Cameroon issues international arrest warrant for 15 Anglophone leaders

Cameroon

Cameroonian authorities have issued international arrest warrants for fifteen leaders of an Anglophone separatist party, the Southern Cameroon National Council (SCNC).

According to a local website, Sisiku Ayuk Tabe the self-proclaimed president of the Anglophone consortium is among those wanted and now faces arrest and extradition.

The government accuses the group of being behind rising violence in the northwestern and southwestern regions. The two areas known as ‘Anglophone Cameroon’ has been at the heart of clashes between pro-government forces and secessionists.

The security situation has in the past led to the burning of schools, detonation of homemade bombs in the main cities of Bamenda and Douala. The most recent incident was the killing of three security officers in an overnight raid on a checkpoint.

Cameroon govt says separatists behind murder of two troops in Bamenda https://t.co/juQGG20OaP

— africanews (@africanews) November 9, 2017

English speaking minority in the central African country make up a fifth of the population but have long complained of discrimination.

They say they are often excluded from top civil service jobs and that many government documents are published only in French, even though English is an official language. Protests began in October 2016 over the appointment of Francophone judges in the English-speaking region.