Southern Cameroons Crisis displaces 300 in June amid exam season violence ⁰

About 300 civilians were forcibly displaced from Banga-Bakundu in Cameroon’s Southwest Region in June, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The U.N. agency reported that the civilians moved to nearby communities, including Banga, Muyuka, Bombe-Bakundu, and Mbalangi. OCHA said the displacement was a result of the community’s “strategic position,” which has made it a flashpoint in the ongoing conflict.

Since 2017, government forces have been fighting separatist fighters in the Northwest and Southwest regions who are seeking to create an independent state called Ambazonia. The conflict has killed more than 8,000 people and displaced nearly 500,000 refugees and about 400,000 internally displaced people, according to OCHA figures.

Tensions spiked in June around official examinations, including the First School Leaving Certificate (FSLC) on June 10 and 11, and the General Certificate of Education (GCE) from June 3 to June 20. OCHA recorded eight attacks on the education sector, as non-state armed groups threatened parents and teachers not to participate in the exams.

In addition to the fighting between government forces and separatist groups, OCHA reported ongoing tensions between farmers and herders in parts of the Northwest’s Donga-Mantung department. The disputes are linked to grazing lands and damage caused by livestock. On June 16, a Fulani herder attacked and wounded two women in their field in Dumbo, accusing them of trying to seize his cattle. Similar incidents were reported on June 19 in Misaje and on June 26 in Mamba, where a Fulani herder and a woman were injured, respectively.

Source: Sbbc