Crisis Group Report, Cameroon: The Threat of Religious Radicalism, op. Crisis Group interview, administrative authority, Mokolo, Maroua, March 2016. Crisis Group interviews, residents, Far North, North, Adamawa (Cameroon), Foumban, Mbalmayo, Douala and Yaound, 2015-2016. } [fn]Cameroon prisons hold three to five times their supposed capacity of detainees. The war has nonetheless had a negative effect on the countrys economy and has created ethnic and social cleavages, as seen in the stigmatisation of the Kanuri people in the Far North, often indiscriminately associated with the jihadist group. Mayo Sava: 9 femmes de Boko Haram arrtes par larme. In the 1990s, climate change and deep poverty in rural areas home to 85 per cent of the population exacerbated the competition for access to natural resources in a region already suffering intercommunal tensions and recurrent episodes of violence. [fn]Crisis Group telephone interviews, administrative authorities in Maroua, November 2015.Hide Footnote Despite prior personal background checks, there have been cases of complicity between some committee members and Boko Haram, while others have engaged in extortion on religious grounds. The army launched numerous initiatives in support of the populations, such as the distribution of medicines and food, medical check-ups and work on local roads. Politique: rvlations sur la libration des otages franais. Between 1,500 and 2,100 members of Boko Haram have reportedly been killed following clashes with the Cameroonian defence forces and vigilante groups. [fn]Crisis Group interviews, soldiers in Emergence 4, Far North, March 2016.Hide Footnote Since the creation of the MNJTF, Alpha and Emergence 4 have been able to officially carry out operations against Boko Haram in Nigeria, in collaboration with Nigerian troops. Crisis Group interviews, humanitarian NGOs, Maroua, Kousseri, March 2016. #flexslider-1 .file-icon.jquery-generated {display:none;} According to the INS, a growth rate clearly above 7 per cent would be needed to reduce poverty. [fn]Local researchers and specialists in Islam dispute use of the expression rigorist Islam, preferring the alternative fundamentalist Islam. Human and electronic intelligence capacities were extremely limited. Crisis Group interviews, vigilante group and inhabitants, Kerawa, April 2016. Moreover, the governments response has so far been limited to these measures and does not encompass official apologies or material compensation for the victims or their families that could reinforce social cohesion. [fn]For a detailed outline of all the operations, see Appendix B.Hide Footnote, The shock caused by the first attacks in Cameroon, particularly those in Maroua, has led since July 2015 to the adoption of new administrative and security measures such as bans on the full face veil (burqa), on public gatherings and on the use of motorbikes, the imposition of a 6pm closing time for bars, numerous inspections and searches, the monitoring or even closure of mosques and the arrest of supposedly radical imams and the reinforcement of police and gendarmerie manpower for intelligence assignments. Perceptions of motivations for joining Boko Haram are also linked to financial rewards. Tally established by Crisis Group based on open sources and interviews in the Far North in 2016. 9, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), 1 November 2016.Hide Footnote The arrival of displaced populations has created tensions with host families, who for the most part also needed help, but these strains have eased since humanitarian NGOs are on the ground. [fn]Terrorisme: les 9 mesures phares prises par le Cameroun pour se protger de Boko Haram, Jeune Afrique, 29 July 2015.Hide Footnote While these measures have mostly been accepted by the population, some initiatives, and the ensuing excesses, have stirred discontent. [fn]In 2011 and 2012, a number of traders and transport operators were killed in Kousseri after accepting money from Boko Haram without actually delivering supplies to the sect as had been arranged. Attacks by Boko Haram continue, mainly in north-eastern Nigeria and southern Niger, and to a lesser extent, in northern Cameroon and the Lac region of Chad, he said. Some fighters of Maghreb origin were killed during attacks on the BIR garrison in Fotokol and the motorised infantry brigade in Ashigashia. } In the Far North, depending on the place and time, Boko Haram has been a sectarian movement rejecting the state, a rebel movement inspired by religious ideas, a particularly violent criminal group but above all, an undertaking relying on terrorist tactics. .i18n-ar .menu-administration-menu { A long-term solution should see the return of the state, which would build on the role of civil society and the youth, as well as local elites and external partners to rebuild public services in a long-neglected region.
