A former agrarian colony of the United Kingdom, France and Germany, Cameroon was transformed by the discovery of oil in the 1970s. President Paul Biya, in power since 1982, has yet to deliver a state where rule of law is respected, pluralism flourishes, and freedom of expression and assembly are observed. The far north of the country is one of the remaining strongholds of the militant Islamist forces of Boko Haram, and radicalisation is spreading in that region. Elsewhere, the government has cracked down in response to protests over government policies, and the country is dealing with spillover effects of the sectarian civil war in neighbouring Central African Republic.
UNHCR to Cameroon: Stop deporting Nigerian refugees
The UN refugee agency has repeated its call to Cameroon to stop forcing Nigerian refugees to return to unsafe Borno State in neighbouring Nigeria. Since the beginning of this year Cameroon has deported 385 Nigerians, the majority of them this month, says the UNHCR according to international broadcaster VOA. They […]
Death and destruction as Boko Haram launches fresh attacks in Cameroon
Boko Haram insurgents continue to carry out attacks outside the borders of Nigeria, where the group began. The Islamists recently attacked two villages in northern Cameroon, close to the north-eastern border with Nigeria, leaving one person dead and many homes destroyed by fire. The 23 February attack on Virkaza and […]
Boko Haram strikes again in northern Cameroon, killing pregnant woman and setting church on fire
In Cameroon’s volatile Far North region, attacks by the radical Islamic group, Boko Haram, have resumed. The region had enjoyed a period of relative calm, with the last attack in 2017 taking place in August. Military campaigns by the Multinational Force – made up of forces from Nigeria, Niger, Chad […]
Boko Haram sets churches on fire in latest attack on Cameroon’s Far North
Residents of Roum village in the Far North region of Cameroon woke up to two churches and many houses ablaze on the night of 15 January. The fire was claimed by Boko Haram militants, who had stormed the village late at night. Four people were killed. Apart from the Union […]
Cameroon: 6 siblings kidnapped by Boko Haram escape to safety
Six siblings kidnapped from Moskota in the Far North region of Cameroon on 17 August have been found near the border with Nigeria by a group of vigilantes. A local source told World Watch Monitor that the children, between the ages of three and 15, had been taken to Nigeria, […]
Boko Haram in Cameroon: 8 children killed by boy suicide bomber, 6 others kidnapped
After a period of relative calm, the Far North region of Cameroon, along the Nigerian border, has witnessed an upsurge of attacks by Boko Haram in recent days. On 17 August, a church elder was killed in a night raid carried out by the radical Islamist group on Moskota village. […]
Boko Haram causing ‘untold misery’ in northern Cameroon
Nearly 170,000 people have fled their homes in N. Cameroon, while the area has received at least 73,000 Nigerian refugees. World watch Monitor “Yesterday I had just one cup of millet [grain] left. There are 12 people in our house. We went to bed last night not knowing what we’ll […]
Evangelicals targeted in Cameroon bomb attacks?
At least four people were injured in attacks by two suicide bombers on the evening of 8 Feb. in Nguetchewe, northern Cameroon. The attackers – a man and a woman – appear to have targeted members of Cameroon’s Union of Evangelical Churches (UECC). One attack was on the home of […]
Christian and Muslim leaders call for peace in Cameroon
Christian and Muslim leaders in northern Cameroon have reiterated their call for tolerance and peace in the face of a surge of terror attacks by the Nigerian radical Islamic group Boko Haram. On 21 Jan., several prominent religious leaders gathered in the town of Mora to discuss peaceful coexistence. The […]
Cameroon must deal with religious radicalism
The emergence of radical religious groups has dramatically changed the landscape in Cameroon, paving the way for religious intolerance, says the International Crisis Group (ICG), in a new report. Unlike its neighboring Nigeria and the Central African Republic, Cameroon has never experienced significant sectarian violence. However, ICG reports, the emergence […]