The Indigenous Peoples Rights International (IPRI) strongly condemns the brutal massacre carried out on 14 January 2026 against the Pastoral Mbororo Indigenous community in Gidado, Ntumbaw, Ndu Sub-Division, Donga-Mantung Division, in the North-West Region of Cameroon. According to information received from Indigenous organizations and community sources, armed Ambazonia groups carried out a violent attack that resulted in the killing of 14 Indigenous people, the majority of them women and children, including babies, young girls, and pregnant women. Several victims were killed during early morning prayers, including inside a mosque. At least seven people remain hospitalized with serious injuries.
IPRI urgently calls for immediate protection measures for Indigenous Peoples who have been attacked and forcibly displaced, to prevent further violence, loss of life, and irreversible harm to the community. This attack is part of a sustained and systematic pattern of violence against Pastoral Mbororo communities in the region. Cameroon has been experiencing an armed conflict between the State and separatist groups for over two decades. Indigenous Mbororo communities—already affected by systemic discrimination, economic marginalization, and social isolation—have become recurrent targets of armed groups fighting the Cameroonian State, who accuse them of “aligning” with government authorities. As a result, these communities face constant cattle theft, forced displacement from their lands, and deadly attacks, while the State has failed to guarantee their protection.
With this massacre, the number of Mbororo pastoralists killed in Donga-Mantung—most of them in Ndu—has risen to at least 126 since 2018. Entire families have been targeted over the years, reinforcing a climate of terror, collective punishment, and forced displacement.
The humanitarian consequences are devastating. Communities have been forcibly displaced, homes destroyed, and livestock looted, stripping families of their primary source of livelihood. Women and children are living in extremely precarious conditions, without adequate access to food, water, shelter, healthcare, or psychosocial support. Many children have fled after losing one or both parents. The security situation continues to deteriorate, with credible threats of further attacks, while humanitarian access remains severely constrained.
IPRI expresses its deepest condolences and unwavering solidarity with the families and communities affected. We stand with the Pastoral Mbororo people in their grief and in their demand for justice and protection.
IPRI urgently calls on the State of Cameroon to fulfill its obligations under national and international human rights law and to take immediate action to:
- Conduct an independent, prompt, and impartial investigation, with due diligence, into this massacre and all previous attacks, and ensure that all perpetrators and those responsible are brought to justice.
- Guarantee full and effective reparations to affected families and communities, including restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, and guarantees of non-repetition.
- Implement immediate and effective protection measures for Pastoral Mbororo and other Indigenous communities at risk in the North-West Region.
- Legally recognize the collective land rights and sustainable livelihoods of the Mbororo pastoralist and ensure the protection of their territory.
- Address forced displacement without delay, ensuring that Indigenous Peoples can return voluntarily and safely to their lands under conditions of security and dignity, or access alternative solutions agreed with the communities.
- Ensure urgent humanitarian assistance, including medical care for the injured; food, water, shelter, and basic health services for women and children; and the restoration of livelihoods, by enabling safe and unhindered access for humanitarian actors.
It is the State’s duty to protect the right to life, physical integrity, security, and collective rights, survival, and dignity of Indigenous Peoples. Continued inaction and impunity will deepen the cycle of violence and displacement.
IPRI joins Indigenous leaders and organizations in Cameroon in calling on national authorities, regional bodies, the United Nations, diplomatic missions, and international donors to urgently raise awareness of this situation and mobilize coordinated protection and humanitarian support.
- Photo: © Jordi Zaragozà Anglès (2020)
- Photo: © Angels Ferrer (2022)
