Rights group Amnesty International has accused security forces, separatists and ethnic militia of committing “rampant atrocities” in Cameroon’s English-speaking heartland.
Amnesty details rampant human rights violations and other crimes including executions, torture and rape in the North-West region.
It says people have been caught in the crossfire as multiple fighters clash in the region, with individuals who speak out on the atrocities being threatened and arbitrarily detained.
The rights group has also expressed “deep concerns” over the failure by the authorities to co-operate effectively with international and regional human rights institutions.
It said repeated requests for fact-finding missions had remained unanswered.
“We call on Cameroonian authorities to investigate allegations of human rights violations and other crimes under domestic law committed in the context of the armed violence in the Anglophone regions, and to prosecute and punish those responsible for such violations in fair trials and before independent, impartial, and competent tribunals” said Samira Daoud, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa.
Cameroon has been plagued by fighting since English-speaking separatists launched a rebellion in 2017.
The conflict has claimed more than 6,000 lives and forced more than a million people to flee their homes, according to the conflict research body the International Crisis Group.