HRW deplores use of 'lethal force' against protesters in Cameroon

DOUALA, Cameroon 

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) denounced on Friday the use of "excessive and lethal force" by Cameroon's armed forces against protesters in Bamenda, a northwestern region, on Nov. 12.

The protesters were calling for justice for the police killing that day of Brandy Tataw, an 8-year-old schoolgirl.

"The Cameroonian authorities should ensure that those responsible for the killing of Brandy Tataw and for excessive use of force against protesters are held accountable," the international non-governmental organization headquartered in New York, said in a statement.

“The army’s use of live ammunition on people protesting the death of a child raises a disturbing specter of a trigger-happy security force,” said Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Africa researcher at the HRW."

According to Martin Mbarga Nguele, the Cameroonian police chief, Tataw was hit by a ricochet bullet a policeman had fired at a car that failed to stop at a police checkpoint.

In a press release, he announced that an investigation had been opened and the policeman in question had been arrested.

The killing sparked protests across Bamenda, where there is a violent crisis between armed separatist groups and the national government.

Hundreds of residents took to the streets, parading Tataw’s body, and calling for justice.

Witnesses told HRW that soldiers came in at least two armored vehicles and dispersed protesters with live bullets.

A nurse quoted in the report said she treated six men with gunshot wounds and bruises.

According to the rights group, Tataw’s killing was the second time in less than a month that security forces’ use of lethal force led to a child’s death.

On Oct. 14, a gendarme killed 4-year-old Caro Louise Ndialle, who was in a vehicle on her way to school in Buea’s Molyko neighborhood. An angry mob responded to the killing by lynching the gendarme.