The Ngarbuh Massacre and a call for UN Fact-Finding Mission on Ambaziona

Since declaring war against the people of Ambazonia in November 2017, President Paul Biya of French Cameroun has overseen the brutal killings of over 10,000 civilians and the destruction of more than 280 towns and villages by soldiers loyal to him. Over 3,000 innocent Ambazonians remain in illegal detention without access to legal representation and over 1.5 million have been internally and externally displaced.

On Friday 14th February 2020, at about 4:00 West African Time (WAT), French Cameroon soldiers attacked sleeping children and pregnant women in the village of Ngarbuh, Donga Mantung County in the Northern Zone of Ambazonia, brutally killing 35 of them (several women and children are still missing) and burning down their homes. Among the victims found so far are 14 children, 11 of whom are girls and 9 under the age of 5, and 2 pregnant women. A third pregnant woman who survived the attack but lost her baby is in critical condition at a local hospital.

We strongly condemn these acts of barbarity, which have become commonplace in this genocidal war that French Cameroun is waging against the people of Ambazonia. It is particularly disturbing that French Cameroun, being a signatory to many international conventions that are meant to protect human rights, is determinedly persecuting with impunity a genocidal campaign in Ambazonia while the rest of the world looks on with indifference.

For 58 years, French Cameroun has pursued a policy of socio-political and cultural domination, assimilation and annihilation of the people of Ambazonia. This agenda was ideologically birthed and has been unconditionally sponsored by France for her own imperialistic objectives. The time has come for France to live up to its international obligations to protect life and uphold human rights and dignity. It is time for France to recognise that the life of an Ambazonian is as valuable as that of any French citizen. France must recognise that liberty, equality and fraternity are human values, not just French values, and that Ambazonians are human beings too.

We, the people of Ambazonia are peace-loving. We are opposed to war and we are also opposed neo-colonial influences in all its forms. We are the sole owners of our land and its resources. We are proud of our cultural heritage and will not tolerate any attempts by anyone, whoever they may be, to assimilate and destroy this heritage. We are a progressive and forward-looking people and we are going to be the sole determiners of our destiny.

To Ambazonians all over the world, this yet another senseless and heartless attack on innocent babies and pregnant mothers reminds us of the depravity of the enemy we face. An enemy that is neither guided by any moral compass nor inhibited by legal injunctions.  An enemy that will spare no resource or effort to continue their brutal and vicious economic exploitation of our land and its natural waelth. This is the true face of the enemy who seeks to make himself lord over us. The same enemy who want us to entrust our lives and destiny, and those of our children and grandchildren, into its cold hands.

This travesty of reason and justice cannot be allowed to continue uninhibited. Even if the rest of the world stands by and watch, we Ambazonians do not have the luxury to be indifferent. If we must defeat this enemy, we must also spare no resources or effort at driving them out of our territory. We must all stand up with the strong and resilient people of Ngarbuh, and the suffering masses of Ambazonians at home and elsewhere. The time has come for us to unite and rededicate ourselves to funding our restoration project. Buy your Amba Freedom Bonds now and give us the means to protect our vulnerable civilians in our march to freedom.

We have heard calls for French Cameroonians residing in Ambazonia to leave immediately or face mob justice. The Ambazonian Interim Government under the leadership of Sisiku Julius AyukTabe categorically rejects such sentiments. We shall not fight evil with evil as this does not represent the ethos of our nation. We call on all Ambazonians to exercise restraint in the midst of these provocations. The Ambazonia we plan to build will be an open society founded on the rule of law. We counsel all within our boarders to respect the rights and liberties of all aliens living in Ambazonia.

We call on the United Nations to immediately commission a fact-finding mission on Ambazonia to probe the Ngarbuh and other massacres, which constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity. The recent call by the United Nations for the government of French Cameroun to investigate the Ngarbuh killings defies logic as that government cannot be trusted to unbiasedly investigate itself. The international community must pressure French Cameroun to immediately end all its genocidal operations in Ambazonia and withdraw its armies of occupation. We are still open to genuine negotiations to bring about a peaceful resolution of this crisis.

Thank you.

Dabney Yerima

Vice-President

Federal Republic of Ambazonia