Kumba school massacre

Last updated
Kumba school massacre
Part of the Anglophone Crisis
LocationMother Francisca International Bilingual Academy, Kumba, Meme Division, Southwest Region, Cameroon
Date24 October 2020 [1]
TargetStudents and staff
Attack type
 School shooting
WeaponsGuns, machetes [2]
Deaths8 [3] (one of whom died from his wounds two years later) [4]
Injured13 [3]
Perpetrators10 [5] –12 [6] unidentified attackers
MotiveUnclear

The Kumba school massacre took place at Mother Francisca International Bilingual Academy during the Anglophone Crisis, in Kumba, Cameroon, in October 2020. [7]

Contents

Massacre

Around noon on 24 October 2020, men in civilian clothing arrived on motorcycles and stormed the school. With machetes and guns, they killed seven children and injured another 13. [3] Some children were also injured when they jumped from windows to escape. [2] According to an official, the dead children were all between 12 and 14 years old. [1]

According to one of the survivors, there had been twelve attackers, most of whom were dressed in military or police uniforms. A local claimed that the school had been making regular payments to the separatists in the area in return for safety; the school would not confirm this. [6]

Perpetrators

No one claimed responsibility for the attack. [2] Local authorities blamed Ambazonian separatists, [8] while the Cameroonian government and separatist movements accused each other. The Cameroonian government said that around 10 separatist fighters had carried out the massacre, [5] singling out "General Transporter" as the attack's leading figure. [9] The Ambazonia Governing Council quickly claimed to possess evidence that the Cameroonian Army was responsible, while the Interim Government of Ambazonia drew parallels to the Ngarbuh massacre. [10] Cameroonian Communication Minister Rene Sadi strongly denied that the Cameroonian Army had been involved. [6]

Separatists have a history of attacking schools, which some of them regarded as legitimate targets because the French language is taught as a mandatory subject. [11] While students have been abducted and mistreated numerous times throughout the Anglophone Crisis, and several teachers have been killed, the attack on Mother Francisca International Bilingual Academy was the first school massacre to take place during the war.

Reactions and aftermath

Protest in Kumba against school attacks Protests in Kumba after 2020 school shootinf.jpg
Protest in Kumba against school attacks

The attack was condemned by United Nations Secretary General António Guterres and UNICEF Executive Director, Henrietta Fore. Matthias Z. Naab, the Humanitarian Coordinator in Cameroon, stated that he was "shocked and outraged by the killing of innocent school children which were attending school to get an education". The World Health Organization offered medical supplies to hospitals in the area. [12] [13]

On October 28, Cameroon's president Paul Biya declared that October 31 would be a day of national mourning, with flags flown at half-mast all day. [14]

On October 29, Cameroon claimed that the army had identified and killed the separatist commander who was responsible for the massacre, a man known as "Wonke". [15] A month later, a suspected gunman known as "Commander Zabra" was arrested by the police. [16]

After several months in court, four people were sentenced to death by the Buea Military Tribunal for their roles in the massacre on September 7, 2021. [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ambazonia</span> Political entity proclaimed by Cameroons Anglophone separatists

Ambazonia, alternatively the Federal Republic of Ambazonia or State of Ambazonia, is a political entity proclaimed by Anglophone separatists who are seeking independence from Cameroon. The separatists claim that Ambazonia should consist of the Northwest Region and Southwest Region of Cameroon. Since 2017, Ambazonian rebels have engaged in armed conflict with the Cameroonian military, in what is known as the Anglophone Crisis, setting up a government-in-exile and capturing some territory. No country has recognized Ambazonia's existence as of 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anglophone Crisis</span> 2017–present separatist conflict in Cameroon

The Anglophone Crisis, also known as the Ambazonia War or the Cameroonian Civil War, is an ongoing armed conflict between Cameroon Armed Forces and Ambazonian separatist rebel groups, part of the long-standing Anglophone problem. Following the suppression of 2016–17 protests by Cameroonian authorities, separatists in the Anglophone regions launched a guerrilla campaign and later proclaimed independence. Within two months, the government of Cameroon declared war on the separatists and sent its army into the Anglophone regions.

The Ambazonia Defence Forces (ADF) are a military organization that fights for the independence of Ambazonia, a self-declared independent state in the Anglophone regions of the former Southern Cameroons, Cameroon. It was formally established by the Ambazonia Governing Council (AGovC) on 9 September 2017, the same day as the organization declared a war of independence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivo Mbah</span> Ambazonian general (died 2018)

Ivo Mbah was an Ambazonian general who fought in the Anglophone Crisis. Reportedly one of the first separatists to go to war against Cameroonian authorities, he fought for more than a year before he was killed in combat with the Cameroonian Armed Forces.

Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe is an Ambazonian separatist leader from Ewelle village in Manyu division, and is the disputed first president of the unrecognized Federal Republic of Ambazonia. In January 2018 he was extradited from Nigeria to Cameroon, where he has been incarcerated ever since.

This is a timeline of the Anglophone Crisis during 2017.

This is a timeline of the Anglophone Crisis during 2018.

This is a timeline of the Anglophone Crisis during 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International reactions to the Anglophone Crisis</span>

From 2018, the Anglophone Crisis drew increasing international attention, and became a challenge to Cameroon's foreign relations. Triggered by a violent crackdown on the 2016–2017 Cameroonian protests, the conflict escalated from a low-scale insurgency to a civil war-like situation. While Cameroon enjoys support from African countries, no country has openly supported the Ambazonian independence movements. However, many countries have put pressure on Cameroon to talk to the separatists. In addition, the separatists enjoy support from officers in the Nigerian Army, who have helped arrange arms deals for them.

