Categories: AFRICA

Ethnic Clashes in Cameroon Force Thousands to Flee to Chad

No less than 10,000 people, mostly women and children, have fled into Chad from northern Cameroon this week after deadly clashes between herding and fishing communities, the UN has said.

Twelve people were killed and dozens wounded in the violence, which erupted Tuesday in the Far North region, a tongue of land wedged between Nigeria to the west and Chad to the east.

“The pressing needs are for health services, shelter and food,” said Iris Blom, the United Nations refugee agency’s deputy director in Chad.

She said 85 per cent of the refugees who fled to Oundouma, south of the Chadian capital N’Djamena, were women and children.

The fighting in Cameroon began when Muslims built dams to divert water to help them catch fish, in a location where ethnic Arab Choa herders also take their cattle for watering, according to regional governor Midjiyawa Bakari.

Clashes between ethnic groups are rare in Cameroon but frequent in Chad and Nigeria, particularly between sedentary farmers and semi-nomadic herders.

In Chad, the local governor said authorities were moving to ensure the conflict does not spill across the border from Cameroon.

Chari-Baguirmi Governor Gayang Souare said some of the refugees were placed with families, while others were lodged in schools and churches.

Cameroon’s Far North is also struggling with cross-border attacks by jihadists from northeastern Nigeria.

Follow us on:

AriseNews

Recent Posts

Anambra Lacks Regulatory Framework For Crowd Control, Says Information Commissioner Law Mefor

Anambra lacks formal crowd control law but is working on a regulatory framework, says state…

6 minutes ago

Akugbe Iyamu: We Must Be Prepared For Severe Droughts, Hunger in 2025

Retired Air Vice Marshal Akugbe Iyamu has called for urgent preparations for drought, heatwaves, and…

32 minutes ago

Romania Set To Form New Government With Marcel Ciolacu As Prime Minister

Romania's president Klaus Iohannis is expected to designate Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu to form a…

1 hour ago

Nigeria Announces Public Holidays for Christmas and New Year Celebrations

Federal Government of Nigeria has declared public holidays to mark Christmas and New Year festivities…

1 hour ago

IGP Orders Investigation into Death of Ilorin Detainee Jimoh Abdulquadri in Police Custody

IGP Egbetokun has ordered an investigation into Jimoh Abdulquadri’s death in police custody, promising justice…

4 hours ago

Trump Dismisses Claims That Elon Musk Holds Real Power Behind US President-Elect

Donald Trump has rejected suggestions that Elon Musk is the true influence behind the newly…

4 hours ago