60,000 Cameroonians run to Nigeria and here's why

Nearly 60,000 Cameroonians have fled to eastern and southern Nigeria in recent times, according to the United Nations refugee agency.

The UN agency adds that 8,000 Cameroonians have taken refuge in Nigeria in the last two weeks.

The Cameroonians are besieging Nigeria as violence flares between security forces and separatist insurgents back home.

The English speaking part of Cameroon wants to break away from the French controlled Cameroon because of alleged marginalisation.

However, this has been met with stiff resistance from the capital Yaounde; and soldiers have had to use brute force to quell protesting separatists.

The English-speaking militias seek to form a breakaway state called Ambazonia.

Reuters reports that the Cameroonian government has cracked down violently on peaceful protesters.

Cameroon President Biya has been accused of using force on protesters (AFP) AFP

The insurgency has forced half a million people to flee their homes; leaving President Paul Biya with his biggest challenge since he took power nearly 40 years ago.

The U.N. refugee agency “expects further arrivals as refugees inform that more people are still in remote border areas and could be on their way trying to reach Nigeria.

“Refugees reported fleeing violence and some even arrived across the border with gunshot wounds.

“According to new arrivals, most come from areas near the border and have trekked across savannah and forests to reach Nigeria.”

Special status rejected

In December, the Cameroon parliament granted special status to two English-speaking regions in a bid to calm the conflict, but the separatists said only independence is good enough.

The crisis has its roots in the split between the former German colony of Kamerun and the allied French and British victors at the end of World War One; following a ‘League of Nations’ decision.