The Akwaya massacre happened on 25 June 2022, when

militant The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Lat ...

s killed at least 26

civilian A civilian is a person who is not a member of an armed force. It is war crime, illegal under the law of armed conflict to target civilians with military attacks, along with numerous other considerations for civilians during times of war. If a civi ...

s in the village of in

Akwaya Akwaya is a town and commune in the Manyu Department, Southwest Region of Cameroon. As of 2005 census, it had a population of 85,914. In 2022, at least 26 civilians were killed in a massacre. See also *Communes of Cameroon The Divisions ...

commune,

Southwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west— ...

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

Background

There had been a long-standing territorial dispute between the villages of Ballin and Mavass, inhabited by the Mesaka and Oliti ethnic groups, respectively. A spokesperson from the

Presbyterian Church of Cameroon The Presbyterian Church of Cameroon (in French: ''Église presbytérienne camerounaise'' and in English: ''Presbyterian Church of Cameroon'') is a reformed presbyterian denomination in Cameroon founded by missionaries from the Presbyterian Church ...

said that peace talks were being organized, but that representatives from neither of the communities agreed to attend. According to local sources, the massacre was preceded by the killing of Oliti men who had set up control posts in Ballin a few days prior.

Massacre

The attackers set fire to more than fifty houses and attacked the residence of Marin Aka, a local politician who had been attending his brother's funeral. Authorities recovered at least 26 bodies, including five

Nigerians Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

, although the estimated death toll was 32. The perpetrators also destroyed a hospital during the

massacre A massacre is an event of killing people who are not engaged in hostilities or are defenseless. It is generally used to describe a targeted killing of civilians Glossary of French words and expressions in English#En masse, en masse by an armed ...

. Cameroonian health authorities were unable to organize an evacuation of the wounded, so villagers had to transport them to the nearest health center themselves. Those with severe injuries were evacuated to Nigeria for treatment. According to the

, a number died before they reached a Nigerian hospital.

Perpetrators

Government authorities said that the massacre had been committed by

Ambazonia Ambazonia, alternatively the Federal Republic of Ambazonia or the State of Ambazonia, is a political entity proclaimed by Anglophone separatists seeking independence from Cameroon. The separatists claim that Ambazonia should consist of the N ...

insurgent An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare against a larger authority. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irregular forces face a large, well ...

s, which the rebels denied and instead suggested it had been committed by Nigerian rebels. The Presbyterian Church of Cameroon reported that the Akwaya massacre was actually related to a land dispute between Ballin and the neighbouring village of Mavass. Local officials said that Mavass had hired Ambazonian

separatist Separatism is the advocacy of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, regional, governmental, or gender separation from the larger group. As with secession, separatism conventionally refers to full political separation. Groups simply seekin ...

s to carry out the attack.

References

{{Reflist 2022 in Cameroon 2022 mass shootings in Africa 2022 murders in Cameroon 21st-century mass murder in Cameroon Anglophone Crisis Arson in Cameroon Arson in 2022 Attacks on buildings and structures in 2022 Attacks on hospitals in Africa June 2022 crimes in Africa Massacres in 2022 Massacres in Cameroon Southwest Region (Cameroon) Unsolved mass murders