- Also wants victims’ families adequately compensated as court convicts three government armed forces.
In response to the conviction of three members of the Cameroon security forces and a militiaman for the February 2020 massacre that killed at least 21 civilians, including 13 children and a pregnant woman in Ngarbuh, Ndu Subdivision of the conflict-plagued North West Region, Human Rights Watch has called on Cameroonian authorities to ensure appropriate sentences on the convicts.
The Yaounde Military Court on Thursday, January 15 convicted Sergeant Baba Guida, Gendarme Cyrille Sanding, First Class Soldier Gilbert Haranga and a militiaman, after it ruled they were guilty of murder, destruction, arson, disobeying orders and violence against a pregnant woman during the military operation in Ngarbuh on February 14,2020.
Presiding judge, Justice Yvonne Leopoldine Akoa said the convicts will be sentenced at another public hearing on Thursday, February 19, 2026.
Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at Human Rights Watch described the conviction as “a partial step toward justice” saying the remaining perpetrators also need to be held accountable.
“The sentences imposed next month need to reflect the seriousness of the crimes and the victims’ families should receive compensation” said Allegrozzi
The Ngarbuh massacre – one of many atrocities in Cameroon’s drawn-out armed conflict was one of the worst incidents of abuse by government forces since the crisis the two English speaking Regions of the country erupted in 2016 and morphed into an armed conflict a year later.
More than 6,000 people have been killed and over 700,000 have been forced to flee their homes since the crisis began about a decade ago with both government troops and non-state armed groups accused of committed atrocities.
The government had initially denied reports of the Ngarbuh killings, denouncing them as “terrorist propaganda” about an “unfortunate accident.” But following pressure from victims’ families as well as the national and international community, Yaounde admitted that there had been a massacre and a military cover-up.
An inquiry commission established by President Paul Biya found that the military carried out the killings during a reconnaissance operation in Ngarbuh with some members of “local vigilance groups”, but had tried to suppress the truth by burning homes and filing a false report on the incident.
The Ngarbuh trial, which opened in December 2020 before the Yaounde Military Court, has been a protracted process marred by irregularities that delayed the verdict raising concerns about the authorities’ willingness to fully address abuses committed by security forces.
Last Thursday’s verdict however marked one of the rare instances in which members of the Cameroon Defence and Security forces have been held criminally responsible for abuses committed during the near a decade long armed conflict.
