Cameroon, Five Years of Enforced Disappearance. The Agony of 130 Families

On 27 December 2014, Cameroon Security Forces arrested over 200 adult males in the villages of Magdémé and Doublé in the Far-North region.

It was a violent raid in an area afflicted by repeated attacks by the armed group, Boko Haram: eight people were killed, 70 buildings were destroyed and looted.
Nothing is known of 130 people of the more than 200 arrested. Authorities stated that the day after, 45 people were transferred to prison and that 25 died during their first night in custody. But they did not reveal the names of the victims, nor where they were buried.
In 2015, the head of the gendarmerie in the Far-North at the time of the raid, Colonel Zé Onguéné Charles was dismissed and an investigation into him was opened. He was charged with negligence and breach of custody law. The outcome of the investigation are unknown. What we do know is that in March 2019, he was named Advisor at the Ministry of Defense.
On 10 March, Amnesty International will launch an international campaign, “Where are they?” urging the Cameroon Government to provide answers to the families of the 130 people who went missing and to hold accountable those responsible for their disappearance.