MORE than 15,000 Cameroonian refugees have fled to Nigeria amid a crackdown on Anglophone separatists, the United Nations (UN) refugee agency and Nigerian government officials said on Thursday. A further 6,700 or so Cameroonian refugees have crossed into neighboring Benue state, said Sadiya Umar Farouq, the head of Nigeria’s National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons, citing Benue officials. The refugees are mostly children, women and the elderly, with very few young men, the officials said. Nigerian and Cameroonian officials have met to discuss the refugees and those talks are ongoing, she said, although she declined to give details. According to Reuters, Cameroonian troops last month crossed into Nigeria in pursuit of rebels without seeking Nigerian authorisation, leading to diplomatic wrangling behind the scenes.

Source: Nigerian Tribune January 11, 2018 13:41 UTC