Women call for dialogue and demand peace in Cameroon

Cameroonian women from north-west and south-west organized a sit-in in Bamenda on Friday with photos of their killed, police as separatists and civilians dead in clashes.

In Bamenda, hundreds of women are marching and demanding peace in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon.

They denounce the crisis that hit for nearly three years in the English-speaking West of the country.

These women are calling for the return of peace.

They are several hundred mothers and daughters who sang this Friday in Bamenda. They come from towns and villages in English-speaking regions shaken by armed clashes. They demand the return of peace, while some brandish placards denouncing violence, others like some ladies, make their sit-in with the photos of their killed in this crisis.

During this peaceful demonstration, these English-speaking mothers urge all armed groups to cease all forms of violence, destabilization and restriction of freedom of movement, to lay down their arms, and to commit themselves immediately and unconditionally to the process of peace.

Since its outbreak in November 2016, the crisis in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon has already caused significant collateral damage.

While the number of separatists killed in clashes with the police has not been available so far, at least 100 security agents and more than 600 civilians have already died as a result of the conflict, according to NGOs.

In addition, some 160,000 people have fled their homes as a result of the violence, according to the UN.

The Nigerian Emergency Agency (SEMA) reports that 74,994 refugees have fled to Nigeria.