Military-Separatists War: Education is on standby in Southern Cameroons
Education is on standby in Cameroon’s English-speaking South West and North West regions, where students and the education system are paying a high price for a war between separatists and the Defense and Security Forces (DSF).
This year’s traditional Feb. 11 Youth Day parade was marked by the burning of dormitories and threats against students at Queen of the Rosary College Okoyong in Mamfe in the South West region by armed separatists the night before.
The video of the fire was posted on social media, infuriating the public and upsetting the national and international communities. The attack has renewed debate over the state of education in Cameroon’s separatist-afflicted regions, which have been ravaged by the separatists since 2016.
“Feb. 11 is not to be celebrated in the North West and South West because of the war that is going on. We are at war. We should not pretend. Sometimes we do this to get the attention of the international community because we know that they are following all the events closely. Our videos are war strategies,” ‘Daddy Boy’, leader of the Ambazonia Military Forces (AMF), a group of separatist fighters, told Anadolu Agency by phone.
The English-speaking minority in this bilingual Central African country feels marginalized and has staged a series of protests since 2016 calling for independence.
The unresolved conflict has resulted in at least 15 attacks on schools and 268 abductions of students and education professionals, deteriorating the security situation, closing schools and depriving 700,000 students since 2017, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).
Separatists have “attacked, intimidated or threatened thousands of students, education workers and parents in an effort to prevent children from attending school,” it said.
Local authorities and non-governmental organizations also reported school massacres in which at least 11 students and at least two teachers lost their lives between 2020 and 2021. Of these students, the Center for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa (CHRDA) and the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT) documented two killings between October and November 2021 by the DSF. Read More...
