Cameroon holds first peace talks with main separatist insurgents

Representatives of Cameroon’s government held talks this week with the main leaders of an Anglophone separatist insurgency for the first time since the conflict began in 2017, a separatist leader and two security sources said on Friday.

Julius Ayuk Tabe, the most prominent separatist leader who is currently serving a life sentence in prison for charges including terrorism, said the meeting took place on Thursday to discuss the possibility of a ceasefire.

Violence broke out in 2017 following a government crackdown on peaceful protests by Anglophone lawyers and teachers who complained of being marginalised by the French-speaking majority.

The fighting has caused more than 3,000 deaths and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.