By Mbah Godlove
Residents of Nwa, a district in the Donga-Mantung Division of Cameroon’s volatile North-West Region, have been plunged into fear and uncertainty following a recent attack by a heavily armed militia. The incident, according to local accounts, marked yet another violent episode in a community already burdened by insecurity and repeated raids.
Eyewitnesses report that the group of assailants – described as heavily armed and not from the locality – entered Nwa with the apparent aim of killing, looting and destroying property. A resident who observed the advance alerted neighbours, prompting many families to flee into nearby bushland for shelter and safety before the attackers reached the heart of the settlement. Homes were reportedly damaged and livestock destroyed, deepening the distress of displaced villagers.
While no fatalities have been confirmed in the latest incident, fear remains pervasive among the local population. Community members spoke of palpable anxiety about when or if the militia might return, citing this attack as the third such incursion into their villages. Previous incidents reportedly went unreported due to persistent communication challenges in the region.
The broader Nwa subdivision sits along Cameroon’s border with Nigeria and has been acutely affected by violence linked to a complex mix of factors, including disputes involving pastoralist groups, vigilante militias and cross-border movements of armed elements. Recent human rights reporting has documented that intense raids in 2021 displaced thousands of residents across several villages in Nwa, resulting in casualties and significant destruction of homes and livelihoods.
According to international monitoring, attacks on communities in Nwa have often been attributed to clashes involving Fulani vigilante groups, retaliatory raids and armed elements moving across porous borders. These confrontations have contributed to cycles of displacement, loss of livestock and purported retaliatory violence, all compounded by limited access to communication and external support.
The repeated disturbances underscore long-standing security challenges for residents of the North-West Region, which has experienced decades of armed tension, periodic militia activity and disputes tied to land, grazing routes, and broader conflict dynamics affecting Cameroon’s anglophone regions.
As the people of Nwa appeal for urgent assistance, calls for improved protection, enhanced communications infrastructure and coordinated security responses from authorities have grown louder, highlighting the urgent need for sustained humanitarian attention and conflict-prevention efforts in this beleaguered community.
