Equatorial Guinea to pause construction of wall on Cameroonian border

The federal government of Equatorial Guinea has agreed to pause the construction of a controversial border wall on the nation’s northern boundary with Cameroon.

The controversial wall had been a flash point of violence between the two countries, as both have deployed armed forces to defend either side’s territory. At least seven people have died in the last spate of violence in Cameroon’s southwestern town Kye-Ossi.

After two days of closed-door meetings in Yaoundé between the two nations’ defence ministers, an agreement has been reached to pause the construction and control the violence.

 What’s more, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea have promised to combine their military expertise against their shared enemies, namely illegal poachers and pirates in the Gulf of Guinea.

Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema had ordered the wall’s construction in 2019 in an attempt to stop illegal migration from Cameroon and West Africa into the country. In return, Cameroon has resisted the border wall, claiming that it encroaches on their territory.

Earlier attempts to work collaboratively with regard to the border wall had failed, as removing troops and jointly demarking the border had only resulted in civilian clashes.

Both governments from Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea have expressed their desire for a peaceful and jointly beneficial result on the border.

Photo: AP