Cameroon: The Anglophone crisis needs real dialogue

Following protests which began in 2016, the conflict between government forces and Anglophone separatists has killed more than 3,000 and displaced close to 700,000 in Cameroon"s English-speaking regions. According to an article by the Organization for World Peace published on 22 March 2020, the situation has now deteriorated, with February"s parliamentary elections leading to further unrest. According to the article, "teenagers are kidnapped and mutilated by separatist militants who want to discourage them from attending schools." The UN Secretary-General is calling for a global ceasefire during the COVID-19 pandemic (UN, 23 March 2020) and some separatist groups in Cameroon are following this appeal. ‚ Yonas Dembele, Persecution analyst at World Watch Research, comments: "Since the beginning of the Anglophone crisis, which was allegedly the result of general discrimination against English-speaking Cameroonians, civilians have been killed, churches have often been disrupted or closed and people abducted. Many children in the Northwest and Southwest regions are unable to attend school. But the crisis has had other unintended consequences, with serious ramifications for Christians. While the government has been concentrating on combatting separatists, Boko Haram has been active in the north, ransacking villages, sending in suicide bombers (France24, 6 April 2020), abducting people and recruiting new members. To mitigate these negative consequences, it is essential that a solution to the Anglophone crisis is found soon. Thus, the call for a full ceasefire and dialogue is long overdue and the parties to the conflict must be encouraged (and indeed put under pressure) to stop fighting and find a solution round the negotiating table."

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