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…
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….
Russia’s foreign ministry says it is closely following developments since pirates attacked a ship off the coast of West Africa last week and is assisting with negotiations over the safety of eight crew members held hostage. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, speaking at a press conference from Pyatigorsk while attending…
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…
As Bolloré Group heads to its annual shareholder meeting this week, the company is facing a new lawsuit against its Socfin interests, filed on behalf of Cameroonian palm oil workers by a group of NGOs demanding better working conditions for them. According to the alliance of Cameroonian and European advocacy…
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….
The World Wide Fund for Nature, accused by news media outlet Buzzfeed of funding anti-poaching paramilitary groups that kill and torture people in the fight to save wildlife, says it will take “swift action” if its own investigation finds the allegations to be true. The response followed a Buzzfeed story…
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…