Activists have decried the extent of extrajudicial killings committed by military forces and armed groups in Cameroon.

Development Diaries reports that there are claims people have been arrested and killed by armed forces without passing through regular court trials.

Military forces in the Central African country have been fighting separatist groups since 2017 as they seek to prevent the forming of Ambazonia from the two English-speaking regions of the country.

It has been alleged that the government has remained mute during the majority of military raids and retaliations in the conflict-affected areas.

The actions of the military forces and armed groups depict an abuse of human rights, which is condemnable, as Cameroon is a signatory to different international human rights treaties.

The country has ratified the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Charter) and also the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

Freedom House, in its 2023 Freedom in the World report, ranked the country as ‘not free’, scoring 15 out of a possible 100 points.

Development Diaries calls on the government of Cameroon to take action in line with its human rights obligations.

We also call on the government to begin a thorough investigation into allegations of extrajudicial killings and carry out fair trials of anyone culpable.

Photo source: Aspenia Online