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| Gov’t bans relief AID to displaced people |
The Cameroon government has reportedly banned the
Catholic Church from extending humanitarian aid to persons fleeing the security
crisis in the restive Anglophone regions.
According
to a journalists with Equinoxe TV, a renowned priest had been questioned for
distributing foodstuff to people stranded by the ongoing crisis.
“I am
reliably informed that church leaders have been banned from assisting displaced
Anglophones who fled military brutality and burnings of their houses. A
renowned man of God has equally received a query from the state for
distributing foodstuff to the people in despair,” Mimi Mefo said in a tweet.
Thousands
of Cameroonians have routinely fled their homes into forests for fear of attack
by the security forces. The army has repeatedly dismissed attacks on civilian
populations stressing that its actions are within limits of its operation.
The
United Nations refugee agency in neighbouring Nigeria has recorded over 20,000
refugees who fled the fighting back home. They are said to be living in dire
straits as the UNHCR continues to seek funding to support them
The
Catholic Church has been a vocal civil society group all through the crisis in
Cameroon’s Northwest and Southwest (Anglophone) regions. They have repeatedly
called for a peaceful resolution to the crisis.
The
international Crisis Group has identified the church as the most potent
political mediator between the government and separatist elements.
It’s
April 26 report titled: Cameroon’s Anglophone Crisis: How the Catholic Church
Can Promote Dialogue, averred that the clergy needed to be united with a strong
common position (between federalism vs. decentralization) in order to be seen
as credible mediators.
Source: Africa News
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