With about 85,000 inhabitants, Limbe, in Cameroon, is torn between the joy of being one of the hosts of the most important tournament in Africa between football teams and the concern that the competition will be tainted by the violence in the city.
The region in which the coastal Limbe is located, in southwest Cameroon, is one of the places of armed conflict between separatists and government.
In this southwestern part of the Central African country, thousands of English-speaking inhabitants, who are a minority in Cameroon, are fighting for independence from the French-speaking central power, as are the majority of the nation.
Cameroon had French and English colonization until the early 1960s, when it emancipated itself from European domination.
However, part of the former British settlers began, over the years, to allege abuses and disrespect towards their compatriots of French origin.
They felt administratively, economically and politically diminished, oppressed in education and culture, marginalized in legislation and human rights.
Dissatisfaction grew over the decades, and groups began to organize themselves to seek independence, with more emphasis from the 1990s onwards. Without making much progress, what became great was the tension.
In late 2016, peaceful protests, which would later turn into armed struggle, erupted. The trigger was the appointment of francophone judges to courts in the region.
The separatist leaders declared independence in October 2017, and a new state was formed, the Republic of Ambazonia (South Cameroon) – unofficial, as it was never recognized by the UN (United Nations).
The Cameroonian government did not accept the move and began sending soldiers in an attempt to keep the area under control, claiming that the country needed to remain “united and safe”. There were closures of schools where English was the language and arrests of activists.
The Anglophones resisted, armed themselves, and a civil war began that lasts until today.
The clashes left dozens of people dead – there were no figures released – and reports show that more than 1 million Cameroonians (the country has close to 24 million) left their homes to escape gunfire and bombs.
It is the explosives that cause the most concern right now, in the midst of the African Cup of Nations. There was hope that there would be a ceasefire during the tournament, but that didn’t happen.
In this scenario, there is great concern in Limbe with the safety of delegations and fans.
It is feared that the Omnisport stadium will be the target of an attack by the separatists, with the intention of pressing for the release of one of their leaders, Sisiku Julius Ayuke Tabe, imprisoned since 2018.
The city’s streets, especially those close to the sports arena that can hold up to 20,000 fans, are taken over by elite units of government troops.
The first test for the safety of Limbe – a bomb exploded there last week, leaving no casualties – is this Wednesday (12), when all the teams in Group F will make their debut.
Tunisia, which was in the most recent World Cup, in 2018, faces Mali in the match that opens the double round that will also have Mauritania x Gambia.
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