Country Report on Terrorism 2023 - Chapter 1 - Cameroon

Overview:  In 2023, Cameroonian Armed Forces (CAF) representatives described the situation both in the Far North (FN) and Northwest/Southwest Regions (NOSO) to U.S. government officials as similar to 2022.  However, Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project data indicated that, in the FN Region, Boko Haram and ISIS affiliates were involved in more terrorist attacks in 2023 than in 2022.  According to the same data, violent extremist groups, largely linked to a separatist crisis that began in 2017, were responsible in NOSO for fewer attacks in 2023 than in 2022.  Altogether, attacks in Cameroon by both designated foreign terrorist organizations in the FN Region and nonstate armed groups in NOSO increased overall in 2023.  This is the first year that violence in NOSO has been included in this report.

NGOs and local government officials in the FN Region reported that the number of terrorist attacks in 2023 was comparable with 2022; anecdotal reporting from civilians indicated continued significant terrorist activity in the region.  The Government of Cameroon (GRC) generally attributed most attacks to Boko Haram, particularly in the media and other public fora, but told U.S. officials it was aware that both ISIS-West Africa and Boko Haram had conducted attacks, which aligns with reporting from multiple credible sources.  According to the United Nations and its implementing partners, attacks in the FN Region continued to be concentrated in the Mayo-Sava, Mayo-Tsanaga, and Logone-et-Chari divisions.  Criminal behavior continued to be the largest driver of attacks in the Far North Region, though political and ideological motivations also were cited widely in incidents recorded by NGOs working there.  Violence, including terrorist violence, contributed to internal displacement within Cameroon, as did migration both into and out of the country to neighboring Nigeria and Chad, with the largest movements linked to traditional fighting seasons, according to the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and its implementing partners.

Although CAF representatives and available data indicated terrorist attacks in NOSO remained flat or trended slightly downward compared with 2022, NGOs and UN agencies working in the regions reported that local populations perceived an increase in attacks, particularly during the final third of the year.  International NGOs speculated this perception may have derived from a shift toward higher-profile targets or attacks in more densely populated areas.  The violence caused both internal displacement and movements into Nigeria, though the numbers of Cameroonians registered as refugees in Nigeria were roughly flat by the end of the year, according to UNHCR.

The government continued to operate a disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) program in both the NOSO and FN Regions.  Living conditions remain on par with other DDR centers in the region, according to U.S. officials, but the government continues to offer limited vocational training and has not initiated formal reintegration.  Some residents in the FN Region reported they had been at the center in Meri over five years.  To accommodate increasing numbers of ex-combatants seeking to enter the DDR program and overcrowding at the Meri center, the GRC is constructing a larger facility in the Far North.

Countering terrorist threats remained a top security priority for the Cameroonian government, which continued to work with the United States and other international partners to improve the capacity of its security forces.  Coordination through the Multinational Joint Task Force in the Lake Chad Basin was hindered by the July coup d’etat in Niger; nonetheless, the CAF participated in Operation Lake Sanity II.  Cameroon participated in the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership.

2023 Terrorist Incidents:  Incidents included ambushes, indiscriminate killings, targeted murders, beheadings, abductions, arson, raids in search of supplies, and lootings against civilians and security personnel.  A representative sample of incidents follows:

• On February 25, terrorists detonated two roadside IEDs during the Mount Cameroon Race of Hope in Buea, injuring 19, including nine athletes and one baby.  The Allied Democratic Forces claimed credit for the attack.
• On June 28, in Gore Kendi, Far North Region, Boko Haram was suspected of having kidnapped 13 civilians. There has been no official claim of responsibility for the attack.
• On August 2, in Barak, FN Region, Boko Haram was suspected of launching an attack that resulted in 12 fishermen killed and 12 others kidnapped. There has been no official claim of responsibility for the attack.
• On October 25, in Djakana, FN Region, Boko Haram was suspected of launching a suicide attack that resulted in 10 civilians killed, three persons wounded, and one perpetrator killed.  There has been no official claim of responsibility for the attack.
• On November 6, terrorists killed between 40 and 60 people during a raid on the village of Egbekaw, Southwest Region, in the single deadliest attack since the NOSO crisis began in 2016.  No group has claimed credit.

Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security:  The Government of Cameroon continued to consider a revision of the 2014 antiterrorism law.  Among other changes, the revision proposed a narrower definition of terrorism acts and broader range of punishments for terrorism-related crimes.

Countering Financing of Terrorism:  Cameroon is a member of the Task Force on Money Laundering in Central Africa (GABAC) and its Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the National Agency for Financial Investigation (NAFI), is a member of the Egmont Group.

In 2023, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) added Cameroon to its gray list for failing to address deficiencies in its anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime.  FATF reported that Cameroon made a high-level political commitment in June to work with FATF and GABAC to strengthen the effectiveness of its AML/CFT regime and has made progress by increasing the resources of the Financial Intelligence Unit and building the capacity of investigation authorities and judicial bodies to effectively conduct money laundering/terrorist financing cases.

Countering Violent Extremism:  In July, Search for Common Ground and the Global Network for Women Peacebuilders launched a program funded by the U.S. Department of State to provide women in NOSO and the FN Regions tools to serve as peacebuilders and deter members of their local communities from engaging with violent extremists.  The project also included a comprehensive capacity assessment of 14 women-led civil society organizations and targeted technical watch support.

In November, USAID, through partner FHI 360, initiated a five-year program called PARC-Cameroon (Programme d’Appui à la Résilience Communautaire au Cameroun), which aims to strengthen the capacity of local civil society organizations in the Far North Region, build social cohesion, and reduce support for violent extremists.

International and Regional Cooperation:  Cameroon continued its counterterrorism cooperation with the international community, contributing significantly to operations of the Multinational Joint Task Force.