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West Africa: High-Level Independent Panel On Security and Development in Crisis-Torn Sahel Region Launched At UN

UN Secretary-General António Guterres and African leaders have launched a high-level panel to assess the situation in the Sahel and make recommendations on ways to foster international engagement and map out responses to the region’s complex challenges. The independent panel was formally announced on Saturday in New York on the margins of the General Assembly’s […]

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West Africa: Air Traffic Controllers Strike Disrupts Flights in West Africa

Flights in and out of airports in a number of countries in West and Central Africa have ground to a halt after air traffic controllers defied a ban and launched a “wildcat strike” on Friday to demand better working conditions. The Union of Staff at the Agency for Aerial Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar […]

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Cameroon Military Acknowledges Troops Killed Mothers

Yaounde, Cameroon — Cameroon’s military says three members of its airborne battalion this week attacked civilians and killed two mothers in Nylbat, an English-speaking village in Andeck district. A statement signed Wednesday by military spokesperson Serge Cyrille Atongfack says the troops were dispatched to fight separatists in the troubled Northwest region. The troops violated orders […]

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Cameroon: Smuggled Plastic Is Trashing Cameroon’s Environment

The steady flow of illegal non-biodegradable plastic into the country harms the environment, economy and public health. The smuggling of prohibited plastic into Cameroon threatens the environment, public health and the agricultural sector. It is driven by increasing demand due to the high price of legal alternatives. And although customs officials are actively seizing contraband […]

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Cameroonian Women Say They Are Underrepresented in Peace Talks

Yaounde — In Cameroon, hundreds of women are protesting what they say is their underrepresentation in the country’s efforts at peace, despite making up more than half the population. Women say they are most affected by the separatist conflict in Cameroon’s western regions as well as by Boko Haram terrorism on the border with Nigeria. […]

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Cameroon: Govt Says Separatists Are Keeping 8 Abducted Clergy and Christians On Nigerian Border

Yaounde — Cameroonian authorities have accused armed separatists of abducting five Catholic priests, a nun, and two worshippers from a church on its western border with Nigeria. The Catholic Church in Cameroon says the gunmen torched the church, in the town of Nchang, Friday, before fleeing toward the Nigerian border. Roman Catholic Church officials in […]

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Cameroon: Separatist Movement Gets New Leader

Chris Anu, a long-time spokesperson for Cameroon’s self-declared Republic of Ambazonia, has said that he was elected president of the separatist movement on September 10, 2022. Anu’s election comes at a time when the movement appears to be losing support among southern Cameroonians, due to allegations of infighting, corruption and human rights abuses. In an […]

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Cameroon Says Thousands of Homes Destroyed By Floods

Mokolo — In Cameroon, officials say weeks of flooding along its northern borders with Chad and Nigeria have swept away entire villages, leaving thousands of people homeless. Aid efforts are underway with many schools, mosques and churches providing temporary shelter. Heavy rains fall in Mokolo, a business and agricultural district on Cameroon’s northern border with […]

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Cameroon’s ‘Exploding Lakes’ – Disaster Expert Warns Deadly Gas Release Could Cause Another Tragedy

A sudden change on 29 August 2022 in the colour and smell of Lake Kuk, in north-west Cameroon, has caused anxiety and panic among the local residents. Fears are driven by an incident that happened 36 years ago at Lake Nyos, just 10km away. On 21 August 1986, Lake Nyos emitted lethal gases (mainly carbon […]

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Cameroon Separatists Attack Bus, Kill 6 Civilians

Bangourain, Cameroon — Military officials in Cameroon say armed separatists killed at least six people and wounded nine when they attacked a bus on a highway in the country’s troubled Southwest region. The military has deployed scores of troops to track down the rebels. Locals say there has been heavy fighting between the two sides […]

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Cameroon: Separatists Infiltrate Town, Abduct Youths

Bangourain — Authorities in Cameroon say anglophone separatists have attacked a francophone village that was hosting people displaced by the five-year separatist conflict. Officials in the town of Bongourain say the rebels torched homes and markets and abducted at least five youths. Hundreds of English-speaking displaced fled into the bush for fear they would be […]

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Central Africa: Cameroon, Chad Truckers Protest Bad Roads, Government Ban On Heavy Trucks

Yaounde — Hundreds of truckers have stopped working on Cameroon’s border with Chad to protest a ban on heavy trucking into Chad, which depends on Cameroon for 80% of its imported goods. Drivers transporting food and humanitarian assistance say they are disgruntled with what they call Cameroon’s refusal to repair the road linking northern Cameroon […]

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Africa: Vera Songwe steps down as ECA Executive Secretary

Addis Ababa, 1 September 2022 (ECA) – United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Vera Songwe, has stepped down, effective 1 September 2022, after five years of dedicated service to ECA and its Member States. Announcing her decision to step down during a town hall meeting on 22 August, Ms. […]

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Cameroon: Govt Says Schools Shut Down By Separatists Have Reopened

Yaounde — Education officials in Cameroon say improved security in its western regions have allowed more than 200 schools that had been shut by separatist threats since 2017 to reopen for the new school year. But critics note officials said the same thing last year only to see scores of schools shut down again following […]

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Cameroon: For Refugees in Cameroon, Digital IDs Are a Life Changer

YAOUNDE — Central African refugees can access education, healthcare and banking with identity cards, but data privacy is vital, say experts Trial gives IDs to refugees from Central African Republic Cards allow access to education, jobs and bank accounts Tens of thousands still lack ID, data privacy a concern As a refugee in Cameroon, Shelley […]

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Cameroon, Nigeria Reopening Border Markets and Schools With Boko Haram Threat Diminished

Yaounde, Cameroon — Governors from Cameroon and Nigeria plan to re-open markets and rebuild schools along their shared border after declaring the area free of Boko Haram militants. Babagana Umara Zulum, governor of Nigeria’s Borno state, said President Muhammadu Buhari instructed governors of border states affected by Boko Haram to work with neighboring countries to […]

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Cameroon: Govt Says Border Conflict Exacerbating Hunger and Malnutrition

Kindzeka — Authorities in Cameroon say thousands of people who fled communal violence near the borders with Chad and Nigeria are suffering from malnutrition with scores of children dying in the past few weeks. The conflict in December between cattle ranchers and fishers left at least 40 people dead and pushed more than 100,000 into […]

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Cameroon’s Health Minister Says He Was Threatened After Banning Skin Whitening Products

Cameroon’s Minister of Public Health said in an interview this week with a local television channel that he had received threats after banning skin bleaching products. Minister Manaouda Malachie banned the sale of skin bleaching products from five companies on 10 August. “You can’t imagine the number of phone calls and threats I’ve received since […]