Cameroon: Red Cross helps victims of community violence in Ngoketunjia
01-04-2011 News Release 11/81
Yaoundé (Cameroon Red Cross Society/ICRC) – More than 2,000 people are still homeless following an outburst of violence in the Ngoketunjia Division in north-west Cameroon at the beginning of March.
The Cameroon Red Cross, with support from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), today began to distribute household essentials to people whose houses were destroyed during clashes between the Balikumbat and Bambalang communities. Several people died or were wounded in the violence.
"Calm has now returned to the region," said Éteki Mboumoua, the president of the Cameroon Red Cross. "However, the homeless remain in a very difficult situation, having lost most of their belongings. We want to help them restart their lives."
The household items distributed by the Red Cross – tarpaulins, mats, mosquito nets and kitchen utensils – will help meet the homeless families' most urgent needs. Most of the families are still able to cultivate their fields while staying with relatives until their houses have been rebuilt.
The ICRC was already operating in Cameroon before the recent violence. The organization works closely with the Cameroon Red Cross on restoring family links, dealing with emergencies and promoting humanitarian law and the Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
For further information, please contact:
Richard Antoine Lobe, Cameroon Red Cross Society, Yaoundé, tel: +237 22 64 69 43
Vincent Pouget, ICRC Yaoundé, tel: +237 99 41 65 79