The U.S. Embassy deplores the torture, dismemberment, and beheading of a gendarme in the Southwest Region of Cameroon. We also condemn the reported beheading of a Cameroonian soldier in Bamenda, Northwest Region. We extend our condolences to their families.
We call on anyone with information that could help to identify the perpetrators of these acts to assist lawful authorities and to support a fair and transparent investigation and trial. We urge restraint by police and security forces. Retaliation against these provocations would endanger the civil populace, and will only feed a cycle of violence.
The violence must stop. Now more than ever, we call on both sides to enter into a broad-based dialogue without preconditions.