The NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) published a press release on September 7 to warn of the threats faced by journalists in the English-speaking regions of western Cameroon.
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Reporters Without Borders reports threats which sometimes translate into action. The press release comes as three media professionals have been killed in the country since the start of 2023. The last of them, Anye Nde Nsoh, was assassinated four months ago in Bamenda, in the northwest of the country. He was only 26 years old.
“ We have documented, beyond the assassination of this journalist, kidnappings. There have also been arbitrary arrests and detentions. This also reveals the extent to which journalists and reporters in these regions work in total insecurity since they are caught between the rock of armed separatist groups and the hard place of the Cameroonian armed forces. And they have to be constantly on guard, and even often – we talked to some of them about this – even when they try to be balanced and objective, they are often accused by law enforcement. and the security forces to be the ones who send information to the separatist armed groups. And for their part also, separatist groups harass journalists, hence the importance for the authorities at the central level to put in place effective measures to protect journalists in order to prevent these English-speaking regions from becoming zones of non-information », warns the NGO in its press release.
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