A military court in Yaounde, Cameroon, has sentenced three soldiers for their role in the 2020 killing of 21 civilians in the country’s English-speaking northwest, victims’ lawyers said on Friday.
The sentences, handed down on Thursday, relate to violence in February 2020 in the village of Ngarbuh, where government troops and ethnic Fulani militia raided homes, killing at least 21 people, including 13 children and a pregnant woman, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW). The attackers also set fire to five houses, carried out looting, and assaulted residents.
Sergeant Baba Guida received eight years’ imprisonment, Gendarme Haranga Gilbert was sentenced to 10 years, and Corporal Sanding Sanding was given five years, the lawyers said.
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The Ngarbuh killings occurred amid a military operation in Cameroon’s North-West region, one of two English-speaking areas that have faced almost a decade of armed conflict following secessionist unrest.
The conflict erupted in late 2016 after President Paul Biya’s government violently suppressed peaceful protests by English-speaking communities, who felt marginalised in the predominantly French-speaking country.
HRW estimates that at least 6,000 civilians have been killed by government forces and separatist fighters since the crisis began.
The convictions mark a rare case of military personnel being held accountable for atrocities committed during the ongoing conflict.