Cameroonian government forces and armed ethnic Fulani herders killed at least 21 civilians this month in Ngarbuh village, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report released Tuesday, Eurasia Diary reports citing Anadolu Agency.
The report said 13 children and a pregnant woman were among the victims of the Feb.14 massacre in northwestern Cameroon.
Several victims were found burnt to death in their torched homes.
HRW's investigation found that 10 to 15 soldiers, including members of the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR), an elite unit of the Cameroonian army, and at least 30 Fulani were responsible for the massacres.
They “first entered Ngarbuh 1, a neighborhood in Ngarbuh, on foot at about 11 p.m. on February 13, looting scores of homes. Some of these forces then continued to the Ngarbuh 2 neighborhood, looting homes and beating civilians. At around 5:00 a.m. on February 14, a group of soldiers and armed Fulani attacked the Ngarbuh 3 neighborhood, killing 21 civilians in four homes, then burning the houses,” according to testimony gathered by the NGO.
HRW also said it had examined satellite images taken before and after the attack on Ngarbuh 3 showing several homes with damage consistent with a possible fire.
Civilians suspected of harboring separatist fighters were threatened and attacked as punishment by the military, according to other testimony.
"We have already killed children in Ngarbuh 3, so we can kill you too," a soldier was quoted as saying.