Amba, gov’t forces blame each other for burning Mamfe hospital

According to the Ambazonia Defense Forces, their findings revealed that government forces are responsible for burning the hospital.

There exist a joint control team not far from the hospital, including a military barracks situation about 500 metres away from the place of the incident.

The Spokesman, Capo Daniel said, “Ambazonia fighters could not have been able to bypass these military installations…This hospital served as the only medical facility that provided assistance to our forces…We think that it is so part of the reason why the hospital was targeted by the military…Our conclusion is that it was an action carried out by Cameroon military men dressed in civilian clothing”

Death of government forces, an angry reaction?

CNA understands that earlier there was an ambush around Mbanya, where six government forces were killed a few minutes away from the Mamfe hospital. It is believed that the government forces stormed the hospital during the night to burn the structure.

“I Ashu will fight the military when the time comes, what the amba boys are doing is just a child play, I will fight them not with guns,” a Mamfe indigene from the Diaspora, Ashu Kingsley warned.

A source following up on the incident told CNA, “There’s a checkpoint just after the hospital like 50 meters, You can see the checkpoint from the hospital’s view angle and it’s always blocked at night and soldiers sleep there, after the checkpoint about 500 meters there’s a military barracks (Bessongabang). No military guarding the hospital”

It is uncertain how the separatists passed through the checkpoint and operated in the hospital for several hours without military intervention. Where was the military?

About 47 patients who were in the hospital had been transported to another nearby clinic. No casualties were recorded. For how many hours did it take to remove all the patients from their beds without an intervention, no one is able to answer the question.

State forces accuse Ambazonia forces

Early Thursday, June 9, 2022, several government forces visited the ruined Mamfe District hospital and took pictures and videos accusing Ambazonia fighters of burning the hospital.

Some local sources said that the attackers were Ambazonia forces, “The structure was burned by amba, the reason is what we haven’t heard of. Staff who were on duty can’t explain, as military came and took the staff and patience to their own hospital,” a source told CNA on phone.

But Ahsu Kingsley has said the men who came in mufti only disguised so that the people will see that the arsonists are separatists. He wondered why the fighters will want to burn a hospital that is like their precious jewelry.

Mamfe hospital, a historic medical facility

A majority of persons who were born and lived in Mamfe still have nostalgic feelings about the Mamfe hospital. The Mamfe District hospital is the pride of the “Bayangi man”. It is a bitter pill to swallow as Ahsu says, “Let the military know that it will not be well with them”

“This hospital is special because of the nature in which it was constructed, Mamfe will never this type again,” a local said.

MSF condemns attack on Mamfe hospital

The Mamfe District hospital is vital for the provision of materials to thousands of war victims. An organization that has been in close collaboration with the hospital is the Doctors Without Borders, DWB.

The international NGO has condemned the act calling for more light to be shed on the incident, “This unprecedented attack on a hospital of vital importance will have a major impact on people in a region where access to healthcare has already been gravely impacted by years of violence,” says Sylvain Groulx, MSF’s operational manager for Central Africa. “As we wait for further information on the attack and its consequences for hospitalized patients, MSF strongly condemns this aggression, which will increase the suffering of people. We say again: medical care must not be a target.”

DWB has worked at the hospital until April 2022 when it decided to suspend all activities in the South West region after the arrest of four workers last December 2021.