Cameroon: Rehabilitated ex-Boko Haram fighters start civilian lives

Moussa Idriss says he is ready to turn a new page. Once a Boko Haram fighter, Idriss surrendered to the Cameroonian army in 2017.

At a centre for disarmed and demobilized fighters in Cameroon's Far North region, Idriss and his colleagues will be taught new skills to help them lead productive lives.

"Today, I am ready to return home to my family. I am happy to reunite with my family, my brothers, and my father. I want to stay in the community,'' said the ex-combatant.

Since 2018, Cameroon has set up two deradicalization centres in Mora and Meri where more than 3,000 former fighters are being trained in various trades.

"Here in Meri, we have nearly 3,000 ex-fighters who have gone through training at the Meri transit centre. Today, 600 of them have been selected as part of the first wave to reintegrate into different communities," said Evariste Atangana Zoua, a regional administrator.

Officials overseeing the Disarmament, Demobilization, and Re-integration (DDR) efforts say the process will be cartefully monitored to ensure ex-combatants are fully reformed.

But it is not always smooth.

While the ex-fighters are free to choose where they settle to lead a civilian life, local communities sometimes reject them due to past trauma and fear that they have not fully renounced violence.

"If we cannot forgive and accept reconciliation with those who took up arms yesterday, we will not achieve the lasting peace that the Head of State has so greatly wished for," said Oumar Bichair, the head of disarmament program in the Far North region.

Some of the re-integrated individuals are Nigerian. They have decided to remain in Cameroon for fear of reprisal if they return to their home country.