YAOUNDE – Switzerland has officially said it is helping the government of Cameroon negotiates with rebels to end the separatist crisis that has killed more than 2,000 people in Cameroon. The Swiss ambassador to Cameroon, Pietro Lazzeri, spoke in Yaounde about attempting reconciliation after more than 20 people were killed within two days of fighting in the crisis-stricken regions.

Pietro Lazzeri, Switzerland’s ambassador to Cameroon, says his country is mediating the political crisis that has plagued Cameroon’s English-speaking northwest and southwest regions since 2016. He says the negotiations are being guided by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.

“Over the last months, we have been trying to create dialogue among the parties because we have the acceptance of the parties and we are doing it because we have a certain expertise. We are referees, we are not the players,” said Lazzeri. “We need the willingness of the parties in order to build the dialogue.”

Separatists say on social media two meetings already have taken place in Geneva but no details were given.

Lazzeri also declined giving details on how far they had gone with negotiations but said his country, in collaboration with the Geneva-based Center for Humanitarian Dialogue, intend to find a peaceful and lasting solution to the crisis that has been claiming so many lives in the restive English speaking regions of Cameroon.

He said besides the dialogue, they have been providing humanitarian assistance to the hundreds of thousands affected by the separatist war.

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