Cameroon prisons hold three to five times their supposed capacity of detainees. Musa Tanko, who claims to be Boko Harams spokesperson, said in 2010 that the organisations priorities were Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad. [fn]Crisis Group interviews, sub-prefects, vigilante groups, high-ranking members of the armed forces and former Boko Haram members, Far North and Maroua prison, January-September 2017.Hide Footnote, Entretiens de Crisis Group, sous-prfets, comits de vigilance, hauts grads de larme et anciens membres de Boko Haram, Extrme-Nord et prison de Maroua, janvier-septembre 2017.Hide Footnote, Before Boko Harams arrival, the Far North was already Cameroons poorest region, with 74 per cent of the population living below the poverty line, compared to an average of 37.5 per cent in the country as a whole. Crisis Group interviews, senior officers, Yaound, Far North, 2016. An emergency plan for the development of the northcomprising three regions, including the Far Northwas announced in June 2014. 0000005430 00000 n
Crisis Group Briefing, Boko Haram on the Back Foot?, op. War Economy in North East Nigeria. The Logone and Chari authorities also report that Boko Haram has abducted fishermen and demanded ransoms for their release. For lack of official statistics, Crisis Group has based this estimate on cross-referencing responses from a score of interviews with administrative authorities, researchers and journalists in the Far North. The Far North of Cameroon is a veritable crossroads of trading routes and cultures. Crisis Group interviews, security forces and prison staff, Yaound and Far North, 2016.Hide Footnote Among these prisoners are senior ideologues and operational commanders, on the one hand, and informers, forcibly recruited members and junior logisticians on the other. div.main-container .row .region .panel-panel .pane-content .menu-name-main-menu.menu-level-2 ul.menu.nav li a::before, Populations in the Far North have felt unfairly stigmatised by the accusations emanating from the south, when it is they who are paying a heavy price for the conflict. [fn]Crisis Group interviews, residents and traders, Far North, April 2016; administrative authority, Mokolo, March 2016. In order of importance, the various branches of Islam present in the Far North are: Sunnism including Sufi strands such as Tijaniyya , Salafism, Wahhabism, the Tablighs, the Ikhwans and Shiism. [fn]Crisis Group interviews, traditional chiefs, Far North, March 2016.Hide Footnote Mayo Sava, close to Boko Haram strongholds in Borno, was the main area for recruitment between 2012 and 2014. This is one reason why Operation Alpha is currently funded by the presidency and unofficial funding arrangements and not by the defence ministry. background-color: #F5821F; Across the Lake Chad Basin, the UN estimates that over nine million people need humanitarian assistance, he said. Its troops are drawn from the five land units of the BIRs and seconded to Alpha for a year. Arrow operations are conducted by the general staff and involve all the elements of BIR-Alpha. cit.Hide Footnote, Despite the security impacts of some government measures taken after the July 2015 Maroua attacksparticularly the ban on motorbike taxis (a source of livelihood for tens of thousands of young people), the closing of the border, the prohibition of fishing, the shutting down of some markets, and restrictions placed on the transport of foodstuffsthese actions have also increased some communities vulnerability and inadvertently helped Boko Haram in its recruitment efforts. This requires development organisations to support the informal sector, determine the regions strongest economic sectors, and work more on projects around the Lake Chad basin, or target the niches with strong potential for economic recovery, regardless of the obstacle placed by the border. Accusing the old generation of practising an Islam coloured by local traditions and innovations, they lobby to be given positions of responsibility in major mosques. [fn]Crisis Group interviews, senior officials and senior officers originally from the north, Yaound, 2016. The Far North must no longer be seen solely as a region in need of aid, but instead as an area of economic opportunities which could boost local development and revitalise growth across the country. Sabou Issa, Arithmtique ethnique et comptition politique entre Kotoko et Arabes Choa , Africa Spectrum, vol. The regional offensive involving Chadian, Cameroonian, Nigerian and Nigerien troops operating under the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF), has recaptured 80 per cent of areas once under Boko Haram control, freed thousands of captives and prevented terrorist attacks. Right Cause, Wrong Means: Human Rights Violated and Justice Denied in Cameroons Fight against Boko Haram, Amnesty International, July 2016. Extrme-Nord: un rseau dapprovisionnement de Boko Haram dmantel. [fn]Former hostages report that young men in Boko Haram spend their time listening to Shekaus preaching and talking about girls and marriage. [fn]Crisis Group interviews, colonels and diplomats from the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), Yaound, March-June 2016.Hide Footnote Chadian soldiers stationed in Maltam, Fotokol and Mora, who enjoyed hot pursuit rights, carried out offensives against Boko Haram in Nigeria. .views-field .views-field-title .allcaps { Rebellion is an investment either defined in the loot of commodities or where the payoff is to attain some political gains in the future. 0000003728 00000 n
Crisis Group interviews, academics and senior officials originally from the Far North, Yaound and Maroua, 2016.Hide Footnote Northern Cameroon has not suffered any erosion of its representation in the ranks of the government or the senior civil service.
