Cameroon MPs grant troubled Anglophone region special status

Lawmakers in Cameroon are debating a bill that seeks to grant more autonomy to the troubled Anglophone regions.

The recent development comes more than two months after the Grand National Dialogue called by government which took place in the capital, Yaoundé.

Parts of the new law adopted earlier this week stipulates that court decisions can be rendered “in any of the official languages, depending on the choice of the litigant and the understanding of all present in court.”

Cameroon’s English-speaking North West and South West regions have been experiencing a civil conflict since 2016, when protesters and security forces clashed.

The demonstrations were initially over the use of French in the English majority regions, it started from teachers and lawyers marching the streets with branches of trees.

But the relating security crackdown led to a spiral in the demands as a group of activists declared a security-political push to secede from Cameroon.

People in the twin regions have long hoped for a return to peace. Hundreds of people have died in the clashes between secessionists and government forces. Thousands have also been displaced by the violence.

President Paul Biya recently brought up the issue of granting special status to the regions as part of efforts to end the crisis.