Cameroon Country Profile
Cameroon is located in West Africa, with a rapidly growing population of 25.8 million.
There are at least 24 African languages but French and English are official, the latter a legacy of British rule of the southwest between 1918 and 1961, at which point northern Cameroons opted in a plebiscite to join Nigeria while the southern half voted to become part of independent Cameroon.
Why are people fleeing Cameroon for safety in other countries?
According to Amnesty International’s 2017-18 report https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/africa/cameroon/
people are fleeing Cameroon for safety in other countries for the following reasons:
Abuse by Armed Groups
The armed group Boko Haram continued to commit serious human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law in the Far North region, including looting and destroying properties and killing and abducting civilians. As a result of the conflict, around 240,000 people in the Far North region had fled their homes between 2014 and the end of 2017.
Human rights violations
In response, the authorities and security forces committed human rights violations and crimes under international law, including arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detentions, torture and deaths in custody. Freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly continued to be restricted throughout the country. Security forces violently repressed demonstrations in Anglophone regions in January and September. Civil society activists, journalists, trade unionists and teachers continued to be intimidated, harassed, threatened, arrested and some faced unfair trials and sentencing before military courts. Homosexual activity is illegal.