Crisis Group interviews, security forces and prison staff, Yaound and Far North, 2016. More generally, the conflict highlights a deficit of representation, although without fundamentally threatening the legitimacy of the state: the gerontocratic political elite of the Far North is increasingly challenged by a very young population. ; Nigria: le chef du groupe islamiste Ansaru arrt, Le Monde, 3 April 2016.Hide Footnote In 2009, serious clashes between Boko Haram activists and the Nigerian security forces in Borno state resulted in the death of 800 members of the group, including its founder Mohammed Yusuf; some of those who escaped travelled through the Far North or spent time there. The Bakassi conflict between Cameroon and Nigeria made cooperation in tackling Boko Haram difficult. However, some Boko Haram militants retain affection for their families and often telephone them to get news. The commander of the Cameroonian sector takes his orders from the regional commander of the MNJTF in NDjamena, but in the day-to-day management of Sector 1, he is answerable to the head of Emergence 4. [fn]Crisis Group interviews, local councillors, local NGOs and former Boko Haram members, Far North and Maroua prison, January-February 2017.Hide Footnote Boko Haram has been able to gain a foothold in the informal local economy partly due to the relative goodwill among certain sectors of the frontier communities from the conflicts outbreak in 2013-2014. Crisis Group interviews, residents and traders, Far North, April 2016; administrative authority, Mokolo, March 2016. This has increased the price of products from Nigeria, although since 2016 the drop in value of the NairaNigerias currencyhas softened this inflationary impact. [fn]Crisis Group interview, senior BIR officer, Kolofata, March 2016.Hide Footnote Since October 2014, the army has defused 37 IEDs in the Far North, while 24 have exploded as military vehicles went past and two have killed civilians. Former hostages report that young men in Boko Haram spend their time listening to Shekaus preaching and talking about girls and marriage.
Crisis Group interviews, academic and Kanuri imam, Maroua, March 2016.Hide Footnote. Crisis Group interviews, prefect, police chief, driver of a travel company, motorbike riders and local NGOs, Far North, January-September 2017. Crisis Group interviews, security forces and intelligence officers, 2016. [fn]In 2014, 67 soldiers were killed; in 2015, 41, and from January to August 2016, seventeen. Boko Haram exploited these vulnerabilities to make the Far North a logistics base, a safe haven and a source of recruitment.
