When English-speaking civilians began protesting discriminatory government policies in 2016, government security forces cracked down violently. By 2017, armed Anglophone separatists began fighting for independence for the territory they refer to as Southern Cameroons, or Ambazonia. Violent conflict primarily between armed separatists and state security forces continues to date. Experts have stated that abuses by state security forces and armed separatist groups may amount to crimes against humanity. With more than 6,000 people killed and over 600,000 internally displaced since 2017, civilians in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions remain at immediate risk of mass atrocities. Meanwhile, in Cameroon’s Far North region, civilians are being targeted in a conflict between Boko Haram insurgents and state security forces.
This 2023 policy brief outlines options to prevent and mitigate mass atrocities amid the continued crisis in the Anglophone region of Cameroon. To prevent atrocities and protect civilians, the brief includes recommendations for the Cameroonian government, armed separatist groups, foreign governments, and multilateral organizations to take coordinated, sustained, and calibrated action.
This 2020 policy brief provides an overview of the risks of mass atrocities in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions and provides recommendations to the Cameroonian government, armed separatist groups, and international actors to prevent atrocities and protect civilians.
Our Early Warning Project estimates the risk of a new mass killing in Cameroon over the next year.
Learn more about the history of the crisis and current threats of mass atrocities to civilians.
This downloadable flyer provides background information about the conflict between English-speaking and French-speaking citizens in Cameroon, where attacks by both government security forces and separatists groups may amount to crimes against humanity.
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Find information on historical cases of genocide and other atrocities.