Red Dragon is an Ambazonian separatist militia loyal to the Interim Government of Ambazonia, and is part of the Ambazonia Self-Defence Council. It was led by Lekeaka Oliver, and controlled most of Lebialem Division in the Southwest Region, driving away the traditional rulers and local administrators. The group was greatly weakened in 2022, with Oliver being killed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tigers of Ambazonia</span>

The Tigers of Ambazonia (TTA), also known as Manyu Tigers or Tigers of Manyu, are an Ambazonian separatist militia. According to its official website, the Tigers recognize the authority of the Interim Government of Ambazonia. The militia is part of the Ambazonia Self-Defence Council. The Tigers mainly operate in Manyu and Meme.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Major National Dialogue</span> Part of the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon

The Major National Dialogue is the official name of a dialogue between the Government of Cameroon and various opposition parties, aimed at resolving the Anglophone Crisis. The event took place between September 30 and October 4, 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lekeaka Oliver</span> Ambazonian separatist commander (1968–2022)

Lekeaka Oliver, popularly known as Field Marshall, was a Cameroonian army soldier and later an Ambazonian separatist commander and the leader of the Red Dragon militia. His armed group is part of the loosely-structured Ambazonia Self-Defence Council, and is loyal to the Interim Government of Ambazonia. The Red Dragon is mainly active in Lebialem Division, Southwest Region. Oliver was the brother of Chris Anu, former Secretary for Communications of the Interim Government. Throughout his time as a separatist leader, Cameroonian forces erroneously reported that he had been killed three times. He was killed on 12 July 2022, though it remains unclear whether he was killed by Cameroonian forces or in an incident of separatist infighting.

This is a timeline of the Anglophone Crisis during 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ngarbuh massacre</span> 2020 attack in Cameroon

The Ngarbuh massacre took place in northwestern Cameroon on 14 February 2020 during the Anglophone Crisis, and resulted in the murder of 21 civilians, including 13 children, by Cameroonian soldiers and armed Fulani militia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Bamenda Clean</span> Part of the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon

Operation Bamenda Clean is an ongoing Cameroonian special counter-insurgency operation in Bamenda, Northwest Region, aimed at preventing armed Ambazonian separatists from operating in the city. By January 2021, Cameroon was gradually achieving what a security analyst at the University of Yaoundé called "relative peace" in Bamenda, and the mayor of the city stated that the operation was succeeding. However, as of March 2021, separatist-imposed ghost towns remained widely respected by the local population, and separatists controlled most roads leading in and out of Bamenda.

This is a timeline of the Anglophone Crisis during 2021.

This is a timeline of the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon during 2022.

This is a timeline of the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon during 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">General Transporter</span> Ambazonian rebel leader (died 2023)

Ayuk Ndifon Defcam, better known by his pseudonym "General Transporter" or "General Transporter of Meme", was an Ambazonian rebel leader. Mainly active in Meme department of Cameroon, he reportedly led one of the larger separatist militias in the region until his death in battle.

References

  1. 1 2 At Least 6 Children Killed in Attack on School in Cameroon, The New York Times, Oct 24, 2020. Accessed Oct 24, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 Attackers storm Cameroon school, kill several children, Al Jazeera, Oct 24, 2020. Accessed Oct 24, 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 Cameroon/Kumba massacre: Owners of Mother Francisca primary school still under police custody, Journal du Cameroun, Oct 30, 2020. Accessed Oct 30, 2020.
  4. ↑ Victim of Mother Francisca Kumba school shooting dies two years after, Cameroon News Agency, 28 October, 2022. Accessed 29 October 2022.
  5. 1 2 Kumba killings: Goment accuse separatists, deny say army get hand for school killings, BBC, Oct 25, 2020. Accessed Oct 25 ,2020. (Pidgin)
  6. 1 2 3 Kumba Massacre: Who Is Responsible?, Cameroon News Agency, Oct 25, 2020. Accessed Oct 25, 2020.
  7. ↑ Kumba killings: Six Mother Francisca International Academy students die inside school attack for south west Cameroon, BBC, Oct 24, 2020. Accessed Oct 24, 2020. (Pidgin)
  8. ↑ 8 children shot dead by gunmen in Cameroonian school: local media, Xinhua, Oct 24, 2020. Accessed Oct 24, 2020.
  9. ↑ Moki Edwin Kindzeka (3 February 2023). "Cameroon Says Separatists Relaunch Attacks, IED Use After Death of Self Proclaimed General". Voice of America. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  10. ↑ Massacre In Kumba School: Amba, Gov’t Play Blame Game, Cameroon News Agency, Oct 24, 2020. Accessed Oct 24, 2020.
  11. ↑ Cameroon: I spent a week embedded with Anglophone armed separatists Archived 14 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine , RFI, 14 June 2018. Accessed 14 June 2018.
  12. ↑ Humanitarian Coordinator in Cameroon condemns killing of school children in the South-West region, Reliefweb, Oct 24, 2020. Accessed Oct 24, 2020.
  13. ↑ "UN shocked and outraged over horrific attack on school in Cameroon". UN News. 2020-10-26. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  14. ↑ Cameroon: Biya declares Saturday October 31 as day of national mourning of victims of Kumba massacre
  15. ↑ Cameroon: Ambazonia General who staged Kumba school attack killed, Journal du Cameroun, Oct 29, 2020. Accessed Oct 29, 2020.
  16. ↑ Cameroon/Kumba kids massacre: Another suspected killer arrested, Dec 1, 2020. Accessed Dec 3, 2020.
  17. ↑ Cameroon: Four get death sentence over Kumba school massacre, Journal du Cameroun, Sep 8, 2021. Accessed Sep 8, 2021.

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