Several residents of Bafia, a village located in Muyuka subdivision, South West region of Cameroon are on the run after their houses were set ablaze.
Sources say the act was perpetrated by soldiers who raided the village yesterday evening.
The army which has a track record of human rights violation is said to have been in search of separatist fighters with whom they’ve been fighting for four years now.
Despite its proximity to Buea, chief town of the embattled South West region, Bafia was not spared from the carnage that has also befallen several villages within the course of the armed conflict.
Ironically, Bafia like several other villages is being razed to ashes at the same time the Cameroon government is seeking billions to reconstruct the regions.
In May, 2020, the steering committee of the Presidential Plan for the Reconstruction and Development, PPRD of the North West and South West regions adopted its annual plan with a budget of 36 Billion, 321 million FCFA.
In addition to government’s reluctance to dialogue with separatists, many have questioned the possibility of reconstruction while gun battles still rage on daily.
As if to add salt to injury, government has always maintained that the army remains precessional in its operations, despite being indicted several times by rights groups and locals who have been victims of their excesses.
Mimi Mefo Info