On average, some 100 people daily are registering at UNHCR’s Minawao camp in Cameroon – opened in July 2013 – causing a population surge from about 30,000 late last year to approximately 44,000 today.
“In Cameroon’s remote Far North Region, a steady flow of Nigerian refugees are moving from the volatile Nigeria-Cameroon border area and seeking shelter some 100 kilometres inland at the Minawao camp,” said Leo Dobbs, spokesperson for the UN refugee agency, at a pressing briefing in Geneva.
The arrivals at the camp are mainly Nigerian nationals who have previously fled to Cameroon to escape violence in north-east Nigeria, but stayed near the border – hoping for a quick return home. The refugees said they had fled militant attacks in Nigeria’s Borno state.
In recent weeks, there have been attacks and clashes on Cameroon territory, including a suicide bombing on 12 July, the first such attack in the country, on the far-northern town of Fotokol.
As part of its response to this unrest, the Government of Cameroon has begun registering Nigerian refugees in the immediate border area. UNHCR field staff reported that the registration process provoked fear among some refugees that they might be returned to Nigeria against their will.
Allaying fears, Dobbs explained, “UNHCR and the Government are in the process of consulting the refugees in the border area about where they want to go – some may opt to return to safe areas in Nigeria, while others may want to move to the Minawao camp. This process will continue over the coming days and weeks.”
Some arrivals said they ran out of food while taking refuge in the border area and hoped for food distributions at the Minawao camp. Many of the newcomers were being temporarily sheltered in a tarpaulin-construction school area currently closed for summer break.