Cameroon Government Carrying Out Targeted Killings-US

The United State’s has accused Cameroon of carrying out targeted killings on activists in the two English-speaking regions of the country.

United States Ambassador Peter Henry Balerin made the remark to the press after meeting with the Head of State Paul Biya at the Unity Palace where both men discussed a wide range of issues about Cameroon.

The US embassy in a statement after the meeting stressed only an inclusive dialogue could seek a way out in the current impasse facing the country.

Cameroon Government Carrying Out Targeted Killings-US

“On the situation in the Northwest and Southwest, the month of April has proven the bloodiest so things are not getting better. I discussed with the President our view that the two sides in the conflict are simply not listening to each other,” Ambassador Balerin said in a statement.

“On the side of the government, there have been targeted killings, detentions without access to legal support, family, or the Red Cross, and burning and looting of villages. On the side of the separatists, there have been murders of gendarmes, kidnapping of government officials, and burning of schools. People on both sides of the conflict have engaged in speech that dehumanizes the opposite side.

“We continue to call on both sides to stop the violence immediately. I asked the President to use his leadership to encourage both sides to listen to each other. One cannot have a dialogue until both sides are willing to listen to the other’s point of view,” the statement read.

Both men also discussed on the diplomatic, health and security cooperation as relates to the fight against Boko Haram in the Far North region.

The country’s English-speaking regions have been a battle ground for security forces and armed separatist fighters who which has led to several deaths on both sides.

The fighting has led to over 160.000 fleeing their homes, according to the UN with most of them internally displaced while others have crossed into neighbouring Nigeria.