Crisis Group interview. } Based on open sources and government statements, Crisis Group estimates that the Cameroonian army has killed around 2,300 members of Boko Haram. Crisis Group interviews, traditional chiefs, local population and administrative authorities, Maroua, Logone and Chari, March 2016. Crisis Group interviews, residents and displaced people, Mokolo, Mora and Kousseri, March 2016. Crisis Group interview, Maroua, March 2016. A preaching ban was imposed in 2012 in Maroua on an imam who was reputedly Wahhabist; Crisis Group met him and concluded that he was in fact a Sunni fundamentalist. Crisis Group interviews, UNHCR and foreign ministry officials, Yaound, June-October 2016.Hide Footnote Finally, units should be created to support former hostages and former members of Boko Haram. According to a senior Nigerian state security official interviewed by RFI, while under interrogation in 2009 Mohammed Yusuf stated that his weapons came from Chad, Cameroon and Niger. He appealed again to Member States to increase their contributions to the ongoing humanitarian operation rapidly, now.,
None has targeted a church. xref
Crisis Group interviews, senior officials and senior officers originally from the north, Yaound, 2016. Outputs supported by DFID are DFID Crown Copyright 2022; outputs supported by the Australian Government are Since Boko Haram lacks a permanent presence, local farmers risk their lives by grazing their flocks, farming their land and harvesting their crops depending on the jihadists movements, which they try to anticipate based on information provided by vigilante groups. Unmaking Nigerias Boko Haram, Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), 1 October 2015. Despite a gradual lowering in the conflicts intensity, which peaked in 2014-2015, the continuing violence, combined with the sharp rise in the number of suicide attacks between May and August 2017, are reminders that the jihadist movement is by no means a spent force. Sabou Issa, Arithmtique ethnique et comptition politique entre Kotoko et Arabes Choa . [fn]Crisis Group interviews, academic, journalists, traditional chiefs and local NGOs, Maroua, Mora and Kousseri, March 2016.Hide Footnote, At first, most recruits were ethnically Kanuri, but the pool has become more diverse, ranging from Islamicised ethnic groups such as the Choa Arabs, the Mandara, Kotoko and Hausa to the largely non-Muslim Kirdi ethnic groups such as the Maffa, Mada and Kapsiki.
Crisis Group interviews, senior officials originally from Adamaoua, Yaound, February 2016; 2004-2013: Early traces evolve into an established presence. Seventeen people were abducted and thirteen killed, including two soldiers. Crisis Group interviews, intelligence officers, Yaound, September 2014-May 2016. In Minawao, Kanuri refugees control small-scale trading in and around the refugee camp. Boko Haram highlighted and accentuated the structural problems. Crisis Group interviews, traditional chiefs, Far North, March 2016. The Covid-19 Pandemic and Deadly Conflict, Rough Seas: Tracking Maritime Tensions with Iran, Crime in Pieces: The Effects of Mexicos War on Drugs, Explained, How Yemens War Economy Undermines Peace Efforts, The Climate Factor in Nigerias Farmer-Herder Violence, Conflict in Ukraines Donbas: A Visual Explainer, The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: A Visual Explainer, Turkeys PKK Conflict: A Visual Explainer, Drought, Violence and Politics: Inside Laikipias Cattle War, Sri Lankas Uprising Forces Out a President but Leaves System in Crisis, Trkiye, Armenia Take Tentative Steps toward Normalisation, Brazils True Believers: Bolsonaro and the Risks of an Election Year, Containing a Resilient ISIS in Central and North-eastern Syria, Risky Competition: Strengthening U.S.-China Crisis Management, The humanitarian fallout from Cameroons struggle against Boko Haram, The Humanitarian Fallout from Cameroons Struggle Against Boko Haram, Watchmen of Lake Chad: Vigilante Groups Fighting Boko Haram. Eight Arrow operations were carried out between November 2015 and June 2016. Tendances, profil et dterminants de la pauvret au Cameroun entre 2001 et 2014, National Institute of Statistics (INS), December 2015, p. 43. BIR-Alpha is distinct from the first land unit of the BIR based at Maroua. Much is at stake when it comes to respect for human rights, because the exponential growth of abuses in the Far North could push some young people, caught between Boko Harams hammer and the armys anvil, to join the jihadist group. 
