Over 50 Elderly Women Abducted And Tortured In Cameroon For Protesting High Taxes
There has been outrage in Cameroon from activists and human rights groups after separatist terrorists seized some 50 women who had stormed the streets on Friday, May 19 to protest a $17 tax levied on each household.
Separatist terrorists who are trying to build a country from the two English-speaking regions of Cameroon have been forcefully collecting taxes from households to sponsor their course.
Women, including the elderly in Babanki, a community in the Northwest demanded the attackers leave their community. As they protested, members of the separatist group invaded and abducted them. They then took them to an unidentified location in the community and asked them to sit. They also declared a curfew on the village.
News of the abduction was received through a video shared by the terror group on social media. In the video, the group called them crazy and daring. They expressed shock that the women were coming after them merely a few hours after they were involved in a gun battle with government forces. They blamed the women for supporting the other party.
“The Government has tried to fight us but they haven’t succeeded, yet these crazy mothers think they can fight us?” they questioned in the video.
The women were later freed by their abductors but sustained injuries. Videos and pictures released showed some with wounds and others with plasters and bandages.
One woman who was wounded on both legs cried in her native language, saying the abductor had used cutlasses on them. Some of them were also shot.
Condemnations
The Cameroon Women’s Peace Movement has expressed bitterness over the attacks, calling it “unacceptable”.
“We call on both parties to respect humanitarian law by ensuring women and girls are safe and not a target during armed conflict,” they tweeted.
Human rights activist, Barrister Agbor Balla, said the attack on these women is inhumane, senseless, and a glaring example of terrorizing the civilian population.
“The fact that they cannot show any modicum of respect to women who are their mothers shows the “ revolution” is at an all-time low. This is the apogee of lawlessness and criminality,” he stressed.
Women from the Northwest and Southwest have urged the government to take urgent steps towards peacebuilding in order to reduce abuses and gender-based violence against women.
Support Our Journalism
There are millions of ordinary people affected by conflict in Africa whose stories are missing in the mainstream media. HumAngle is determined to tell those challenging and under-reported stories, hoping that the people impacted by these conflicts will find the safety and security they deserve.
To ensure that we continue to provide public service coverage, we have a small favour to ask you. We want you to be part of our journalistic endeavour by contributing a token to us.
Your donation will further promote a robust, free, and independent media.
Donate Here
