Between 2017-2023: Separatists responsible for over 60% civilian deaths in NW, SW - Report.

According to the report, separatist groups in the two English-speaking regions began to progressively intensify their attacks on civilians as the conflict dragged on. 

The report indicated that between the said period, armed separatist groups in the Anglophone regions were responsible for the deaths of more than 2,600 civilians. 

“Over the course of the conflict, separatists themselves became increasingly violent towards civilians. By 2020, separatist militias targeted civilians in equal proportion as state forces, and they became the most dangerous group towards unarmed local populations in the Anglophone regions by 2021,” the report noted. 

It went on to state that the conflict moved from no civilian deaths in 2017, to an unsafe place for the innocent children. According to report, the separatist groups are responsible for the death of over 300 civilians in 2023. 

The rise in victims, the report suggested, coincided with the radicalisation of the movement, which imposed “ghost towns” on residents of the two regions.

These tactics, the report stated, served not only to enforce control over the population but also to fuel the insurgent’s coffers through kidnappings for ransom and civilians suspected of collaborating with the government, often pulled out of their homes and in most cases, killed publicly.

The report equally described the deterioration of security for civilians in the crisis-hit regions, stating that the overall rise in violence targeting civilians shows a decreasing level of security provision for local populations in these regions. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No: 3261 of Wednesday October 16, 2024