A video shows alleged abuses of Cameroonian soldiers

The government of Cameroon has investigated suspicions of misconduct by the Cameroonian army in the far north of the country. He does it after a movie on social media has caused a great social outrage. It shows how the citizens are apparently executed.

The video appeared on the Internet on Tuesday and shows a shocking and violent incident. A number of men in military uniforms take two women, each of whom has a child with them, by the arm to a ditch along the road. One of the children receives a T-shirt tied around the head, the women are tucked back to the viewer. After that, the four civilians are shot, who is also shot repeatedly on the head. The description takes place in peace and quiet, it seems: the women are spoken in French and remain calm, even the children are silent.

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International news agencies point out that the authenticity of the video is difficult to confirm. So, we do not know when the dates of the video. The location is also unknown. The picture is blurred, making the environment difficult to recognize. The video seems to have been taken with a mobile phone. According to Cameroon's information minister, who acted as government spokesman on Wednesday night, the video is "a false, clear news" and a "terrible fabrication". In a statement, he said: "Nevertheless, the president has ordered an investigation."

Two anonymous sources of the Cameroonian security apparatus told AFP that the video was shot in the Far North, the country's most northerly province. . This area is bordered by Nigeria. The Cameroonian army, trained by the United States for counter-terrorism, fights against the Islamist terrorist movement Boko Haram. In the video, it is said that the "soldiers" tell the victims that they were captured during an action against the jihadist group.

According to the government spokesman, the audio of the video was recorded separately and mounted below

] The video is much shared on social networks. The film contains shocking images.

Criticism of the security forces

The video was shared thousands of times in a few days, mainly on Twitter. The army of Cameroon has already been discredited because of activities in the Far North. In December, the human rights organization Amnesty International issued a very critical report on the security services allegedly responsible for the torture and secret detention of suspected Boko Haram sympathizers. The government denies these accusations.

In addition to the north of the country, there are also troubles in the English-speaking region (the North-West and South-West provinces). The fight for language is reborn, as the 7-8 million Anglophones in Cameroon feel disadvantaged by the French majority.

In June, BBC journalists recently checked social media reports showing how villages in English-speaking provinces are set on fire by government troops and how residents fled.