Rapid Intervention Battalion, Cameroon

Last updated

The Rapid Intervention Battalion (Bataillon d'Intervention Rapide, or BIR) is an elite military force [1] and an army combat unit of the Cameroonian Armed Forces. [2]

Contents

The unit is supported by the United States, reports directly to the president of Cameroon, and has played a large part in the Cameroonian and regional war against Boko Haram. The unit has also been accused of torturing and killing detainees at a number of its bases in northern Cameroon and in Nigeria.

Structure and activities

Soldiers of BIR during exercise Silent Warrior 2013 in Bamenda, Cameroon Jan. 29, 2013 Silent-warrior-2013-4.jpg
Soldiers of BIR during exercise Silent Warrior 2013 in Bamenda, Cameroon Jan. 29, 2013

The BIR was created in 2001 in Cameroon's struggle against armed groups and gangs on its borders. [3]

The BIR is better equipped, trained and paid than ordinary units in Cameroon's army. [4] The unit is led by a retired Israeli officer and reports directly to Cameroon's president, instead of to the ministry of defense. [4] The BIR has worked closely with the US military since 2007 or earlier. [4]

A part of the BIR's objectives includes controlling the illegal circulation of arms. [5] The BIR has also been cited by poachers and ivory traders as a threat to illegal trade in animal goods. [5]

In 2016, the BIR participated in the US- and AFRICOM- sponsored Exercise Obangame and Saharan Express wargames, meant to increase regional military cooperation between central African nations and the United States. [6] The BIR hosted a significant portion of the exercises, involving 32 nations including the UK, France and Germany, at its base in Idenau. [6]

Operation Alpha

The BIR has launched Operation Alpha, a counterterrorism campaign against Boko Haram that has received international support. The operation's efforts have been central to the war waged by Cameroon, Nigeria, Niger and Chad against Boko Haram. [7]

The operation's headquarters are in Salak. [2] According to Amnesty International, Salak is also used as an illegal prison to house persons detained by the BIR. [2]

The BIR also conducts operations from the border town of Fotokol in Nigeria, where it converted a closed school into a military base. [7] In 2016, approximately 1000 BIR soldiers were reported to have captured the town of Kumshe, Nigeria from Boko Haram. [8]

Foreign support

BIR soldiers speak with American military advisors at their military base in Salak, Cameroon. BIR soldiers speak with American military advisors at their military base in Salak, Cameroon.png
BIR soldiers speak with American military advisors at their military base in Salak, Cameroon.

The BIR has received equipment and training from the United States and Israel. [9] In the spring of 2016, US Ambassador to Cameroon Michael Hoza praised the unit, stating, "In their training, conduct, and leadership, the BIR exhibited all of the values we expect in our own armed forces — professionalism, protection of the civilian population, and respect for human rights." [2] The US military has confirmed that works with the BIR in the fight against Boko Haram, and has stated that approximately 300 US military personnel are working with the BIR at any given time. [1]

Michael Page, a former US state department and intelligence analyst, has described the BIR as a Cameroonian "army within-an-army" for the United States. [4]

Accusations of human rights abuses

Amnesty International has accused the BIR of torturing detainees, [2] supporting these accusations with leaked videos of soldiers wearing BIR uniforms and torturing detainees. [7] The organization has stated that the detainees are primarily men of military age, Muslim, and of Kanuri ethnicity, but that women and children have also been held. [2] Both men and women have been tortured. [10] Tortured detainees have testified that American soldiers were present at BIR bases where they were detained. [10] Every year since 2010, the US State Department has issued a report accusing the BIR of human rights abuses including killings and assaults. [2]

In 2017, the U.S. Army began an inquiry into the torture allegations at the request of General Thomas Waldhauser, the commander of AFRICOM. [1]

Footage analyzed by BBC Africa Eye has shown BIR soldiers burning a house down in the Azi village of Southwest Region. [9] Cameroon's Communication Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary denied that the men were actually BIR soldiers, instead claiming that they were separatists in captured uniforms. [9] An OSINT investigation by individuals associated with bellingcat, and Amnesty International, linked the BIR to the execution of women and children, believed to be in Mayo-Tsanaga. [11] [12] [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

Maiduguri Place in Borno, Nigeria

Maiduguri is the capital and the largest city of Borno State in north-eastern Nigeria. The city sits along the seasonal Ngadda River which disappears into the Firki swamps in the areas around Lake Chad. Maiduguri was founded in 1907 as a military outpost by the British and has since grown rapidly with a population exceeding a million by 2007.

Operation Juniper Shield

Operation Juniper Shield, formerly known as Operation Enduring Freedom – Trans Sahara (OEF-TS), is the military operation conducted by the United States and partner nations in the Sahara/Sahel region of Africa, consisting of counterterrorism efforts and policing of arms and drug trafficking across central Africa. It is part of the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). The other OEF mission in Africa is Operation Enduring Freedom – Horn of Africa (OEF-HOA).

Boko Haram Jihadist terrorist organization

Boko Haram, officially known as Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād, and Wilāyat Garb Ifrīqīyā, meaning "West African Province", is a terrorist organization based in northeastern Nigeria, which is also active in Chad, Niger and northern Cameroon.

Cameroon–Nigeria relations Diplomatic relations between the Republic of Cameroon and the Federal Republic of Nigeria

This article details the foreign relations between Cameroon and Nigeria.

Fotokol is a town and commune in Logone-et-Chari Department, Far North Region, Cameroon. It is home to Fotokol High School.

Boko Haram insurgency Conflict in Nigeria

The Boko Haram insurgency began in July 2009, when the jihadist group Boko Haram started an armed rebellion against the government of Nigeria. The conflict takes place within the context of long-standing issues of religious violence between Nigeria's Muslim and Christian communities, and the insurgents' ultimate aim is to establish an Islamic state in the region.

