00:02Cameroon has handed prison sentences to three soldiers involved in killing 21
00:06civilians six years ago. A military court in Yaoundé handed down the
00:11sentences on Thursday and the decision was officially announced by the accused
00:15soldiers' lawyers on Friday. It is a rare conviction of security forces in the
00:21country. The three soldiers were found guilty of being involved in killing 21
00:26civilians during separatist unrest in northwest Cameroon in 2020. The NGO
00:34Human Rights Watch said government troops and ethnic Fulani militia raided a
00:38village and killed at least 21 civilians at the time. Thirteen of the dead were
00:44children and one was a pregnant woman according to the rights group. Although
00:50Yaoundé initially denied that its troops had participated in the violence a
00:54legal case was eventually opened. The three soldiers have been handed jail terms
01:00between five and ten years. Victims' lawyers however said they were
01:04disappointed with the mild prison sentences.
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