from ROSY SADOU in Yaoundé, Cameroon
Cameroon Bureau
YAOUNDE, (CAJ News) – THE situation is deteriorating in the North-West and South-West regions of Cameroon, where separatists are demanding independence.
Armed clashes, targeted attacks resulting in killings, armed extortion, and arbitrary arrests are frequently reported.
In Akwaya subdivision of the Manyu region, over 875 persons have been forced to flee due to targeted attacks by non-State armed groups (NSAGs).
During those attacks, NSAGs killed four people, injured 25 others, and burned 33 houses and seven motorbikes.
The population in local villages and in most of the villages in Akwaya subdivision have fled either to villages in neighbouring Nigeria, to Mamfe or to nearby bushes due to the attack and continuous threats.
Increasing security incidents and blockages of major roads in the North-West caused delays or prevented the delivery of life-saving assistance.
“This also limited the mobility of aid workers and deprived some vulnerable communities of humanitarian assistance,” said a humanitarian spokesperson.
A new wave of acts of violence against humanitarian workers negatively impacted the humanitarian response, especially in the North-West.
In the Donga-Mantung division, international NGO staff returning from a field mission were stopped at an NSAG checkpoint and requested to pay for their safe return.
They were released without payment after access negotiations.
In addition, in the South-West, several enumerators collecting data for a multi-sector needs assessment were held by NSAGs for several hours before being released.
The NSAGs claimed that they were not informed about the activity.
Attacks on education continued as the educational community prepared for school resumption in early September.
The previous month, some NSAGs factions announced a lockdown to disrupt the back-to-school preparations.
Attacks on education in the North-West and South-West regions continue to deprive hundreds of thousands of children of their right to education.
Besides the siege by pro-English separatists, Cameroon is beset by an insurgency by the Islamist Boko Haram from neighbouring Nigeria.
– CAJ News