Fishermen and herders fought a deadly battle on 10 August 2021 in the Far North region of Cameroon, near the Chadian border. A violence that killed 32 people, 74 wounded with 19 villages burned. Thousands of people have fled to Chad or within Cameroon, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). At the origin of the intra-Community conflict, disputes which took an unexpected turn.
Cameroonian fishermen and herders clashed on 10 August, near the border with Chad. Scenes of rare violence that claimed the lives of 32 people. UNHCR’s spokesperson for West and Central Africa, Selim Meddeb, spoke about the origin of the clashes between the two communities. Mousgoum fishermen have created trenches to retain water, and thus fish, and these trenches threaten the herds of Arab Choa breeders. That’s what they’re saying. It’s a dispute over the creation of these trenches to hold back the fish that has escalated. Today, the situation on the ground is calmer, troops have been deployed, a disarmament process has been led by the Cameroonian authorities. However, displaced people remain displaced at the moment, and returns are very limited,’ he said.
As a result of these clashes, 7,300 people had to flee inside Cameroon and 11,000 others crossed the border to return to Chad fearing for their security. 85% of the people who have moved to the Chadian side are women and children, the rest are mainly elderly men. It should be noted that during the rainy season, malaria levels are very high, so this is a major concern for UNHCR and its partners. ‘ , added Selim Meddeb.
UNHCR has distributed food to 500,000 refugees in Chad and 450,000 in Cameroon. Shelters were built and medical teams were deployed to assist these people.
After these deplorable clashes for the two communities that have always cohabited, calm has returned to the area, the theatre of the conflict, but the refugees are in very difficult conditions.
