years, the renowned Online Publication, MIMI MEFO INFO, stated that… “the government of Cameroon as an act of cowardice will not be an overstatement given that the bike riders committed no crime nor have been proven to have links with the separatists. It is now clear that the Cameroon government and its military have decided to go for soft targets rather than engage their real enemy, the Ambazonian separatist fighters. Many people say if the soldiers are brave enough, they should go for the fighters and allow civilians in peace.”
The Interim Government of Ambazonia is therefore calling the attention of the international community to condemn this action, and press Cameroun for the immediate release of these innocent men. We’re also calling for the United Nations Security Council to pass a resolution creating a fact finding mission to be sent to the Southern Cameroons – Ambazonia to investigate the numerous atrocities, war crimes, and crimes against humanity perpetuated by the government of Cameroun against the peace loving people of Ambazonia. As the world focuses on the suffering of the Ukrainian people in the ongoing war with Russia, they should also pay attention to the suffering of the Southern Cameroonains that has been going on now for over five years. African lives too matter. Ambazonian lives too matter.
