I often hunt for the biggest scoop of the day, as fifteen hours are dedicated to just that what I unearth at times can be disturbing.
These Tweets were published today Sept. 24th, 2018 after three years of fiercely investigating the execution of several innocent women and children by Cameroon soldiers the story was named “Anatomy of a Killing”. The below succession of updates were retweeted 32,000 times and you will discover why.
I occasionally insert my beak where I have personally uncovered one or two gems of information. Note the below is NOT for the faint of heart, the video can be disturbing as it leads directly to the point of an execution. Luckily the stream itself ends on a positive note.
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The govt also claimed that Cameroonian soldiers in the Far North wear pale, desert-style fatigues, not the darker, forest-style camouflage seen in the video.
But we found these images on Facebook – tagged to Zelevet – of soldiers wearing the type of camouflage seen in the video pic.twitter.com/ROVP1q6tcZ
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) September 24, 2018
In July, the Cameroonian govt dismissed the allegations as “Fake News.”
They claimed the guns were not those carried by the Cameroonian military.
They said the camouflage pattern was not used in the Far North.
They asked why the soldiers were not wearing full combat gear. pic.twitter.com/4peZmjISCY
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) September 24, 2018
After a tip off from a Cameroonian source, we found an exact match for that ridge line on Google Earth pic.twitter.com/niJoH9w3nX
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) September 24, 2018
Once we had the general location, we looked at other details in the film – tracks, buildings, trees – and matched them precisely to features visible on satellite imagery. pic.twitter.com/IzKuyKzao8
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) September 24, 2018
When did this happen?
Again, the video contains clues.
This building is visible in the video. But satellite imagery reveals that, back in November 2014, the walls around it had not yet been built.
The killing happened after November 2014. pic.twitter.com/XODYqL5LRY
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) September 24, 2018
We know that the murders took place in the hot, dry season, because this footpath – just visible in the video – only appears on the satellite imagery between January and April.
That makes it probable that we’re looking at early 2015 pic.twitter.com/Uotw9w25mY
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) September 24, 2018
We know where. We know when.
But who are the men who killed these women and children?
We’ll start by establishing that these are members of the Cameroonian military. pic.twitter.com/SqyL9yOPQf
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) September 24, 2018
The govt also claimed that Cameroonian soldiers in the Far North wear pale, desert-style fatigues, not the darker, forest-style camouflage seen in the video.
But we found these images on Facebook – tagged to Zelevet – of soldiers wearing the type of camouflage seen in the video pic.twitter.com/ROVP1q6tcZ
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) September 24, 2018
We know this is a combat outpost because we found a @Channel4News report that was filmed here in 2015 – and we matched the features visible in that report to the details we see on satellite imagery. pic.twitter.com/nmtD8cm0Ag
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) September 24, 2018
We have identified three men who actually pulled the trigger.
One of them is this man, introduced in the video as “Tchotcho” pic.twitter.com/lBtnhmlpNt
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) September 24, 2018
The BBC also spoke with a former Cameroonian soldier, who asked not to be named.
He confirmed that this is ‘Tchotcho’ Cyrique Bityala pic.twitter.com/vBqkD3ZsiD
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) September 24, 2018
We identified two other guns used in the killing.
One of the was in the hands of this man. We see him here blindfolding the women with the baby just before the shooting starts.
Our military source identified him as Barnabas ‘Gonorso'. pic.twitter.com/ofOdRpOwI7
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) September 24, 2018
The other gun used in the killing is the Zastava M21 we saw earlier.
It’s in the hands of a man identified in the video as “Cobra.”
Who is Cobra? pic.twitter.com/mvWRoPvBbQ
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) September 24, 2018
The name Tsanga also appears on the government’s list of soldiers now under investigation, suggesting that “Cobra” is a nickname for Lance Corporal Tsanga. pic.twitter.com/vVMz2YoJH5
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) September 24, 2018
The government statement makes clear that all these men enjoy the presumption of innocence, and that they will be given a fair trial. pic.twitter.com/sFWnE4hmio
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) September 24, 2018
You can watch #BBCAfricaEye's full report here https://t.co/ffvCcmr2od
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) September 24, 2018
Correction to these credits: the other producers on this story are @BenDoBrown and @EmmanuelFreuden. Apologies to @benstrick, who had nothing to do with it, for the tag typo.
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) September 24, 2018
Whoo! After that story I feel like I’ve given birth.
I’m currently investigating this further, check back tomorrow on this link for additional insights. I hope to find some specifics on those soldiers..
