Civil war gives Cameroonians little to cheer about at Africa Cup of Nations
Security officials in southwest Cameroon are on red alert and locals are afraid as separatist fighters threaten to target the Africa Cup of Nations, reports Josiane Kouagheu in Limbe
For more than two decades, Paul Sebastian was an avid follower of the Cameroonian football team: buying all the kit, watching every match on TV, and even travelling abroad to see them play.
Yet as Cameroon prepares to host the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) starting on Sunday, the father-of-three will not be tuning in.
Furthermore, he wishes the tournament wasn’t happening at all – especially in his city of Limbe, home to one of the country’s six Afcon stadiums. He is far from the only one who feels that way in southwest Cameroon, one of the country’s two Anglophone regions riven by civil war since 2017, when conflict broke out between separatist fighters and government troops in the largely Francophone nation.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies