Cameroon: UNHCR needs urgent support as Inter-communal dispute displaces over 82,000 people, Over 44 death
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The climate crisis is exacerbating tensions in Far North Cameroon. In recent decades, the surface of Lake Chad – of which the Logone River is a main tributary – has decreased by as much as 95 per cent. Fishermen and farmers have dug vast trenches to retain the remaining river water so they can fish and cultivate crops. But the muddy trenches are trapping and sometimes killing cattle belonging to the herders, sparking tension and fighting. A first outbreak of intercommunal violence occurred in August. At the time, 45 people were killed and 23,000 forcibly displaced, 8,500 of whom have remained in Chad since then.
The UNHCR and authorities had been leading reconciliation efforts in Kousseri though it was insufficient as the conflict broke out again in December
The fresh violence started on 5 December 2021 through with a relative on the 6 and 7, on 8 December it became deadly and extending to Kouseri, the border town between Cameroon and Chad. The herders and fishermen are fighting over dwindling resources. “Clashes broke out in the border village of Ouloumsa following a dispute between herders, fishermen and farmers over dwindling water resources. Violence then spread to neighbouring villages. Ten villages in total have been burned to the ground.” UNHCR reported. The water shortage is as a result of Climate change which has been affecting the Far North Region of Cameroon.
According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), over 82,000 Cameroonians have been displaced to neighbouring Chad fleeing the inter-communal dispute between the Arab Choa and the Mousgoum in the Far North region of Cameroon.
Most of the Displaced population are women and children, On 10 December, UN refugee Agency says that Eighty per cent of the new arrivals are women – including many who are pregnant – and children. They have found refuge in N’Djamena and villages along Chad’s bank of the Logone River. At least 44 persons have been killed and more than 112 villages burnt since the fresh attacks started as reported by UNHCR
on 7 December 29021, CRTV reported that “The Divisional Officer for Logone and his close aids went to the scene to calm down the flaring tempers and reinforce security in the communities” and that the North Regional Governor Midjiyawa Bakari has reinforced security presence in the affected areas to p
UNHCR, says they are deeply concerned by renewed intercommunal clashes that erupted in Cameroon’s Far North region, displacing thousands inside the country and forcing more than 30,000 people to flee to neighbouring Chad.
Chad has reaffirmed its hospitality towards the new arrivals, and the authorities there, together with UNHCR, other UN agencies and humanitarian partners, are rushing to support the Cameroonian refugees with emergency shelter and assistance. Injured people have been admitted to two hospitals in N’Djamena.
Financial resources to respond to the situation in both countries remain critically low. UNHCR’s requirements for 2021 in Cameroon (US$99.6 million) and Chad (US$141 million) are only 52 per cent and 54 per cent funded respectively. More support is urgently needed for UNHCR to continue providing life-saving assistance during a crisis that is likely to continue.
Berinyuy Cajetan is the founder and publisher of Human Rights and Legal Research Centre (HRLRC) since 2017. He has intensive experience in strategic communications for Civil Society Organizations, campaign and advocacy, and social issues. He has an intensive experiencing in human rights monitoring, documentation and reporting.
