The Cameroonian government

[Shishirgano9]

The victims' clothing identified them as Nigerian. Still not enough to identify the killers. A mix with traditional methods The rest is more classic. identification of weapons (a specific model), used in this part of the country "as proven by other images posted on Facebook by Cameroonian soldiers" . The same goes for uniforms, despite repeated denials from the Cameroonian government. "Satellite images also showed us that a unit using these weapons and uniforms was stationed 880 meters from the execution site." The team then investigates on the ground to find out who, among the soldiers stationed there, was bragging and showing off possible trophies.


"With these cross-references, we identified three men on the videothen list of real mobile database changed its strategy and released names of possible perpetrators. The three men in question were among them." This way of investigating is reminiscent of military intelligence methods. But it is now accessible to editorial staff, provided that they mobilize specific skills and find help. analysis of satellite images and the ability to correlate them with other information on the web; field investigation, data visualization, and a great spirit of deduction! As for the most precise satellite images, "they are not all classified, far from it," Strick says.


Some are offered by civilians. Access is often expensive, but very often free images are sufficient. This was the case during the investigation in Cameroon!" Geojournalism is therefore not reserved for the wealthiest editorial offices (even if some of the images used in Boutcha's verifications were expensive). And they do not in any way exempt you from investigating on the ground. "It is a plus, but a decisive plus," concludes Benjamin Strick. In Cameroon, in 2020, a military court sentenced four soldiers, including the three identified by the investigation team, to… 10 years in prison.