Cameroon denied on Tuesday (January 24th) having entrusted any country with the role of mediator in the conflict which is ravaging the English-speaking West, four days after Canada announced that it would host talks between Yaoundé and the separatist rebels.
Ottawa replied during the day that it was maintaining its announcement, even repeating that meetings between the parties, "including representatives of the government of Cameroon", had already been held in Canada.
Government corrections
"Following recent information disseminated by certain media, the government informs (...) that it has not entrusted any external country or entity with any role of mediator or facilitator," said in a statement made public. on the night of Monday to Tuesday René Emmanuel Sadi, spokesperson for the government of this Central African country.
Read alsoCameroon: at least 11 dead in a landslide in Yaoundé
On Friday, Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly announced that her country was hosting an ongoing “peace process” between “the Republic of Cameroon”, two self-proclaimed “governments” and competitors of “Ambazonia” – name given by the separatists to the South-West and North-West regions, populated by the English-speaking minority--, as well as three armed rebel movements.
Canadian media assured, for some, that three “secret” meetings had already taken place, two in Quebec and one in Toronto, and, for others, that the mediation of Canada had been “solicited” by the Cameroonian government.
"We are in contact with the parties and our statement holds," reacted Minister Joly's spokesperson, Adrien Blanchard, about Yaoundé's denial.
“Three meetings took place in Canada between the various parties, including representatives of the government of Cameroon,” he insisted.
"It is first of all up to the Cameroonian people, to the institutions and leaders they have freely given themselves, to seek appropriate ways and means to resolve the problems facing our country," the statement read. by Rene Emmanuel Sadi.
A deadly conflict
The North-West and South-West of Cameroon, populated mainly by the English-speaking minority of this predominantly French-speaking country, have been the scene of a deadly conflict since the end of 2016.
This conflict opposes armed groups demanding independence to the security forces massively deployed by a president Paul Biya in power for more than 40 years and who is intractable, even with regard to the most moderate demanding a federal solution.
It killed more than 6,000 people and forced more than a million people to move, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank.
Both sides are regularly accused by international NGOs and the UN of crimes and atrocities against civilians, the main victims of this war.
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/KMEYMJKESBAZBE4MRBAM4TGHIQ.jpg)
