Cameroon’s defense minister said it is safe for 40,000 villagers displaced by the militant group Boko Haram near the borders with Chad and Nigeria to return home. But villagers say they first need food aid as the fighting forced them to abandon their farms and livestock. Cameroon military officials, led by Defense Minister Joseph Beti Assomo, told workers at Maroua’s military hospital that the government will foot the bills of all troops injured in battles against the Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram. Among the injured soldiers is 31-year-old Damien Ekelle,…
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Delegates Point to Heightened Violence against Women, Curbing Their Access to Sexual and Reproductive Rights, as Third Committee Discusses Advancement of Women
Attempts to control what women and girls say, think and wear as well as to deny women access to sexual and reproductive rights are on the rise, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) heard today, as it commenced its debate on the advancement of women. In opening remarks, Åsa Regnér, Deputy Executive Director for Policy, Programme, Civil Society and Intergovernmental Support, United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), highlighted impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the urgency of climate change and the rise of…
Read MoreCameroon’s Pres Biya orders enforcement of bilingualism law
YAOUNDE, Cameroon’s president has ordered officials to enforce a 2019 law on bilingualism and make life easier for English speakers in the French-speaking majority country. Complaints of discrimination against English speakers sparked a separatist conflict that, since 2017, has left more than 3,500 people dead. Civilians assembled at Yaounde’s city council this week to complain about difficulties they encounter in Cameroon’s public offices because they speak only one of the central African state’s two official languages. Emmanuel Ngong, a 26-year-old engineer, said he was denied service in a public office…
Read MoreCameroon’s Biya Orders Enforcement of Bilingualism Law
Cameroon’s president has ordered officials to enforce a 2019 law on bilingualism and make life easier for English speakers in the French-speaking majority country. Complaints of discrimination against English speakers sparked a separatist conflict that, since 2017, has left more than 3,500 people dead. Civilians assembled at Yaounde’s city council this week to complain about difficulties they encounter in Cameroon’s public offices because they speak only one of the central African state’s two official languages. Emmanuel Ngong, a 26-year-old engineer, said he was denied service in a public office because…
Read MoreCameroon Military Acknowledges Troops Killed Mothers
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 from military hierarchy and started shooting indiscriminately on civilians, the military says, adding that one shooter killed two harmless mothers. The government says family members of the killed mothers rushed to the scene and collected corpses when the…
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