Press Release N0. 016/07

Buea, July 23, 2019

Communiqué

Use of Live Ammunition on Southern Cameroonian Prisoners is Unacceptable

The Consortium has learned with dismay the alleged shooting to death of some Southern Cameroonian prisoners of war at the Kondengui maximum security prison in Yaounde on July 21, 2019 during a protest they staged against worsening detention conditions in the said prison

The Consortium monitored with anxiety, the unfolding of the protest over long detention periods without neither charges nor trials, endless appearances in military courts without judgments, carting of individuals from remote villages in Southern Cameroons to be held in Yaounde – far away from care and attention from their families, in violation of international conventions Cameroon is a party to.

At the time of issuing this press release, some of the prisoners have reportedly been nightly carted out of detention to unknown destinations where (they) are undergoing untold torture and probably manslaughter, in what is now known as forced disappearances.

The alleged shooting to death of four prisoners in Yaoundé’s custody only confirms once more to the international community President Biya Government’s unwillingness to resort to peaceful means in handling the genocidal conflict with Southern Cameroons as widely recommended here and there.

While decrying the unacceptable use of live bullets on people in incarceration, The Consortium expresses solidarity, hails and stands firmly by the Southern Cameroons prisoners of war in their resolve to either live free or die fighting for what we all believe in.

The Consortium urges the United Nations and other friendly powers to urgently dispatch a humanitarian intervention mission to Southern Cameroons to try and to save the lives of civilians there as Biya intensifies the genocide, despite repeated calls for a negotiated settlement without preconditions.