Cameroon deports 2,600 Nigerian refugees
- The UNHCR says Cameroon has forcefully returned over 2,600 refugees to Nigerian border villages against their will
-
The UNHCR spokesman, Babar Baloch, notes that in one of such cases of
forced deportation, refugees were rounded up by the military and taken
in trucks to a camp for displaced people in Banki, in Nigeria's Borno
state.
- Baloch says the UN is alarmed to see that the forced returns were continuing unabated after its previous protests
The
UN has said Cameroon authorities citing security concerns have
forcefully returned over 2,600 refugees to Nigerian border villages
against their will.
Cameroon has deported
more than 2,600 Nigerians who fled into northern part of the country to
escape Boko Haram jihadists since the start of the year, according to
the UN.
According to the Daily Mail, the spokesman for the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Babar Baloch,
told reporters in Geneva that some 85,000 Nigerians have sought refuge
in Cameroon but authorities in the country sent many back, citing
security reasons.
"So far this year, Cameroon has forcefully returned over 2,600 refugees to Nigerian border villages against their will," the UNHCR spokesperson said.
He said UNHCR staff in Nigeria had heard and documented accounts about Cameroon troops forcing refugees to return to Nigeria, "without allowing them time to collect their belongings."
Citing
one of such cases of forced deportation, Baloch narrated how refugees
were rounded up during a military offensive against Boko Haram
insurgents in the Mandara Mountains on the Cameroonian side of the
border.
He said they were then taken in trucks to a camp for displaced people in Banki, in Nigeria's Borno state.
"Those returned included a one-year-old child
and a nine-month pregnant woman, who gave birth the day after her
arrival in Banki," he said.
"During the
chaos families were separated and some women were forced to leave their
young children behind in Cameroon, including a child less than three
years old," he added.
The UNHCR, according
to the Punch said it was alarmed to see that the forced returns were
continuing unabated after its previous protests and even after the
governments of Nigeria and Cameroon signed an agreement with the UN on
March 2 to ensure voluntary returns when possible.
“While
recognising the legitimate national security concerns of the Cameroon
government, UNHCR reminds authorities that refugees are themselves
fleeing violence and attacks from Boko Haram and that their access to
asylum and protection must be ensured,” the agency said.
The multiple blasts resulted in the death of eight people, according to Premium Times. Eighteen others sustained injury
Reuters report quoted the police as
confirming the incident adding that the Borno police commissioner,
Damian Chukwu, said it happened at around 4.30 am.
“Three
bomb explosions occurred this morning at three different locations near
Muna Garage, Maiduguri. Four people were killed and 18 people injured,” he was quoted as saying.
According to Chukwu, two of the blasts happened at camps for people displaced by Boko Haram.
Sahara Reporters also broke the news saying the multiple bombing was reported around the Muna garage in Maiduguri.
https://www.naij.com/1095136-cameroon-deports-2600-nigerian-refugees.html
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