Hon Wallang Richard Ebua Member of Parliament for Menchum South Constituency met [in Wum] and offered financial assistance to the grieving people of Missong village of Fungom Subdivision on Tuesday June 7, 2022.
Offering 350,000 francs CFA to the victims of the military blunder that left members of their community dead, the MP known for his good heart advised them to return to their village and pursue their farming activities. He assured them of the protection of security forces from the claws of armed groups, despite the mishap.
Government while announcing the arrest of the soldiers responsible for the attack on civilians said nine persons were killed on Wednesday June 1 in the locality of Missong, Fungom subdivision, Menchum division, of the North West region. An infant of 12 months was hit by bullets, the military spokesperson Cyrille Atonfack said in a statement on Tuesday June 7, 2022.
The military said the soldiers were searching for a missing comrade. “ …four of the seven elements of the Defence and Security Forces of the “Bravo” Joint Unit, under the command of the 53rd Motorised Infantry Battalion (53rd BIM), detached to the Abar Advanced Post, and returning from a patrol, were immediately redeployed to Missong village [on a mission to search for a missing comrade], ” the spokesperson said.
As a result of opening fire, four men, four women and an 18-year old girl were killed by the soldiers. The military spokesperson said the soldiers’ decision to open fire was a “hasty reaction of self#protection, and in defiance of the sacrosanct principle of precaution, used their weapons.”
The statement said the four soldiers are under detention at Bamenda Gendarmerie Company. Adding that investigation will “shed more light on and establish responsibilities in this regrettable incident, which will be handled rigorously, following appropriate legal and communication procedures.”
The victims were buried on June 2, and the injured 12 months-old baby taken to Wum District Hospital for the treatment of her bullet wounds.
Jude VIBAN
