U.S. Calls on Cameroon to End Conflict, Imposes Visa Ban

The U.S. is calling for both the Cameroon government and separatist armed groups to end the ongoing conflict and to engage in dialogue without preconditions. It is urging all relevant stakeholders in Cameroon and in the diaspora to engage constructively and seek a peaceful resolution to the crisis. The U.S has further imposed visa restrictions on individuals who are believed to be responsible for, or complicit in undermining the peaceful resolution of the crisis in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon. The conflict began when separatists took up arms in 2017, to create an independent English-speaking state in the majority French-speaking country's western regions. According to the UN, the conflict has seen more than 3,000 lives lost and causing 550,000 people to flee to French-speaking regions of Cameroon or into neighbouring Nigeria.