Cameroon probes viral video of extrajudicial killings

By Felix Nkambeh Tih

ANKARA (AA) - Cameroonian authorities are investigating the authenticity of a video purported to show the country's soldiers executing two women and their children, local media reported.

In a statement on late Wednesday, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, government spokesman, said: “The Head of State has ordered the opening of an investigation as per usual practice.”

Further questioning the controversial video, Col. Didier Badjeck, Defense Ministry spokesman, said that the people in the video were not members of the Cameroonian army and the images did not reflect the truth.

The video posted on Tuesday shows men in military uniforms shooting two blindfolded women and at least two children. One woman carried a baby on her back.

The video went viral on social media and has caused outrage across the country.

The central African state has been battling the Boko Haram insurgent group in the north since 2014.

Rights groups, including Amnesty International, have accused Cameroon of using disproportionate measures against the Boko Haram suspects

''Security forces continued to arbitrarily arrest individuals accused of supporting Boko Haram, often with little or no evidence and sometimes using unnecessary or excessive force. Those arrested were frequently detained in inhumane, life-threatening conditions,'' Amnesty said in a report in January this year.

Boko Haram attacks have killed more than 2,500 Cameroonians since 2014 especially in the Far North region, according to the Defense Ministry.

As a result of the conflict, from 2014 to 2017 around 240,000 people in the country's Far North region fled their homes.

The UNHCR Refugee Agency estimates approximately 26 million people in the Lake Chad region have been affected by Boko Haram violence, and more than 2.6 million displaced.