The army has denied responsibility in the killing of civilians last Sunday, January 10 in Mautu, Muyuka sub division in the South West Region of Cameroon.

Locals accused soldiers of the Cameroon army of carrying out targeted killings when they invaded the village last Sunday in search of armed separatist fighters.

However, a statement from the army denies any responsibility. According to the spokesperson of the Cameroon army,  Col. Cyrille Serge Atonfack Guemo, “elements of the 21st Motorised Infantry Batallion carried out a preventive raid on the positions of terrorist groups under the orders of the so-called “Spirito” and Gabonais” in Mautu last Sunday.

According to Col. Guemo, the armed separatists immediately opened fire on the soldiers who then provided an “adequate response”

“As a result of the skirmish, some terrorists were neutralised, others who were injured took to their heels, weapons and munitions were recovered,” Col Guemo said, adding operations are still ongoing to find injured fugitives.

When the incident occured on Sunday, pictures and videos went viral online, showing corpses as well as a woman injured on the leg and her child clinging onto her with an injured hand as both battled for survival.

However, the spokesman of the Cameroon army described the images as a “hotpotch of gruesome images in a bid to blame our defence  forces for a blind massacre perpetrated in Mautu”. He added that investigations will be carried out to shed light on the gruesome images that have been circulating.