Cameroon: How Muyuka became a monument of the Anglophone crisis

Video footages of suspected armed separatist fighters butchering a 35 year old mother of two in Muyuka shocked the nation and has reawakens the emotional consciousnesses of a war-exhausted population in ground zero. The sickening murder which took place on August 11th 2020 in Muyuka, an agricultural town in Fako division South West region of Cameroon came to give a thorny crown to a week already bleeding from gruesome killings by armed separatist fighters in the two regions. That same week, Bamenda was bleeding from a killed teacher, Ndop saw a councilor killed and and dumped at the road, a pastor and aid worker bled to death after he was shot by separatist fighters and then Muyuka. But despite a terrible week of Amba atrocities against its own people, none, just none of them comes anything close to the heart-breaking video which would emerged from Muyuka Comfort Timmasang was butchered while begging for help, her only crime? attempting to fall in love with a military officer( largely considered an enemy by separatist fighters) Her plea for forgiveness and confession of visiting an ‘enemy’ camp failed to grease the soulless Amba interrogators as one could be heard promising to butcher her in one of two videos which TeboPost has Minutes after after, the armed fighters would make good of their promise, butchering an innocent Anglophone woman with two young kids back home all while televising in a video hard to watch. What followed after the heinous crime was a barrage of condemnation from every human being of conscience irrespective of political allegiances While human right organizations, politicians, Cameroonians and international community scramble to outsmart each other with exhaustive adjectives to describe the barbaric and unspeakable act, separatist leaders were confused on how to respond A series of misteps will then ensured, as some blame friendly faction while others praised the slaughtering of an innocent woman on social media. But as separatist leaders struggle to find commonalities to handle arguably one of the most visible stains of a revolution already failing under the weight of its own atrocities, the military was raiding Muyuka and rightfully so. Dozens of troops entered the town, entering houses after the killing, raiding homes and arresting hundreds as the army seeks to reposition itself as a friendly force committed to defend the people in a town it has committed atrocities of its own After all, it’s the most recent crime that everyone remembers. As military trucks rollin into Buea with hundreds of people arrested from Muyuka, the troops drew rare applause from bitter population choked with the atrocities of those who had promised them ‘liberation’ Scenes of locals cheering the Millitray as they almost emptied an already abandoned Muyuka should send striking message to separatist fighters and their backers- the people are giving up with their excesses. Muyuka- too often too much But Muyuka has been arguably the hardest hit town of the Anglophone crisis A once  thriving agricultural town, Muyuka now is a shadow of itself One time home to one of the most deadly and potent  faction of separatist fighters in the regions, the town now bear the scars of the war more than most. A relentless Millitray campaign has emptied the town, killing many and leaving surrounding villages razed as the army struggled to take control Administrative buildings have been reduced to rubble, their occupants fled as Muyuka fast became the ground zero in ground zero with armed separatists putting forth a resistance which inspired other fighters elsewhere in the regions. In 2018, armed separatist fighters summoned the courage and basking in the confidence of his ‘Military prowess’ blocked the Buea Kumba highway from their base in Muyuka for two weeks, causing international embarrassment for Yaounde and leaving government hiding in shame Armed separatist fighters blocked Kumba Buea road for days in June 2018 Multiple attempts to clear the highway which links Cameroon to Nigeria by Cameroon ellite forces wither in the ‘Military’ Know how of Efang and his boys as thousands of passengers stranded on both sides of the highway, reminding the world Cameroon is facing a historic crisis worthy of international attention. The highways would later be cleared weeks later after Yaounde deploy unbelievable firepower as though it was heading to war with an enemy nation The ‘Amba General’ who headed that operation would later be killed by a sister force as division and infighting over money robbed the revolution of its once glorious shine and well, probably, focus. Muyuka would then be given special attention afterwards,Millitray installations built as government sought to avert similar humiliation in future. The war and suffering however didn’t stop and guns didn’t stop blazing either. The Town made headline again in 2019, this time with millitary in the spotlight as they are accused of shooting a four months old baby at close range On May 20th during national day celebrations, the army was accused of shooting a four month old baby Maltha Mbu Neba in the town. Government scrambled to deny its forces were involved as the international community fumes But as Yaounde distanced itself from the killing, local media houses like Equinoxe was airing interviews with the parents of the toddler who blamed the army for the killing. Condemnations were plenty as allies of Cameroon distanced themselves from the blood of an innocent child, urging the government to investigate. For a crisis which has already killed more than 3000 people, most of them civilians and displaced more than 2 million according right groups, every single killing is one too many going forward one would think. But despite that shivering statistics, reports of multiple killings by both sides especially civilians in the town has since been a monthly routine even as the people struggle to normalize living during war. The killing of a teacher in Bamenda,a Warder  in Piyin, farmer in Bali,councilor in Ndop or the famous massacre in Ngarbuh have all touched  the nation to its core, but very few places have bore the brunt of the crisis Muyuka has suffered this far For many in the Anglophone regions, Muyuka has come to symbolize everything evil when it comes to the crisis. The post Cameroon: How Muyuka became a monument of the Anglophone crisis appeared first on TeboPost.