Most displacement associated with conflict in Cameroon has historically occurred in the Far North, the poorest region in the country. The Boko Haram insurgency, which originates in Nigeria, and military operations against it have fuelled insecurity there, along with the activities of other armed groups. Boko Haram has been conducting its operations from within Cameroon since 2014, triggering the majority of new displacements recorded in the country each year.
A crisis in the North West and South West regions, which began in 2016 when the government cracked down on protests by their anglophone minority, escalated into a fully-fledged conflict in 2018, triggering 459,000 displacements. Another 26,000 new displacements associated with the anglophone conflict were recorded in 2019, bringing the total for the country as a whole to 67,000.
In the first half of 2020, there were 80,000 new displacements associated with conflict and violence. Find out more in our Mid-year Update.
