A senior official involved in Cameroon’s hosting of the Africa Cup of Nations has assured that separatist rebels pose no threat to the tournament, which started on Sunday. However, Professor Hermann Ndofor from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business holds a different view.
Droves of armoured vehicles are patrolling the streets of Limbe in Cameroon’s conflict-torn South West Region ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) soccer finals starting on January 9 that separatist militants have vowed to disrupt.
Cameroon is hosting the tournament in six cities, but security is potentially most at threat in Limbe, a city on the tropical Atlantic coast whose surrounding region has been rocked by armed attacks since war broke out in 2017.
The conflict, in which armed groups are trying to form a breakaway state called Ambazonia, has killed at least 3,000 people and forced nearly one million to flee.
Violence has worsened this year as separatists increase their use of improvised explosives.
SABC News’ Peter Ndoro speaks to Professor Hermann Ndofor from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business:
