Immediately, a fierce debate began on social media. Some said this happened in Cameroon. Others said it was Mali.pic.twitter.com/hbhM2hzEYu
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We know where. We know when. But who are the men who killed these women and children? We’ll start by establishing that these are members of the Cameroonian military.pic.twitter.com/SqyL9yOPQf
The government’s July statement claimed that the guns seen in the video are not those used by Cameroonian troops. But this is a Serbian-made Zastava M21. It’s rare in sub-Saharan Africa, but it *is* used by some divisions of the Cameroonian army.pic.twitter.com/vZ6xdwpC5O
The govt also claimed that Cameroonian soldiers in the Far North wear pale, desert-style fatigues, not the darker, forest-style camouflage seen in the video. But we found these images on Facebook – tagged to Zelevet – of soldiers wearing the type of camouflage seen in the videopic.twitter.com/ROVP1q6tcZ
The govt also asked why the soldiers in the video were not wearing full combat gear – heavy helmets, bulletproof vests, and rangers boots. The answer is that they were not out on patrol. They were just a few hundred metres away from this combat outpostpic.twitter.com/lBsnabqXyr
We know this is a combat outpost because we found a @Channel4News report that was filmed here in 2015 – and we matched the features visible in that report to the details we see on satellite imagery.pic.twitter.com/nmtD8cm0Ag
In August, there was a sudden change in the govt’s position. After weeks of denying that these killings took place in Cameroon, the Minister of Communication announced that 7 members of the military had been arrested and were under investigation.pic.twitter.com/21idCm0MI4
We have identified three men who actually pulled the trigger. One of them is this man, introduced in the video as “Tchotcho”pic.twitter.com/lBtnhmlpNt
We found a Facebook profile that links the nickname 'Tchotcho' to a soldier called Cyriaque Bityala. The name Cyriaque Bityala also appears on the government’s list of men now under investigation.pic.twitter.com/gSN6HMlV0W
The BBC also spoke with a former Cameroonian soldier, who asked not to be named. He confirmed that this is ‘Tchotcho’ Cyrique Bityalapic.twitter.com/vBqkD3ZsiD
At the end of the video, we see him again - blindfolding the litte girl he is about to kill. A few seconds later, he draws his weapon and opens fire.pic.twitter.com/YB341xENfA
We identified two other guns used in the killing. One of the was in the hands of this man. We see him here blindfolding the women with the baby just before the shooting starts. Our military source identified him as Barnabas ‘Gonorso'.pic.twitter.com/ofOdRpOwI7
Although we were not able to confirm this identification, a very similar name – Barnabas Donossou – appeared 11 days later in the government’s list of men now under investigation.pic.twitter.com/KNvdDVib6o
The other gun used in the killing is the Zastava M21 we saw earlier. It’s in the hands of a man identified in the video as “Cobra.” Who is Cobra?pic.twitter.com/mvWRoPvBbQ
As the women and children are killed, “Cobra” is the last man still firing into the bodies. A colleague calls out “Tsanga, leave it, they’re dead.” When he keeps firing, they call again: “That’s enough, Tsanga.”pic.twitter.com/qy9tFhwhvS
The name Tsanga also appears on the government’s list of soldiers now under investigation, suggesting that “Cobra” is a nickname for Lance Corporal Tsanga.pic.twitter.com/vVMz2YoJH5
We put these finding to the government of Cameroon, who said that 7 soldiers have been arrested, disarmed, and imprisoned while under investigation.pic.twitter.com/3zwlmMlaxe
The government statement makes clear that all these men enjoy the presumption of innocence, and that they will be given a fair trial.pic.twitter.com/sFWnE4hmio
The two women killed outside Zelevet received no trial at all. No presumption of innocence was extended to the children who died with them.pic.twitter.com/WG7SFjQ9ml
You can watch #BBCAfricaEye's full report herehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G9S-eoLgX4 …
This investigation was produced by @yaolri @danielsilas @benstrick @effisfor and @emmanuelfreudenthal
Thanks to the analysts and journalists who contributed
@Sector035
@obretix
@y_vdw
@JHarris_UK
@MFlumf
@trbrtc
@ilariallegro
@samdubberley
@bellingcat
@amnesty
Correction to these credits: the other producers on this story are @BenDoBrown and @EmmanuelFreuden. Apologies to @benstrick, who had nothing to do with it, for the tag typo.
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