Ngarbuh Massacre: May we never forget gov’t forces’ slaughter of 21 lives

By Hans Ngala

Today marks exactly five years since the deadly Ngarbuh Massacre in the village of Ngarbuh in Donga Mantung Division of the North West.
It was a bright sunny day that was supposed to be a day of love as Valentine’s Day festivities were being commemorated. But instead, it turned into a very black day for the people of Ngarbuh and neighboring villages like Mbam village in Bui Division which is just a few kilometers from Ngarbuh.
Cameroon News Agency first broke the news on social media with witnesses accusing Cameroonian soldiers of being behind the massacre but government denied the accusations but as international pressure mounted and rights groups conducted investigations that irrefutably implicated government soldiers, authorities buckled under the pressure and admitted guilt.
Cameroonian soldiers along with Mbororo Fulani herdsmen raided the village, accused its occupants of harbouring separatist fighters and proceeded to loot homes, burn and shoot anyone on sight. The carnage officially left 21 people dead, 13 of them were children and one was a pregnant woman according to reports from Human Rights Watch. Other reports civilians told CNA, were more than 30 victims.
Even when it became clear that government forces were behind the atrocities, they still tried to minimize their role by claiming that the civilian casualties were as a result of stray bullets hitting an oil tank even though Ngarbuh is a remote village with no massive fuel tanks large enough to cause an explosion of that scale.
The Governor of the NW did pay a visit to Ngarbuh and is reported to have given some financial compensation to the families of the victims following the massacre. However, five years on and not much is being said about Ngarbuh again by anyone on either side, hence this is an opportunity for reflection.
Before Ngarbuh, there was KwaKwa village in the South West which was equally razed to the ground by military forces in January 2018. Government communications minister initially claimed that Ambazonia fighters were behind the carnage even though videos from the incident clearly showed soldiers in Cameroonian military fatigues. It took an investigation from the BBC Africa Eye team which specializes in investigative reports, to get Cameroonian authorities to admit their guilt.
Earlier in 2018, Cameroonian soldiers had also led raids in parts of Kumbo, the second largest town in the NW after Bamenda. Homes and shops were burned in Squares, Kikaikelaki, Kitiwum and other areas of the town and remain in ruins to this day.
Five years on, the people of Ngarbuh and especially the families whose children were killed by Cameroonian soldiers that day, have simply become another statistic in the ongoing war. The CNA reported that most of the children killed in Ngarbuh were around the age of 5 and it makes one wonder what could make any reasonable human being (civilian or soldier) to kill innocent children of that age, even if their parents were indeed separatist fighters.
Do the rules of engagement no longer apply?
There have been reports of soldiers going into hospitals and dragging wounded Ambazonia fighters out of the bed and taking them to finish them off. Such flagrant disregard for human rights has to end.
While Ambazonia fighters are not innocent either, the continued assault on civilians must come to an end. The repeated attacks on civilians by Ambazonia fighters is wrong. Attacking students, teachers and other state employees is not right and must be condemned vehemently.
Today being the fifth anniversary since the tragic massacre in Ngarbuh, this should be an opportunity for all Cameroonians to reflect on the deadly costs of war and how it tends to affect especially the most vulnerable in society. We remember and stand with those children whose names history will never forget. Reflecting on Ngarbuh is an opportunity to say, ‘Never again’ and also an opportunity for Cameroonians to push for a cessation of hostilities by both parties in the conflict and to push for a negotiated settlement between Cameroonian authorities and Ambazonia fighters because as I write this, more people are being killed somewhere in the NW or SW and if we don’t push for a complete end to this senseless war, then there will still be another Kwakwa or Ngarbuh waiting to happen again.