• News
  • Sport
  • TV
  • Radio
  • Education
  • TV Licences
  • Contact Us
  • SOUTH AFRICA
  • POLITICS
  • BUSINESS
  • SPORT
  • AFRICA
  • WORLD
  • FEATURES
  • OPINION
No Result
View All Result
1
Home Africa

HRW condemns abuses in Cameroon crackdown on separatists

7 May 2019, 10:16 AM  |
|  @SABCNews
Cameroon's government has dispatched thousands of troops as part of a crackdown on the Anglophone separatists.

Cameroon's government has dispatched thousands of troops as part of a crackdown on the Anglophone separatists.

Image: AFP

Cameroon's government has dispatched thousands of troops as part of a crackdown on the Anglophone separatists.

Cameroon authorities have regularly tortured and held incommunicado detainees arrested in the government’s crackdown on an English-speaking armed separatist movement, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Monday.

The New York-based rights group in a report urged the United Nations to put Cameroon’s situation on its agenda and to condemn abuses against people arrested on suspicion of having ties to separatists.

Since 2017, fighting between government troops and anglophone separatists demanding independence in the southwest and northwest regions has killed hundreds and forced nearly 500 000 people from their homes.

English-speaking communities chafe at what they see as discrimination from the French-speaking majority. But the government rejects demands for autonomy and has dispatched thousands of troops in a crackdown.

Human Rights Watch said it had documented 26 cases of incommunicado detention and enforced disappearance between January 2018 and January 2019 at the State Defence Secretariat (SED) detention centre in the capital Yaounde.

It said security forces at SED had “severely beaten and used near-drowning to extract confessions from detainees”.

“Over the past year, the security forces in Cameroon have used torture without fear of repercussion,” said Lewis Mudge, Central Africa director for HRW.

The report cited former detainees who say suspects had been tortured or humiliated to force them to confess or sign statements they were not allowed to read or were unable to read in French.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, returning from a four day trip to Cameroon, said on Monday civilians caught in the conflict between troops and separatists were increasingly vulnerable to violations from both sides.

“I believe there is a clear – if possibly short – window of opportunity to arrest the crises that have led to hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people, as well as the killings and brutal human rights violations and abuses,” Bachelet said in a statement.

She said any violations by authorities were counterproductive to the fight against militants and urged the armed forces to earn “the trust of local populations, and to do that they must keep scrupulously within the framework of international law and standards”.

Bachelet had met with President Paul Biya and also discussed the lack of access for human rights defenders to Anglophone regions.

In April, HRW said one its researchers was denied entry into the country in what the group says was an attempt by authorities to hinder reporting on abuses.

Share article
Tags: CameroonHuman Rights Watch (HRW)
Previous Post

Gauteng police ready for elections

Next Post

KwaMashudu community members threaten to boycott Wednesday’s election

Related Posts

A petrol and motorist seen at a Nigerian fuel station

Nigeria’s main labour federation to strike over fuel subsidy removal

2 June 2023, 9:27 PM
Members of the Ugandan army, part of the troops to the East Africa Community Regional Force (EACRF), patrol a settlement ceded by M23 rebels fighters to EACRF soldiers in Bunagana, Rutshuru territory of the North Kivu province of DRC, April 19, 2023

Warring DRC parties called to lay down their weapons

2 June 2023, 2:08 PM
Sudanese soldiers secure the area as Sudan's ex-president Omar al-Bashir leaves the office of the anti-corruption prosecutor.

UN rejects request to replace Special Representative to Sudan

2 June 2023, 12:38 PM
Rwandan genocide suspect Fulgence Kayishema appears in the Cape Town Magistrates Court, in Cape Town, South Africa May 26, 2023.

Case of alleged Rwandan genocide fugitive postponed in Cape Town

2 June 2023, 11:47 AM
Students and supporters of Senegal opposition leader Ousmane Sonko clash with with security forces, after Sonko was sentenced to prison in Dakar, Senegal June 1, 2023. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra     TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Deadly protests rock Senegal as opposition leader sentenced to jail

2 June 2023, 6:06 AM
Zimbabweans with the country's flag

‘Money for Zim elections should be channeled to the poor’

1 June 2023, 6:56 PM
Next Post
IEC

KwaMashudu community members threaten to boycott Wednesday’s election

Most Viewed

  • 24hrs
  • Week
  • Month
  • Deadline for Zimbabwean Exemption Permits draws near
  • Durban’s N2 road, Spaghetti Junction closed due to cleanup operations
  • Limpopo teacher writes a book which simplifies Maths
  • Limpopo healthcare set to get massive boost with multi-billion rand hospital
  • Scientist finds solution to extending life of power plants’ rotors
  • Dr Nandipha’s looks during court appearances under the spotlight
  • Deadline for Zimbabwean Exemption Permits draws near
  • Reserve Bank expected to increase repo rate on Thursday
  • Zimbabwe receives 18 helicopters from Russian Federation
  • Durban’s N2 road, Spaghetti Junction closed due to cleanup operations
  • Eastern Cape ActionSA raises eyebrows over qualifications of senior officials
  • Soweto e-hailing drivers fearing for their lives
  • SAMWU Free State workers vow not to return to work until salaries are paid
  • Two killed, six wounded in Malamulele tavern shooting: Police
  • VIDEO | Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi addresses Zulu Royal Household

LATEST

A petrol and motorist seen at a Nigerian fuel station
  • Africa

Nigeria’s main labour federation to strike over fuel subsidy removal


An Eskom power station seen at night.
  • Eskom rolling blackouts
  • Business

Higher stages of load shedding don’t suggest a grid collapse: Ramokgopa


Novak Djokovic during a match
  • Sport

Djokovic survives Davidovich Fokina battle to reach fourth round


The Centre Manager of Mogalakwena Hospice and Rehabilitation Centre together with the EFF leadership led by CIC 
Julius Malema cutting the EFF 10th anniversary cake at Rooibokfontein Village, Mokopane.
  • Politics

Young people have interest in politics because of EFF: Malema


Train wreck after a crash in India
  • World

50 dead, 300 injured in train collision in eastern India: Reports


Stop rape graphic
  • South Africa

Children call for no bail for those accused of rape


Weather

  • About the SABC
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs
  • Advertise
  • Disclaimer
  • Site Map

SABC © 2023

No Result
View All Result
  • SOUTH AFRICA
  • POLITICS
  • BUSINESS
  • SPORT
  • AFRICA
  • WORLD
  • FEATURES
  • OPINION

© 2023

Previous Gauteng police ready for elections
Next IEC KwaMashudu community members threaten to boycott Wednesday’s election