Boko Haram members in Maroua jail are incarcerated with common law detainees. The Vigilante Groups: Effectiveness versus Risks. [fn]Seventeen people were abducted and thirteen killed, including two soldiers. Drug trafficking and armed robbery were also perceived to be significant sources of funding for the group. First of all, development actors must improve their understanding of local economic traditions and how these have evolved over time; of generational issues, social factors, and power balances; of divides between the regions rural and urban areas. [fn]None of the administrative or security sources contacted by Crisis Group has been in a position to confirm that Boko Haram was present in the Far North prior to 2009, but statements by former members of the group indicate that this was the case. Crisis Group email correspondence, senior officials and economists, July 2016. For example, sacks of rice from the World Food Programme sent to Cameroon have reportedly been found in Sambissa, in the heart of the Boko Haram territory in Nigeria. Crisis Group interviews, imams, Maroua, Kousseri, 2016. [fn]Most cases of arson against churches took place in Amchid, Gouzda-Vreket and Beljoel. on the one hand, and leaders, ideologists and fighters who chose to join the movement, as well as all those suspected of committing serious abuses on the other. ; Nigria: le chef du groupe islamiste Ansaru arrt. [fn]Crisis Group interviews, high-level official from the regional delegation of the tourism ministry and hotel directors, Maroua and Kousseri, January 2017.Hide Footnote Before the arrival of Boko Haram, the Far North was considered Cameroons most beautiful region for its remarkable landscapes, and the second most-visited region by foreign tourists. Ten of the 60 members of the government are natives of the Far North; for the regime, the region is a political stronghold where it usually achieves some of its best election results. The group explained to negotiators that Shekau had attacked the house of the vice prime minister to take revenge for the failure to honour promises to release prisoners. Boko Haram in Nigeria: Abu Musab al-Barnawi named as new leader, BBC, 3 August 2016.Hide Footnote In all, at least 45 Boko Haram men were freed in exchange for 38 foreign and Cameroonian hostages who had been kidnapped in 2013 and 2014. Crisis Group interviews, researchers at Maroua University, administrative authorities, Maroua and Kousseri, March 2016. The amount of the ransom is unknown. The incumbent generals were replaced with colonels who were originally from the area, a gendarmerie unit was specifically created in Kousseri, several brigades of motorised infantry were mobilised and the headquarters of the 41st motorised infantry brigade was transferred from Maroua to Kousseri. Other countries such as France, Germany, China and Russia also assist the army through training and donations of materials. Crisis Group interview, senior BIR officer, Kolofata, March 2016.Hide Footnote In 2016, they became involved in some army operations against the jihadist group, including in Nigeria. urban versus rural areas). Possession of several national identity cards is fairly commonplace in the Lake Chad region. In June 2014, an emergency plan for the development of the north was published. Crisis Group interviews, high-level officials from the ministry of transport, Camrail managers and travel agency directors, Yaound and Maroua, January 2017. BIR-Alpha operations in Nigeria go under the name of Arrow and those of Emergence 4 are labelled Tentacules. A de-radicalisation program for former members of Boko Haram in Nigeria has had limited results. Politique: rvlations sur la libration des otages franais, Lil du Sahel, 22 April 2013; Nigerian Islamists got 3.15 millions dollars to free French hostages, Reuters, 26 April 2015. They were separated from Cameroon a year after independence following the 1961 referendum. [fn]They were separated from Cameroon a year after independence following the 1961 referendum. Boko Haram took advantage of their tradition of rigorist Islam, poverty and low school enrolment rates, and of their links with north-eastern Nigeria through their proximity to the border, Quranic education ties and trade. Crisis Group interview, brigadier general, Maroua, March 2016. The borders closure has caused some in the Mayo Sava and Maya Tsanaga departments to make a 100 to 200km detour by motorbike or bicycle, passing through Cameroons North region, in order to stock up on supplies from Nigeria. The anti-terrorist law that had been adopted much earlier, in December 2014, has so far been used more to pressure the opposition and civil society than against Boko Haram. The Maroua-Kousseri routethe main road between Kousseri and the south of the countrywas closed for some months in 2014. [fn]Crisis Group interview, defence ministry spokesperson, Yaound, February 2016.Hide Footnote. [fn]BIR-Alpha has 2,400 men, the MNJTF 2,300 out of a planned 2,600 and Emergence 4 1,800 men. } } The CDs of the Nigerian preachers Sheikh Jaffar Adam and Mohamed Awal Adam Albani, in particular, are sold in the Far North.