Monthly News Updates: Southern Cameroons - June 2021
By: Fabiana Nuñez del Prado Nieto, Junior Research Associate, PILPG-NL
This post collects updates from the past month concerning recent developments in Southern Cameroons. The information is drawn from local and international online sources.
VIOLENCE IN ANGLOPHONE REGIONS
Separatist Violence | Protests against separatist violence
On May 31, following the killing of a renowned local businessman, the residents of Mbefi, a locality in Bamenda in the North-West region of Cameroon, took to the streets. They voiced their discontent over the continued atrocities allegedly perpetrated by Ambazonian separatist fighters on innocent civilians. [June 1, 2021]
Separatist Violence | Separatist attack on army outpost
On May 25, according to military sources, a group of separatist fighters attacked an army outpost in the Lassin village of Noni, located in the North-West anglophone region. The attackers killed five Cameroonian soldiers during the assault. Separatist fighters of the “Marine Force of Ambazonia” claimed authorship of the attack and warned about future attacks. [May 26, 2021]
HUMAN RIGHTS
Detentions | Human rights lawyer detained on terrorism charges
On May 31, the Yaoundé gendarmes (police force in charge of maintaining public order), arrested Cameroonian human rights lawyer, Amungwa Tanyi Nicodemus, accusing him of terrorism for possessing photographs that evidenced abuses in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon. Amungwa was assisting a client at the Groupement Territorial de la Gendarmerie in Yaoundé, when he was arrested.
Upon his arrest, the gendarmes immediately transferred him to the Service Central des Recherches Judiciaires (SCRJ) at the State Defense Secretariat, a detention facility known for the resort to incommunicado detention (denying the detainee access to communication with family members or a lawyer) and torture. On June 3, the Yaoundé military court prosecutor rejected Amungwa’s lawyers’ request for bail and returned the case to the SCRJ. [June 7, 2021]
Although Amungwa was released on June 9, the proceedings against him for alleged terrorism are still ongoing. [June 10, 2021]
US Sanctions | United States imposes visa restrictions on Cameroon
On June 7, the United States imposed visa restrictions on individuals believed to undermine efforts to end the ongoing crisis in the Anglophone regions. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the sanctions, shared the United States' concern for the continued insecurity in the areas, and called for both sides to negotiate for peace. [June 8, 2021]
Call for Action | Women petition UN Security Council to end Cameroon's crisis
A group of female Cameroonian activists and opposition members appealed to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on May 31 during a meeting held to discuss possible solutions to escalating Boko Haram violence. They asked the UNSC to force Cameroon to respect human rights, release political prisoners, and negotiate a ceasefire with armed groups.
The group said that Cameroon has become conflict-ridden and on the brink of a catastrophe. They called for international pressure as they believed it would help put an end to the conflict. Cameroonian politician and co-signatory of the letter Edith Kah Walla mentioned that the UNSC needs to recommend an inclusive, bottom-up dialogue with all parties to the conflict. [June 5, 2021]
INCIDENTS ABROAD
US | US-based Anglophone Cameroonians charged for shipping weapons into Nigeria
A US federal court charged three US-based Anglophone Cameroonians with shipping, attempting to ship, and conspiracy to ship weapons and military goods from the United States to Nigeria. The federal prosecutor believes the suspects are supporters of the Anglophone separatist movement in Cameroon. However, there is still no confirmation. They face implication in supplying high-grade firearms and ammunition to separatists fighting against the Cameroonian armed forces. [June 18, 2021]