At least 24 people have been killed in Cameroon’s far north during nightly raids blamed on the Islamist sect Boko Haram, since the beginning of December, security sources told APA by telephone.
By Felix Cyriaque Ebole Bola
While 25 other hostages seized at the same time remain missing, the raiders, six of whom were neutralized by the army on the night of December 5-6, took away cattle and other valuables, after setting homes on fire.
In a report released on Wednesday, human rights body, Amnesty International (AI) said at least 275 killings, including 225 targeting civilians, were registered between January and November 2019.
The NGO also reports cases of female amputees, kidnappings and forcible conversions to Islam.
“The people we met in this troubled region of Cameroon live in terror. Many have already witnessed Boko Haram attacks and lost relatives or acquaintances. They do not wonder if there will be new attacks but when they will happen. They feel completely abandoned,” AI writes in its report.
According to Samira Daoud, AI’s acting Regional Director for West and Central Africa, the people interviewed live in total destitution and “will continue to endure Boko Haram’s deadly assaults, unless they leave their places, if nothing is done”.
AI calls on the Cameroonian authorities “to strengthen, as a matter of urgency, the protection of the people in the affected areas, in line with human rights and international humanitarian laws.
Earlier this year, President Paul Biya declared that Boko Haram had been pushed out of Cameroon’s borders and presented what he called residual threat to the country.
However, according to research carried out by AI, since that date, the jihadist movement “has stepped up its raids in the area.”
FCEB/ard/cat/fss/as/APA