Armed separatists in the troubled northwest region of Cameroon on Wednesday publicly executed two abducted civilians, alleging them of being government spies, as confirmed by a local administrator and the separatists on Thursday.
Video footage of the execution, which has been widely circulated online, depicted two middle-aged men seated on a paved road while armed separatists cautioned bystanders against treachery. Subsequently, the separatists fired upon the individuals.
The video was recorded in Guzang village, situated in Cameroon’s English-speaking North West region, where separatists have been engaged in a conflict since 2017 to protest what they perceive as marginalization by the predominantly French-speaking government.
Their objective is to establish an independent state known as Ambazonia.
Fouda Etaba Benoit Nicaise, a high-ranking administrator overseeing the division in which Guzang is located, confirmed the existence of the video on Thursday and noted that investigations into the matter are currently underway.
Lucas Asu, a spokesperson for the separatists, stated that the Ambazonian Defense Forces (ADF), the military arm of the movement, was responsible for the execution. According to him, the two individuals had been in ADF’s custody for over a month on suspicion of working as government spies.
“This is the first time ADF have carried out public execution of spies,” Asu said on Thursday. “It is done to set example and (as a) warning.”
Since the outbreak of conflict in 2017 following the violent suppression of protests, over 6,000 individuals have lost their lives in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions.
In July, Amnesty International strongly criticized government troops, militias, and separatist groups for their involvement in a range of atrocities, including killings, rapes, torture, house burnings, and various other forms of abuse.
Earlier in the same month, assailants fatally shot 10 individuals and injured two others at a bustling intersection in the regional capital of the North West, Bamenda.