Chad seeks international aid as several thousand flee inter-ethnic clashes in northern Cameroon, apparently over access to water, that has left at least 22 dead and more than 30 wounded, officials say.
A resurgence of
tit-for-tat violence between herders and farmers has killed at
least 22 people and wounded more than 30 others this week in
Cameroon’s Far North region, a regional government official has said, prompting thousands of residents to flee to Chad.
“We are in a full-on inter-community conflict,” said the
Cameroonian regional official on Thursday. The official asked not to be named.
Hundreds of people fleeing the violence between Arab Choa
herders and Mousgoum and Massa farmers have streamed across the
border into neighbouring Chad, the mayor of Chad’s capital
N’Djamena, Ali Haroun, told Reuters news agency.
A traditional leader in northern Cameroon, who asked not to
be named, told Reuters the violence began over access to water.
“The Arab Choa wanted to take their herds to the banks of a
river. The Mousgoum and Massa prevented them,” the leader said.
“This problem needs to be resolved quickly because a few
months ago, there were already deaths. Today, when there is a
problem between two people from different communities, all the
communities get involved with weapons,” the leader said.
READ MORE: Cameroon army killed several civilians in anglophone west: HRW
Scant rainfall behind latest conflict?
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) which is
responding to the crisis, said in a November report that scant
rainfall had dried up rivers and seasonal ponds that communities
depend on, leading to clashes in the area.
A UNHCR official in the Cameroonian town of Kousseri
acknowledged the conflict between the parties, saying the agency
has been responding to the crisis after clashes in August and
helped the government organize a reconciliation meeting last
week.
She said 40 villages involved in the conflict participated
but that on Saturday, an Arab Choa herder tried to take their herd
to the river and was prevented by farming communities,
triggering a fight between the farmers and herders.
On Thursday, she said the Kousseri town of around 90,000 was
empty, but that the situation remained tense as armed community
members regrouped.
“The fighting in Kousseri has been very violent. We had to
cross the river at night to find refuge here,” said Florent
Mbang, who fled from Cameroon to a refugee camp in N’Djamena.
“Our children have not eaten since yesterday, we ask the
Chadian authorities to help us, otherwise our situation here
will be worse than the conflict we have at home,” he said.
READ MORE: Chad farmer-herder clashes leave nearly two dozen dead
Chad seeks help in hosting refugees
Similar violence in August between Choa herders and Mousgoum
fishermen killed dozens of people and forced thousands to flee
to Chad.
Chad’s President Mahamat Idris Deby said on Twitter late on
Wednesday that over 30,000 Cameroonians had sought refuge in
Chad, but did not specify if they were all from the latest wave
of violence.
He urged the international community to provide prompt aid
to help Chad deal with the situation.
Source: Reuters
Thousands flee to Chad after deadly farmer-herder clashes in Cameroon
Source: Pinay Pop Showbiz
