An ambulance belonging to the French NGO Médecins Sans Frontières carrying a separatist fighter was intercepted by security forces this morning in Nguti in the South-West region.
A separatist fighter found this Sunday morning in an ambulance of the French NGO, Doctors Without Borders (MSF). Security forces were conducting a routine patrol operation in Nguti, South-West Region. They discovered a severely injured separatist in this MSF medical vehicle.
This discovery comes on top of a series of allegations accusing MSF of supporting local armed groups. Denunciations that the humanitarian organization rejects en bloc.
For the record, last August, after nearly eight months of suspension, the humanitarian medical organization withdrew its teams from the North-West region.
Order suspending the activities of Médecins sans frontières
Indeed, on December 8, 2020, the governor of this English-speaking region, Adolphe Lele Lafrique signed a decision suspending the partnership between the French NGO and St Maria Soledad. This is also the case for related partnerships with other health facilities in the North-West Region. The Minister of Public Health was to define a framework of activities for this NGO, Médecins sans frontières.
The Chief of Land accused his medical teams of collusion with local armed groups. The NGO says that "despite months of efforts to respond to these allegations, MSF has still not been able to restart its activities, depriving tens of thousands of people of access to free and life-saving care".
Emmanuel Lampaert,MSF's coordinator of operations in Central Africa, denounced the suspension. According to him, it "constitutes a serious attack on humanitarian and medical access. As we speak, our community health workers are seeing people suffering and dying because of the lack of medicine in some displaced villages and communities. Our call centre continues to receive requests to send ambulances. But we do not have the right to act. We once again call on the Government of Cameroon to give priority to the needs of the population. And to immediately authorize the resumption of our medical activities in the North-West," he continues.
The North-West and South-West regions, also known as NOSO,are struggling with an armed rebellion. Separatist terrorist groups are simply demanding the independence of these two regions formerly known as Western Cameroon. This area is often the focus of major tensions ranging from attacks to kidnappings of people.
It is also an area that worries with the organization of the CAN in January, we are afraid of possible demonstration movement.
