Cameroon rebels declare coronavirus ceasefire

Separatist rebels in Cameroon’s English-speaking northwest region have called a temporary ceasefire for two weeks so that people can be tested for the coronavirus.

The Southern Cameroons Defence Forces - so named after the former British mandate territory of Southern Cameroons - have said the truce will come into effect from Sunday as a “gesture of goodwill”.

It is so far the only armed group in the region to have heeded the UN’s call for a global ceasefire. There is no indication that the Ambazonia Defence Forces (ADF) - one of the largest rebel groups - will follow suit. 

The English-speaking separatists have been fighting government forces for three years with the aim of creating a breakaway state called Ambazonia, independent of the majority French-Speaking Cameroon. 

Cameroon has so far confirmed 75 cases of coronavirus and earlier this week recorded its first death from the outbreak. 

Photo: BBC