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As human rights abuses persist amid the ravaging Anglophone crisis, the Global Center for the Responsibility to Protect, GCR2P, has said foreign governments and organisations should stop all forms of assistance to the Cameroon military.
The international NGO has called on the silent African Union, AU, and the Economic Community of Central African States, CEMAC, to assist Cameroon’s government to prevent any further deterioration of the armed conflict.
The NCR2P said both government and separatist fighters have committed crimes against humanity, and should negotiate a ceasefire in prelude to an inclusive dialogue.
“Security forces must end all extrajudicial killings of unarmed civilians and ensure that the human rights of all Cameroonians are equally protected, regardless of cultural identity… Armed separatist groups must also halt attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure… Foreign governments and regional organizations should suspend all military aid to Cameroon until its security forces have made demonstrable progress towards upholding the human rights of vulnerable populations,” said GCR2P on it’s website recently.
The organisation said the crisis escalated because government has denied its intensity, and peace can be possible if government frankly holds peace talks with the separatists after a negotiated ceasefire.
“Persistent attacks on civilians by both armed separatists and the security forces amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. The government continues to deny the severity of the crisis and has failed to address the root causes of the Anglophone conflict or provide a political means for resolving it,” said the organisation on it’s website.
NCR2P is among the many international and local organisations calling for a ceasefire and genuine dialogue in the two regions, where 80 percent of schools have been shutdown or destroyed.
Amid the numerous calls, even in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, both government soldiers and separatist fighters have continued abusing unarmed civilians, with little hope for a ceasefire any time soon.
The crisis in Cameron’s Northwest and Southwest regions is the most trying conflict the country is facing since indepence, with at least 3,000 people killed and over 600,000 internally displaced while at least 59,000 are refugees in Nigeria.
The country is currently fighting against Boko Haram insurgence in it’s Far North region, a conflict that has displaced at least 322,000 people, killing some 225 others since 2014, according to NCR2P.
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