President Paul Biya of Cameroon, looking every bit of his 86 years, delivered a rare televised speech to the nation Tuesday evening – and the first thing many observers noticed was that he spoke only in French, to a nation divided since October 2016 over grievances in its English-speaking regions….
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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….
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…
Cameroon, Nigeria and South Sudan are all on the list of conflicts that bear watching in 2019, according to the International Crisis Group. “The international order as we know it is unraveling, with no clear sense of what will come in its wake,” said Robert Malley, CEO of the organization…
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…
By Akere Muna On November 6, Paul Biya was inaugurated for the seventh time. The 85-year-old has already been in power for the last 36 years and will now serve another seven-year term. President Biya won disputed elections on October 7 amid rising unrest in Cameroon. The country is divided…
The United Nations agency for children is calling for the immediate release of more than 80 people, including students, abducted from a school in one of Cameroon’s Anglophone regions late Sunday. The overnight attack at a Presbyterian school in the Nkwen district of Bamenda was confirmed by government spokesman Issa…
The fighting in Cameroon’s northwest region claimed the life of an American missionary on Tuesday, just two weeks after he arrived with his family in the West Africa conflict zone. Charles Trumann Wesco, 44, was rushed to a hospital in Bamenda after he was shot in the head near Bambui….
The re-election of President Paul Biya, now 85 years old and the leader of Cameroon since 1982, likely comes as a surprise to no one. Last week, the leaked results suggested Biya was set for a decisive win of the October 7 election with more than 70 percent of the…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times