Mission to asses situation of refugees in Cameroon

Nigeria is planning a mission to Cameroon to assess the situation of an estimated 20,000 refugees who fled across its northeast border early this year following communal clashes, the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said. UNHCR's representative in Nigeria, Marcellin Hepie, told IRIN on Friday the agency had been invited by the government to join the mission, due to take place soon, and to provide its expertise. "The Nigerian government has decided to take a close look at that matter and see how they can persuade the people to come back," Hepie said. "The government has requested UNHCR expertise. For us it will be something new to engage in a cross-border mission of that type." Sources in Nigeria’s foreign ministry confirmed that contacts had been established with the Cameroon authorities who had agreed to cooperate with a Nigerian delegation to assess the situation and work to repatriate the refugees. At least 23,000 Fulani herders were reported to have fled eastern Taraba State and nearby Benue State to Cameroon to escape clashes with farming communities in January. A pastoral association representing the interest of Fulani herders, the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) said in a statement at the time that it had counted 23,647 nomads who had fled across the border into Cameroon. It said more than 90 people had been killed. Hepie said UNHCR’s mission in the Northwest and Adamawa provinces of Cameroon, where most of the refugees are camped, confirmed that more than 20,000 people had fled from Nigeria. Clashes between pastoral and farming communities revolving around disputes over grazing land have become frequent in various parts of Nigeria’s central and northern regions in recent years. Some analysts have blamed the trend on increasing desertification further north, which is pushing herders southwards in search of pasture, often putting them in conflict with other farming communities. The clashes also fall into a pattern of violent conflicts in Nigeria between so-called settlers and indigenous people that have rocked the north and centre of the country in recent years.