Timeline of the Boko Haram insurgency is the chronology of the Boko Haram insurgency, an ongoing armed conflict between Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram and the Nigerian government. Boko Haram have carried out many attacks against the military, police and civilians since 2009, mostly in Nigeria. The low-intensity conflict peaked in the mid 2010s, when Boko Haram extended their insurgency into Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping Kidnapping of female students in Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria

On the night of 14–15 April 2014, 276 mostly Christian female students aged from 16 to 18 were kidnapped by the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram from the Government Girls Secondary School at the town of Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria. Prior to the raid the school had been closed for four weeks due to deteriorating security conditions, but the girls were in attendance in order to take final exams in physics.

Amchide Place in Far North, Cameroon

Amchide is a town in Cameroon, on the border with Nigeria. It abuts the Nigerian town of Banki, with streets and even houses straddling the border.

The Abuja DSS attack was a coordinated terrorist attack by the Islamic group Boko Haram on the Department of State Security, Abuja on 31 March 2014 in a bid to escape from detention. This resulted in the death of 21 insurgents who attempted to escape leaving 2 security personnel severely injured.

The December 2014 Cameroon clashes were a number of incidents that occurred between 28–29 December 2014 in variety of locations in Cameroon's Far North Region. The event included attacks on civilians and military positions carried out by Nigeria-based Boko Haram; the attacks were followed by a successful Cameroonian military counter offensive.

Multinational Joint Task Force

The Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) is a combined multinational formation, comprising units, mostly military, from Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria. It is headquartered in N'Djamena and is mandated to bring an end to the Boko Haram insurgency.

The January 2015 raid on Kolofata was an unsuccessful assault on a Cameroonian military base at Kolofata, Far North Region, perpetrated by Boko Haram. The incident occurred on 12 January 2015 coming shortly after another Boko Haram incursion onto Cameroonian soil.

2015 West African offensive

Starting in late January 2015, a coalition of West African troops launched an offensive against the Boko Haram insurgents in Nigeria.

Giwa barracks

Giwa barracks is a military detention center located in northeastern Nigeria, near the city of Maiduguri. Since 2014, the facility has been attacked multiple times by Boko Haram, as prisoners in the facility are mostly confirmed or suspected members of Boko Haram and their families. In 2016, the prison held an estimated 1,200 prisoners. Human rights groups such as Amnesty International have accused the Nigerian military of mistreating and torturing prisoners, as well as running the facility "inhumanely".

Salak is a village in the Far North Region of Cameroon, near the Salak Airport.

Chad Basin campaign (2018–2020)

The Chad Basin campaign of 2018–2020 was a series of battles and offensives in the southern Chad Basin, particularly northeastern Nigeria, which took place amid the ongoing Boko Haram insurgency. The Chad Basin witnessed an upsurge of insurgent activity from early November 2018, as rebels belonging to the Islamic State's West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Boko Haram launched offensives and several raids to regain military strength and seize territory in a renewed attempt to establish an Islamic state in the region. These attacks, especially those by ISWAP, met with considerable success and resulted in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of civilians. The member states of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MJTF), namely Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon responded to the increased insurgent activity with counter-offensives. These operations repulsed the rebels in many areas, but failed to fully contain the insurgency.

International reactions to the Anglophone Crisis

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.

Brig. Gen. Valere Nka is a Cameroonian general who has commanded Cameroonian soldiers in the Boko Haram insurgency and the Anglophone Crisis. He has also served as Defence Attaché to Nigeria.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Browne, Ryan (7 August 2017). "US military launches inquiry into torture allegations at Cameroon base". CNN. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Trafford, Robert; Turse, Nick (20 July 2017). "Cameroonian Troops Tortured and Killed Prisoners at Base used for US Drone Surveillance". The Intercept. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  3. ↑ Amin, Julius (2014). African Immersion: American College Students in Cameroon. Lexington Books. ISBN   9781498502382 . Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Page, Matthew (26 July 2017). "In the war on Boko Haram, is the U.S. turning a blind eye to Cameroon's abuses?". The Washington Post. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  5. 1 2 Randolph, Shannon; Stiles, Daniel (2011). Elephant meat trade in Central Africa : Cameroon case study. IUCN.
  6. 1 2 "Obangame/Saharan Express 2016 concludes". DefenceWeb. 30 March 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 "Cameroon's Secret Torture Chambers". The Guardian. Forensic Architecture and Amnesty International. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  8. ↑ "Au Nigeria, Kumché libérée de l'emprise de Boko Haram". RFI. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  9. 1 2 3 "Burning Cameroon: Images you're not meant to see". BBC News . June 25, 2018. Archived from the original on June 26, 2018.
  10. 1 2 Maclean, Ruth (19 July 2017). "Cameroon 'torturing people accused of supporting Boko Haram'". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  11. ↑ Maclean, Ruth (July 13, 2018). "Video shows Cameroon army killing women and children, says Amnesty". The Guardian .
  12. ↑ "Cameroon military extrajudicial execution of women and children. Most horrendous act to watch". YouTube. July 10, 2018. Retrieved July 13, 2018. An investigation by Amnesty International experts has gathered credible evidence that it was Cameroonian soldiers depicted in a video carrying out the horrific extrajudicial executions of two women and two young children.
  13. ↑ Strick, Benjamin [@BenDoBrown] (July 13, 2018). "Possible site of #Cameroon execution video? It's a work in progress with @danriversitv & @bellingcat resources. The possible location is 10.92666667, 14.16722222 as suggested by @danriversitv - I've just added a few more notes on the path. Again, this is a work in progress" (Tweet). Archived from the original on July 13, 2018 – via Twitter.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.