Cameroon’s North-West and South-West Regions are experiencing a severe humanitarian crisis: more than 630,000 people are internally displaced, and more than 86,000 people have taken refuge in neighbouring Nigeria. The ongoing sociopolitical crisis in both regions led to violence that is affecting the local economy and people’s access to essential social services. Essential services and infrastructure have now collapsed in the most severely affected areas.

Approximately 18 per cent of health facilities have been forced to close since April, and many that are operational are struggling to function.

Internally displaced persons, returnees, and some host populations, especially those in hard-to-reach areas without health facilities, are facing challenges accessing health care. Partners are mobilizing to provide humanitarian assistance to people in need.

Source: UN

Finance Minister Alamine Ousmane Mey signed on Tuesday (July 18) three financing agreements with the head of the European Union (EU) delegation to Cameroon, Philippe Van Damme. The CFAF40 billion support covered by the agreement will support the fight against food insecurity, the construction of certain infrastructure, and the resilience of women in the North-West, South-West, West, and Littoral regions.

The women resilience program notably covered by the agreements involves the promotion of women empowerment with the creation of income-generating activities and an improvement of access to vocational training, Philippe Van Damme says. 

Food insecurity, which is also targeted by the EU funding, officially affects around 3 million people in Cameroon, or around 11% of the country’s population. Children under the age of 5 are the hardest hit, with 1/3 suffering from chronic malnutrition.

Source: Business in Cameroon

Cameroon’s military says it has arrested scores of rebels suspected in the shooting deaths of 10 civilians Sunday in the northwest town of Bamenda. The military says separatists disguised themselves as government troops to try to frame them for the killings, which a rebel spokesperson denies.

Bamenda city mayor Achombong Paul, who visited Bamenda Regional Hospital on Tuesday morning, said residents of the city are living in fear after Sunday’s brutal killings.

“Every human life has value. Every human being has a right to live and nobody for whatever reason has a right to take away the life of an individual,” he said. “We cannot live in a town where there is chaos, fear and all the kinds of atrocities going on at the same time. We will never move forward with this attitude. No, we won’t. People can’t go to work, nothing works in this town because people are scared to be killed.”

Hospital director Nsame Denis said at least 600 people have visited the hospital since Sunday’s killings to find out if their family or friends are among the victims.

“We received in total 12 victims of firearm injuries. Out of this 12, one is in the intensive care, one took treatment and went home, and at the level of the mortuary, we have 10 corpses amongst whom three are female and seven are males ranging from 24 to 56 years,” Nsame said.

Cameroon’s military, in a July 17 statement, said about 12 heavily armed fighters dressed in military gear similar to that of the central African state’s military shot indiscriminately at civilians at Nacho Junction in Bamenda.

The military said scores of suspects have been arrested in a crackdown operation less than 48 hours after the killings.

Deben Tchoffo, governor of the Northwest region, said fighters want to create panic among civilians who collaborate with the military by reporting suspected separatists.

“I would like, on behalf of the head of state, to assure the population that measures are being taken by the security services to locate the authors of that barbaric act and sanction them. I would like to strongly condemn those attacks by a terrorist group,” he said.

Separatists on social media, including Facebook and WhatsApp, denied responsibility for the killings. They said government troops were responsible, asserting that the military wants to give separatists a bad image to the international community.

The Center for Human Rights and Democracy in Central Africa reports that Sunday’s killing comes two days after Cameroon’s military was said to have raided Awing Quarter, another neighborhood in Bamenda, and killed at least five people.

Northwest Region Governor Tchoffo acknowledges that civilians were killed in Awing Quarter but blames fighters for the killings.

The Cameroon government said people wounded in both attacks are being treated free of charge in hospitals in Bamenda.

Rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and the Center for Human Rights and Democracy, accuse both the military and rebels of abuses, including rape, torture and killings.

Cameroon’s Northwest and Southwest regions have seen years of deadly battles between government troops and separatists fighting to carve out an English-speaking state from French-speaking majority Cameroon.

The conflict has killed more than 6,000 people and displaced more than 760,000 others, according to the International Crisis Group.

Source: VOA

Separatist activism is likely to continue in Southwest and Northwest regions of Cameroon through at least late 2023. Unidentified assailants dressed in official military uniforms entered a bar and opened fire indiscriminately in Bamenda (Northwest) at around 19:30 July 16, killing nine people and injuring two others. The exact reason for the attack is unclear. A military spokesperson has attributed the attack to Ambazonia separatists.

The threat of violence remains elevated in the English-speaking regions as various armed groups continue to call for secession, highlighting the dangers for those operating or traveling in western Cameroon. The situation has remained tense since October 2017, when secessionists unilaterally proclaimed the independence of the so-called state of Ambazonia, which is unrecognized internationally. Human Rights Watch estimates that about 4000 civilians died due to armed forces and separatist-linked violence since late 2016.

Security-related operations are ongoing. Checkpoints and searches of vehicles and personnel are likely, particularly outside major cities such as Buea (Southwest) and Bamenda (Northwest). Authorities may enact temporary security measures such as curfews and telecommunication restrictions without notice in the event of significant violence or unrest.

Various armed groups operate in the region, such as the Ambazonia Defence Forces (ADF), which is also plagued by banditry and other criminal activities.

Security forces frequently skirmish with Ambazonia secessionist militants (also called “Amba boys”), regularly leading to casualties. Separatists have carried out ambushes targeting security forces and government officials involving improvised explosive devices. There are also reports of militant abuses, including kidnappings and killings, against the local population. Militants often issue stay-at-home orders (also known as “ghost cities”); residents who do not comply with such measures may face intimidation and violence.

While many kidnappings go unreported, it is estimated that dozens to hundreds of people are kidnapped each year in both Northwest and Southwest regions. Targets notably include prominent members of civil society, politicians, security forces, teachers, and priests, among others. Militants may target foreign nationals due to their perceived worth in the event of a ransom demand. High-profile individuals have been kidnapped in recent months, including a senator and her driver, who were seized by ADF militants in Bamenda on April 30. Security forces released several hostages, including the senator, during a military operation in Ashong (Northwest) on May 30. The Bakassi Peninsula (officially part of Cameroon) also hosts many oil-related operations attracting criminals and militants who seek to kidnap oil workers, aiming for a higher ransom.

Culled from Crisis 24