Separatist fighters have executed two men reported to have been members of a notorious gang that terrorised communities in Bali Nyonga, North West Region of Cameroon.
They were killed Wednesday, October 16, in the Naka neighborhood of Bali, after the mob captured them at New Lay Out, Mile 90.
The alleged bandits were reportedly carrying a firearm when the local population caught them.
Identified to be of Bali extraction, the gang members had long terrorised the community, according to the locals, with residents living in fear of their activities.
“We always try to be at home before 7 pm to avoid being harassed by them,” said a local resident who preferred to remain anonymous.
Numerous complaints from the populace alleging that the two had repeatedly wronged them led to their capture.
After being caught, the gang members were seized by separatist fighters, who later executed them at Naka, a neighbourhood in Bali.
The North West Region has been engulfed in an armed conflict, where separatist are battling to create a state called Ambazonia.
The Bali execution of the two bandits has raised concerns over rights violations by the separatists, with many condemning the act. This follows a pattern of extrajudicial killings that has characterised the confict in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions.
The onset of the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon has weakened local governance in affected regions, giving rise to mob justice.
Armed separatists who control some local communities have also filled the void, becoming judges, juries and executioners, dealing with both civil and criminal cases.
There have been reports of separatists administering corporal punishment to people accused of crimes such as witchcraft, while persons deemed guilty of theft, murder, or collaborating with the Cameroon military have been executed.
