Cameroon denies ban on persons fleeing from NorthWest

Cameroon denies placing restrictions on persons fleeing the Anglophone regions. A statement issued by the regional delegate for the North West region described the earlier reports of the news as “fake and unfounded.”

The statement signed by a regional delegate Gilbert Ngong read: “The press release published on social media on the 18th of September 2018 and purportedly signed by the Delegate of Transport for the north West is fake and unfounded.”

The reaction comes barely twenty-four hours after a communique purported that authorities in Cameroon were restricting movement of persons from the restive northwest region.

The said document said people will not be allowed to leave the area without legitimate reasons.

“I have the honour to inform the general public that as a measure to secure and protect those persons travelling out of the region, that henceforth, they will be required to provide additional information at their points of departure.

“In effect, they shall state the reason for their departure, the name of the receiver and his or her contact. Anybody who will not comply with this order shall have his or her journey cancelled,” the fake statement read.

People in their hundreds have been fleeing the region as the Anglophone crisis continued to take a toll on lives and properties across the region. The region together with the SouthWest constitutes the country’s minority Anglophone region which has been suffering a security crisis since last year.

Separatist groups are seeking independence from French-majority Cameroon after a series of peaceful protests against marginalization was clamped down by government forces. The separatists are seeking to establish a so-called Ambazonia region.

The crisis is said to be a major flash point as the country votes in presidential elections slated for October 7, 2018.

@alfaafrican