The US President, Donald Trump has said that Cameroon will no longer benefit from a trade deal signed between the US government and sub-Saharan African countries.
Mr. Trump says his government is pulling out of a deal with Cameroon because of “gross” human rights violations against its own citizens.
President Trump cited “extrajudicial killings, arbitrary and unlawful detention, and torture” in his statement issued on Thursday.
He also added that Cameroon will be officially excluded from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) on January 1, 2020.
Human rights group have said that some 3,000 people have been killed in violence in Cameroon’s Anglophone region over the past three years.
A group of 65 civil society organisations this week also called on the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to address violations in Cameroon.
About half a million people are reported to have been forced to flee their homes, and 700,000 children are out of school, according to the group.
Last month President of Cameroon Paul Biya ordered the release of 333 persons detained for taking part in a separatist uprising.
This was part of efforts to reduce tension within the country following months of security crackdown.
The Cameroonean president also launched peace talks aimed at ending ongoing fighting between insurgents and the military.
Source: Africafeeds.com
