Border conflict: Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea seal military cooperation agreement

An agreement has been signed between Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea for the peaceful resolution of an impending boundary conflict.

The agreement is a fruit of an intense 48-hour long talk between the two countries in Equatorial Guinea’s capital, Malabo.

The defence ministers were locked up in negotiations for a peace deal following some border conflicts between the Cameroonians and Equatorial Guineans in the border-town of Kye-ossi and other environs.

Talks began in Yaounde by the end of June between the Minister in charge of Defence of Cameroon, Joseph Beti Assomo and that of Equatorial Guinea Leandro Bekale Ncogo. The talks in Yaounde were followed by further talks in Malabo.

These meetings which were held on July 20 and 21st, 2020 have been sanctioned by the signing of a cooperation agreement between Yaounde and Malabo on cross-border security and defence.

The text has suggested the strengthening of border security by both countries on the principle of national sovereignty, non-interference in the internal affairs of each country by the other, prohibition of threat or use of force with insistence on the peaceful settlement of disputes.

The agreement equally fixed the modalities of demarcations at the border. Considerable calm is now expected to return to the people of the border towns of both nations as they have been living in abject fear and suspicion of each other for a long time now.