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- Over 10,000 people, mostly women and children, have fled into Chad from northern Cameroon this week after deadly clashes between herding and fishing tribes, according to a UN report
- The report further says that twelve people were killed and dozens wounded in the violence
- This had occurred in the Far North region, a landmass lying between Nigeria to the west and Chad to the east
Over 10,000 people, mostly women and children, have fled into Chad from northern Cameroon this week after deadly clashes between herding and fishing tribes, according to a UN report. The report further says that twelve people were killed and dozens wounded in the violence. This had occurred in the Far North region, a landmass lying between Nigeria to the west and Chad to the east.
The report said that 85 percent of the refugees who fled to Oundouma, south of the Chadian capital N’Djamena, were women and children. What triggered the fight was when Muslims built dams to divert water to help them catch fish, which was used by ethnic Arab Choa herders for watering their cattle.
Clashes between ethnic groups are rare in Cameroon. Whereas it is frequent in Chad and Nigeria, particularly between farmers and semi-nomadic herders. Chad is taking steps to prevent spill over of the fight to their land. Some of the refugees were placed with families, while others were lodged in schools and churches. Cameroon’s Far North is also facing cross-border attacks by jihadists from Nigeria.
