MINDEF says recent Human Rights Watch report provocative, baseless

The Ministry of Defense has debunked the Human Rights Watch’s report which it considers provocative and baseless.

This was disclosed in a release signed on August 24, 2022, by Atonfack Guemo, Head of Communication Division at the Ministry of Defence.

In a report on August 11, 2022, the HRW published a report where it accused the army of grave rights violations against civilians in a military campaign supposedly against armed separatists in the two regions.

According to the report obtained by MMI, Cameroonian soldiers summarily killed at least 10 people and carried out a series of other abuses between April 24 and June 12, during counter-insurgency operations in the North-West region.

Reacting to this, the Defence Ministry, through Atonfack Guemo indicated that, “… HRW is known for its aversion against the Cameroonian Defense and Security Forces and its logic which consists in systematically attributing to the liabilities of the Cameroonian Army.”

They equally claimed that the HRW based their report on “alleged testimonies distilled by secessionist terrorists”.

“… Despite this umptienth provocation by Human Rights Watch,” he added “the Defense and Security Forces, whose morale is in no way affected, are calmly continuing their operations in the four corners of the country, with respect for the rights of the human and human rights.”



By Amina Hilda