Cameroon Database of Atrocities releases 8 reports on explosions, arbitrary arrest against civilians

The Cameroon Database of Atrocities has released eight reports stating verification of explosions, burnings, and arbitrary arrests against civilians carried out by security forces and separatist fighters in the Northwest and Southwest regions.

In a release on September 21, 2023, the institution stated that security forces arbitrarily burned multiple civilian homes in a village and arbitrarily arrested no fewer than 42 to 85 youths who were still detained months later.

“An elite government soldier violently harassed young men at several locations over several years. Anglophone separatist fighters burned several trucks of civilian foodstuffs,” a section reads.

The report also confirms that Separatist fighters burned down a school, a mayor’s house, and a church, while also taking hostages for ransom at the church, who were released one month later.

Cameroon Data Base of Atrocities works in close collaboration with the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa, CHRDA to confirm that each atrocity took place at a specific location and date

However, they hope that the existence of these reports will discourage further acts of violence and impunity against civilians.