Maryland Man Indicted for Conspiring to Provide Material Support to Armed Separatist Fighters to Murder, Kidnap, and Maim Individuals in Cameroon and For Making Threats

A federal grand jury in Baltimore returned an indictment yesterday charging a Cameroonian national, Eric Tataw, also known as “the Garri Master,” 38, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, with conspiring to provide material support to armed separatist militias in Cameroon and threatening violence against Cameroonian civilians. He surrendered and will make his initial court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Mark Coulson today.

According to court documents, multiple armed and violent secessionist groups in the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon are fighting to form a new country called “Ambazonia.” The armed separatist militias sought to achieve secession by not only attacking the Cameroonian military, but also intentionally attacking the civilian population in Cameroon in an attempt to force the Cameroonian government into allowing these regions to secede. These separatist fighters are frequently referred to as “Amba Boys.”

“The defendant is alleged to have ordered horrific acts of violence, including severing limbs, against Cameroonian civilians in support of a violent secessionist movement,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This indictment represents the Justice Department’s commitment to hold accountable human rights violators who direct brutal political violence and fundraise for armed militias from the comfort of the United States.”

Read more: Department of Justice