Horrendous Rapes by French Cameroun’s Colonial BIR in Ambazonia: The Paradox of a Qualitatively Trained Military

Human Rights Watch, an international human rights organization yesterday, March 27, 2019, released a detailed investigative report on the human rights situation in Southern Cameroons, pertaining to the ongoing independence war between the French Cameroun’s colonial forces and the Ambazonian Restoration Forces. The report which covers the past six months of the conflict, carries testimonies from victims of horrendous rapes by the Yaoundé terrorist soldiers and also presents an estimate of at least 170 innocent Ambazonians shot dead and hundreds of homes razed down to ashes.

The multiple rapes testimonies in the human rights report are just confirmations of BaretaNews’ previous reports on the atrocious raping spree the Yaoundé trained terrorist forces had engaged in Ambazonia. Narrating their ordeal in the hands of the rapist-soldiers, one of the victims said:

“I was in the kitchen with my baby and a neighbor, [when] two military with BIR uniforms entered my home… He put me on the ground while the other was holding my hands. He raped me. Then, the other raped me too. After that, one asked me whether he should be giving me money, around 5,000 or 10,000 CFA (US$8 or 16). The other said: ‘We should just go, go fast.’ So, they left.”

“The soldiers were dressed in the BIR uniform. One took me outside and asked me to undress. I begged him to let me go. He said he will kill me if I don’t take off my clothes. He put his gun between my legs and tried to force his way into me. I resisted. My baby was crying loud. I asked the BIR to let me check on the baby. He accepted. That’s how I was spared. The baby saved me, but when I entered, I saw my sister and my neighbor on the floor. They had been raped by the other two soldiers. When [the soldiers] left, we cried” a second victim narrated.

What makes these rapes even more atrocious is the fact that majority of the victims are breast feeding mothers. One therefore begins to wonder if the rape of breast-feeding mothers was among the courses offered to these so-called soldiers during their military formations. Interestingly and paradoxically too, the battalion of the colonial terrorists repeatedly named for the rapes, atrocious killings and burnings is the BIR, which happened to have received the best military training from the United State and the Israeli militaries.

According to Lewis Mudge, Central Africa director at Human Rights Watch, the “Cameroon’s authorities have an obligation to respond lawfully and to protect people’s rights during periods of violence…The government’s heavy-handed response targeting civilians is counterproductive and risks igniting more violence… It is absolutely essential for the Cameroon government to restore the rule of law in the Anglophone regions and to hold those who target civilians to account,… Leaders of the separatist groups should stop abusing civilians and show they are willing to resolve this crisis.”

But the questions bonafide Ambazonians have continued to ask are: For how long shall the international community and these human rights organizations continue to call on a murderous regime to investigate her own crimes? Where are the findings of previous investigations? and who are those colonial soldiers that have been sanctioned for past atrocities and the genocide on the sovereign people of Ambazonia? The last time the public saw a list of allegedly sanctioned soldiers published by the rogue regime in Yaoundé, actually contained the names of ghost soldiers, with one of them having died about two years ago.

It is a fact that the colonial regime has consistently shows their unwillingness to bring the war to an end and engage in credible negotiations with the leadership of the Ambazonian Interim Government and other revolutionary leaders. There is no time the Ambazonian revolutionary leadership has shown unwillingness to bring the war to an end. The Ambazonian revolutionary leadership is ready for negotiations and mediation even today.

It is therefore unfair for the Human Right Watch to call on Ambazonian leaders to show willingness to bring this senseless war to an end. If there is anybody that should show willingness to end this war, that person is the colonial president and leader of the occupier state of French Cameroun. The onus to declare a ceasefire the same way he declared the war lies with him. A people fighting on the defensive of a killer terrorist regime cannot be the ones to show willingness of stopping a war they never declared.

In fact, BaretaNews will not be wrong to conclude that the responsibility to end this war and safe the lives of the innocent people of Ambazonia, lies with the international community and the time to act is long overdue.

James Agbor
BaretaNews Political Analyst.