Amnesty International: Serbia immediately halts arms sale in Cameroon

Amnesty International told BIRN (Balkan Investigative Reporting Network) that Cameroon has used Serbian weapons in a model of <x0-second systematic violations of human rights and has called on Serbia to suspend arms exports to the African state.

In view of the reliable testimony of the Zastava M21 weapons used by Cameroon's soldiers to carry out the terrible extratrial executions of two young women and children, Serbia has a major supplier of small arms in Cameroon, should suspend further supplies”, Patrick Wilken, the weapons control researcher in Amnesty International said.

This is not the first time Amnesty International has documented human rights abuses by the Canadian forces using small Serbian weapons. On the contrary, it reflects a model of systematic violations, “added Wilken.

The comment came after Amnesty and Bellingcat said they had proven that the first weapon in the women and children's execution video, accused of belonging to the illegal Islamic group Boko Haram, was a Zastava M21 made by Serbia.

The weapon is produced at the state-owned Zastava weapons factory in the central town of Kraguyevci.

Serbia's Ministry of Commerce, which issues permission for arms exports and the Defence Ministry, did not answer BIRN's questions about selling weapons to Cameroon until the time of publication.

According to data from the UN Treaty on Arms Trade, Cameroon has been one of the largest beneficiaries of Serbian weapons since 2013.

BIRN reported in September last year that in several tweets, they had captured images of Serbian machine guns, Coyote, in Cameroon and Nigeria, apparently captured by the Boko Haram fighters.

On July 12th, Amnesty reported that an investigation had “obtained reliable evidence that it was Cameroon's soldiers described in a video carrying out the terrible extra - law executions of two women and two young children”.

Issa Tchiroma Bakary, the Cameruna Minister of Communication, dismissed this video as false news, but said authorities would conduct an investigation.

Although we have shown this to be false, the head of state has instructed the Defence Ministry to open a thorough investigation in which no stone should be left unmoved,” was quoted as saying Bakari.

Amnesty, however, said that the “two soldiers' weapons and uniforms in the video are indicators of the Cameroon Army, and the screen models match a number of possible units, including regular infantry and the Quick Intervention Battalion (BIR) army forces of Cameroon “.

Paul Biya, who has been the president of Cameroon for 36 years, is facing charges of brutal human rights abuse.

On July 13th, the Associated Press reported that Biya is one of the longest leader in Africa's service and that he oversees an African country facing an Anglo-Funist movement and the threat by the extremists of Boko Haram crossing the border from Nigeria.