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Some 11,000 Cameroonians from the Far North region of the country have crossed the border into Chad, after violence between fishermen and herders this weekend, according to the governor of the Chadian region Chari Baguirmi.
“Yesterday our social services took in nearly 11,000 refugees who came with next to nothing. They have no bedding, a change of clothes or food, ”Governor Gayang Souaré told Reuters.
At least 20 people have been killed in the Far North of Cameroon in the worst ethnic fighting in memory. The clashes erupted during an argument where fishermen dug holes in the ground.
“There are among them injured who require immediate medical attention and children who are without their parents,” said Souaré, adding that they find it difficult to take care of them as their services were quickly overwhelmed.
The Chadian authorities told local media that they wanted to prevent the fighting in Cameroon from coming to Chad because “they are the same communities”.
Cameroon’s volatile Far North region is located in an area where the Cameroonian army is fighting Boko Haram and fighters linked to the Islamic State armed group.
Violence escalated, according to local officials, as residents bought weapons to defend themselves against Boko Haram.
(with Reuters)
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