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Cameroon + 3 more

UNHCR Cameroon Factsheet - April 2020

Attachments

Cameroon MCO currently has 1,753,430 people of concern, including 272,144 Central African Republic refugees, 113,420 Nigerian refugees, 36,368 urban refugees and asylum seekers of various nationalities, 976,773 IDPs (297,380 in Far North and 679,393 in North West and South West regions) and 354,328 returnees (former IDPs) in the Far North, North West and South West regions, 476 refugees and 79 asylum seekers in Gabon.

On 30 April 2020, UNHCR donated medical and personal protective equipment to support state hospitals in the East, North and Adamawa regions to fight against COVID-19. In addition, 24 health workers were trained in collaboration with the Regional Health Department and 407 community health workers on community actions within the context of COVID-19 infection and response.

On 22 April 2020, a cross-border meeting was held between UNHCR Maiduguri, Nigeria and UNHCR, Cameroon, which focused on the about 288 refugees who had crossed the border despite COVID-19 restrictive measures. Participants discussed the issue of prevention and response to COVID-19 in the countries of the Lake Chad Basin and its link with access to asylum.

MAIN HIGHLIGHTS

  • The security situation remains volatile and of concern in the Far North, given the multiple attacks allegedly carried out by the Boko Haram group. After the Chadian army’s "Colère de Boma” operation in the Lake Chad region, the Nigeria army on its part has embarked on a counter-terrorism operation in Yobe State. These military operations cause the dispersion of terrorist groups who nonetheless continue organizing attacks on small localities. On 17 April 2020, two (02) shepherds from nomad camp near the town of Garno (Makary) were injured and around 408 heads of cattle taken away by a group of Boko Haram. On the night of 20 to 21 April, the village chief of Tala-Lawa (Mayo Sava), Far North region was killed following an incursion by the same group.

  • In the North West and South West regions, there are continuous clashes between government forces and non-state armed groups (NSAGs). The prevailing situation is characterised by kidnappings, lockdowns and ghost towns imposed by NSAGs. All these incidents further narrow humanitarian access in these two regions. On 22 April, civilian farms were attacked in Kupe Muanenguba Division, and crops destroyed by NSAG fighters allegedly in retaliation of the killing of suspected separatists by the military.

  • On 22 April 2020, a cross-border meeting (teleconference) was held between the UNHCR sub-Office in Maiduguri, Nigeria and that of Maroua in Cameroon. This meeting focused on the about 288 refugees who had crossed the border from Cameroon (Amchidé between 07 and 10 April 2020) to return to Nigeria despite the preventive measures. This was also in a follow up of the recommendations of a previous meeting in December 2019, about spontaneous returns to Nigeria. Participants also discussed the issue of prevention and response to COVID-19 in the countries of the Lake Chad Basin and its link with access to asylum.