THE KUMBA MASSACRE;7 CHILDREN KILLED AND 13 WOUNDED.
A lot of atrocities have bee have been committed in Southern Cameroons by la République du Cameroun military forces since the President Biya unilaterally declared war on Southern Cameroons in 2017. But none is as outrageous as the Kumba massacre of October 24,2020 where 7 children were massacred and 13 more severely wounded.
The 2 English-speaking regions of the Cameroon have been without peace for close to 5 years . The conflict started in 2016 when lawyers and teachers from southern Cameroonians made some demands from the government including lesser use of French in the courts and classrooms in Southern Cameroons given that the educational and legal system in Southern Cameroons has been historically English. However, the Cameroun government refused to heed to these demands and went ahead to arrest the leaders of lawyers and Teachers trade union. These lead to further strikes by the people in Southern Cameroons with hundreds of activists detained or killed.
This has lead to a wider determination of Southern Cameroonians to achieve their independence leading to armed resistance since 2017. The government of Mr Biya unilaterally declared war on Southern Cameroons forcing unarmed civilians to defend themselves. The Cameroun military has committed several war crimes including killing innocent children, raping women and touching over 200 villages. There has been no response from the international community, which is why the Norwegian refugee agency considers the conflict as the most neglected on earth.
October 24,2020 is a date forever inscribed in the hearts of the southern Cameroonians. Children were murdered in cold blood while in their classroom. This incident happened at Mother Francisca International Bilingual Academy in Kumba,Fiango neighbourhood. At 11am,about 9 military men at the school premise. They got into the 2nd floor of the school building and opened fire on the children. A few who could escape jumped from the staircase, thereby wounding themselves. After the shoot out, blood and dead bodies of children could be seen in all the nook and cranny of the classroom.
These children were between the ages of 12 to 14.The military were on a mission to inflict even more pain on innocent school children. All international human right organizations including the United Nations have condemned this act,yet the perpetrators have not been brought to justice. Instead, the Biya government claims that the separatists are to blame. This attack follows several similar attacks by the Cameroun military including one on February 14, 2020 in the Northwest region where government forces massacred 21 people, including 13 children.
