Cameroon: three soldiers indicted for the assassination of civilians in the English-speaking area

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These soldiers are suspected of having participated in the killing of Ngarbuh, last February, in the North West, a separatist region. On the night of February 13-14, at least 23 civilians were killed, according to the UN. Initially, Yaoundé had denied any responsibility for its soldiers in this massacre which had caused an international outcry.

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The three soldiers were placed under provisional detention warrant at the Yaoundé military prison, the army spokesman confirmed on Thursday morning. They have been charged in particular with the assassination of a dozen civilians , including ten children, added Colonel Cyrille Atonfack Guemo.

The army had initially denied the killing in mid-February, then spoke of an "  unfortunate accident  ": five people died in the explosion of fuel containers during an exchange of fire between soldiers and separatists.

Under international pressure, President Paul Biya finally demanded the opening of an investigation which concluded that three soldiers said to be "  uncontrolled  " and disobeying orders, with the help of a group of militiamen .

According to Yaoundé, the soldiers panicked when they discovered that civilians had died from their bullets. They then tried to hide the facts "  by burning  ".

Yaoundé had also been forced to admit that at least ten children were among the victims. President Biya then ordered the arrest of the three soldiers and ten militiamen.

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• Cameroon
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