While a solution to the raging Anglophone crisis continues pending, families in Cameroon continue to take dispositions to ensure that their members do not become victims of this crisis that is fast degenerating into an armed insurrection.
However, foreign countries seem to even be more disturbed about the safety of their nationals than families in the affected country. This is evident in the travel alerts that have continued to galore in recent times and issued by different countries, who have called on their citizens to avoid travelling to the crisis hit regions of Cameroon, especially the Northwest and Southwest regions.
The United Kingdom has become the latest among the countries that have issued travel alerts to their nationals that are resident in Cameroon.
In a recent decision, it warns its citizens to strictly avoid traveling within 40 km of the country's borders with Nigeria, Chad and the Central African Republic.
On the note published on 27 March 2018 by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), and reported by Africanews, it read, “the FCO now advises against any trip within 40 km of the Cameroon / Nigeria border and the Ndian division, and against any indispensable journey to the rest of the Northwest and most of the South West; updated information on kidnappings and clashes in the North West and South West regions ".
This exit is based on the kidnapping in March 2018 of Tunisian and Cameroonian workers whose rescue operation resulted in the death of a Tunisian. But also recent armed exchanges between suspected separatists and security forces.
“Kidnappings of Cameroonian officials have been reported in the Northwest and Southwest regions. Numerous firefights have also taken place between Cameroonian security forces and armed groups in recent months in some towns and villages in the North West and Southwest,” writes the FCO.
The FCO also added that, “This follows violent and deadly clashes between protesters and Cameroonian security forces in the Northwest and Southwest regions in September and October 2017. Restrictions, including curfews as well as bans on night public meetings and other restrictions remain in effect. "
Prior to the decision of the United Kingdom, France had earlier mapped out hazardous areas “strongly discouraged” to its citizens.
Travel throughout the Far North region except for Maroua, the border areas in Nigeria and the Central African Republic, as well as the North West and South West, are strongly discouraged for French nationals.
In its note to travelers issued Monday, April 02, the Embassy of France in Cameroon established a map of geographical areas where its citizens are advised to avoid going. The targeted parts of the country are divided into three categories: red, orange and yellow.
The red zone concerns the entire Far North region (with the exception of the city of Maroua), all the borders with Nigeria, Chad and the Central African Republic (in particular, the roads connecting Yaoundé to N ' Gaoundere via Garoua-Boulaï, as well as those that connect Garoua and N'Gaoundéré to Moundou (Chad) via Touboro, or Bertoua to Yokadouma), as well as the Southwest (The Korup National Park, the Kumba circulation axes - Ekondo Titi - Mundemba and Ekok - Mamfe). French nationals have been discouraged from travelling to all these regions mapped out by their embassy in Cameroon because of attacks by terrorist or armed groups, it said.
As for the orange zone, it concerns the North, North-West and South-West regions and the Vina and Mbere divisions in the East of Adamaoua. The French should only go there for imperative reasons and observe some security rules, “respect the curfews called for by state authorities, stay away from rallies or demonstrations, and seek an escort of the gendarmerie or the police as well as the BIR ...”
The yellow zone is considered less dangerous, even though the embassy still cautions its citizens to be careful about those areas. These departments include the Mayo Banyo, Djerem, Faro-and-Dea, Ngaoundere, Garoua.
It should be noted that even though the United States of America has not said anything of late as concerns the travel ban, it had previously made such calls about twice.
Critics have opined that the decision by some of these world powers to call on their citizens to desist from travelling to the Northwest and Southwest regions is a strong harbinger to the fact that the crisis has become an urgent emergency and that it needs an urgent, concrete, and lasting solution.
Recall that, all these countries have in several occasions proposed dialogue as the best means to dealing with this crisis that has also created a huge humanitarian crisis as thousands of Anglophone Cameroonians are currently seeking refuge in neighbouring Nigeria.
By Landzeh Verla
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