Separatist ADF denies human rights violations in Cameroon conflict

Separatist ADF denies human rights violations in Cameroon conflict

A leading Anglophone separatist group has denied allegations made by the Amnesty International organization over threats and violence towards human rights workers in Ambazonian territories that have broken away from Cameroon. The response from Capo Daniel, defense chief of the Ambazonia Defense Forces (ADF) aligned with the Ambazonia Governing Council…

Cameroon denies military was responsible for last week’s massacre

Cameroon denies military was responsible for last week’s massacre

Cameroon’s government is denying allegations that its military was involved in a massacre last week in the village of Ngarbuh, a community in the country’s Northwest Anglophone region. Spokesman René Emmanuel Sadi, speaking to reporters Tuesday, said the accusations against security forces were false. “Without the slightest preliminary investigation, several…

Trump ends Cameroon’s trade status over human rights record

Trump ends Cameroon’s trade status over human rights record

The United States has removed Cameroon from its preferred trade status under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) because of its human rights record. U.S. President Donald Trump announced the decision late Thursday in a directive to lawmakers, citing “gross violations” of internationally recognized human rights, which violate provisions of…

Cameroon’s MRC says no to Biya dialogue until Kamto is released

In Cameroon, the opposition Movement for the Renaissance of Cameroon (MRC) party says it will not participate in the much-touted national dialogue to end the country’s Anglophone crisis unless the government first releases its imprisoned leader, Maurice Kamto. The MRC issued a statement Wednesday, warning that the dialogue proposed by…

Swiss step in to mediate Cameroon’s Anglophone crisis

The government of Switzerland is leading a mediation process in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon, in hopes of bringing an end to conflict that’s marked the West African nation for nearly three years. The Swiss foreign affairs ministry said it completed a second round of meetings on Thursday in preparation…

UNICEF says 1.3 million need aid in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions

Officials with UNICEF, the United Nations children’s agency, warned Friday that conditions in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions continue to deteriorate with 1.3 million people now needing humanitarian aid. The armed violence and attacks have forced 450,000 people from their homes, about half of them internally displaced children, said UNICEF spokesman Toby…

Report: Another 350 opposition members arrested in Cameroon

At least 350 members and supporters of Cameroon’s main opposition party, including its leaders, were arrested at the weekend after they tried to hold demonstrations, according to Human Rights Watch. That’s drawn new criticism from the organization, which joined other groups in appealing to the United Nations Security Council for…

Remembering Cameroon’s prisoners on World Press Freedom Day

On this World Press Freedom, the Committee to Protect Journalists is highlighting four cases of reporters who remain in prison in Cameroon, a destabilized and increasingly repressive nation led for nearly four decades by President Paul Biya. What began in October 2016 as peaceful protests led by professionals seeking equal…

On Cameroon, EU’s Mogherini urges humanitarian and human rights action

The Anglophone crisis in Cameroon must remain a priority for the European Union, particularly the need for humanitarian support for those displaced, said EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini in an address to the European Parliament. “Regrettably, unlawful killings and atrocities continue to be reported regularly, allegedly involving both the…

HRW: Cameroon civilians caught between soldiers, separatists

Since October 2016, when Cameroon’s English-speaking lawyers and teachers first launched peaceful protests to press government reforms for its Anglophone populations, there’s been no shortage of international concern over the deepening cycles of violence. Yet they continue, with a new report from Human Rights Watch detailing the deaths, abductions and…

Opinion: Cameroon continues its troubling descent

Contributed by Vanguard Africa  Despite somewhat slipping from global headlines in recent weeks, Cameroon has nonetheless maintained its death spiral. The root cause of the crisis can be unequivocally placed at the doorstep of the Presidency, or the Geneva Intercontinental Hotel, where President Paul Biya spends much of his time….

Cameroon: Amnesty issues appeal as Kamto heads to court

Amnesty International issued an appeal Thursday on behalf of Cameroonian opposition leader Maurice Kamto, who is expected in military court today on charges which carry the death penalty. Kamto, head of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (MRC), is in the first group of 131 people who were arrested in January and…

UN calls on Cameroon to address Anglophone crisis

The United Nations human rights office said Tuesday it is increasingly concerned over the violence in Cameroon, and said it stands ready to help the West African nation deal with its crisis. “We continue to receive reports of abductions and killings by armed groups, as well as extrajudicial killings by…