By Mbah Godlove l BaretaNews
The people of Ekona in Muyuka County, Fako State, were on Sunday subjected to another round of terror by occupying French Cameroun forces, as colonial troops stormed the local market square, shut down economic activities, and arrested scores of innocent civilians under harsh and degrading conditions.
According to reports gathered by BaretaNews, hundreds of local traders and farmers who had turned up for the crucial Sunday market were rounded up by heavily armed La République du Cameroun soldiers as early as 6 a.m. Witnesses disclosed that the civilians were forced to sit under the scorching sun for several hours without food or drinking water while being interrogated about the whereabouts of Ambazonia Restoration Forces operating in the area.
Sources further revealed that even sick civilians who pleaded to take their medications were denied access to their drugs by the regime forces. The occupational army reportedly threatened the detainees with severe consequences should they fail to provide information about pro-independence fighters.
For many residents of Ekona, the action was viewed as collective punishment against a civilian population already suffering under years of war imposed by the regime in Yaoundé. Sunday market days remain a lifeline for rural communities across Fako State, especially farming families who depend entirely on agriculture for survival. The importance of the market was further amplified because it preceded the three-day ghost town lockdown observed across Ambazonia ahead of May 20 — a date Ambazonians reject as a foreign colonial celebration imposed by French Cameroun.
BaretaNews understands that news of the brutal treatment meted out on civilians quickly reached Ambazonia fighters operating within the Muyuka axis. In what many locals have described as a retaliatory operation, Restoration Forces reportedly launched a precision attack against colonial military positions early Monday morning.
As earlier reported by BN, at least four French Cameroun soldiers were neutralized during the operation while several others sustained severe injuries. Though no group officially claimed responsibility, many on the ground described the attack as a direct response to the humiliation, arrests, and torture inflicted on civilians in Ekona by occupation forces.
The latest developments once more expose the worsening security and humanitarian situation across Ground Zero, where civilians continue to pay the highest price in the ongoing struggle between Ambazonian Restoration Forces and the regime military of La République du Cameroun.
