A clash over water between cattle ranchers and fishermen in the Logone and Chari division of the Northern region of Cameroon, that borders Chad and Nigeria, leaves 22 people dead and 70 more wounded. This was announced authorities on Wednesday, August 18, 2021.
Meanwhile, officials say hundreds of people have fled this region as a result of the Clash. However, the wounded people have been rushed to hospitals in Kousseri, a Cameroon border town and the neighbouring Chadian capital, Ndjamena.
The Governor of the region, Midjiyawa Bakari, stated that the dispute is over a trivial issue regarding water which has been used by farmers and the cattle breeders before degenerating into a deadly scuffle. He also noted that the incident initially started between two people, then degenerated into a deadly clash between the two communities.
An eye witness Mouhamadou Evele, a 54-year-old fisherman, who is also a victim of the clash narrating the incident stated that, “It started as a dispute between Mousgoum fishermen and Arab Choa cattle ranchers over a water source”.
He said the fishermen had erected dikes to develop their fishing grounds where the Arab Choa shepherds came with their cattle to drink water in the locality of Zina, near the border with Chad. He added that there was altercation between the two gentlemen which later escalated.
Evele also revealed three men armed with bows and arrows and machetes attacked him while he was minding his business and fishing in a river near Kousseri, a northern town on the border with Chad. He further added he does not know the whereabouts of his three children, who were abducted from the fishing ground and taken away on a motorcycle by the attackers.
Worried about his families, he stated that, but for a deep wound on his right shoulder, he should have left the hospital to look for his three children. He averred he was rushed to the hospital on another motorcycle by two people he did not identify but described as well-wishers.
He explained, adding that several houses, food items, crops and herds of cattle were also destroyed during the scuffle.
Meanwhile, yesterday’s conflict was not the first time fight broke between the two factions. Frequent conflicts do occur between the Mousgoum fishermen and Arab Choua cattle ranchers over water from the Logone River separating Cameroon from Chad.
Consequently, Cameroonian President Paul Biya sent a delegation led by Midjiyawa Bakari, Governor of Cameroon’s Far North region, to Kousseri. According to Bakari, the ranchers are angry because their cows, sheep and donkeys are falling into holes dug by fishermen to conserve water and lure their catch.
However, the administrative authorities assured the President that they will use traditional rulers and other local authorities to talk to the communities and relatives to restore calm to the localities.
The Logone and Chari Division is part of the Lake Chad Basin. Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, the Central African Republic, Niger and Benin, member countries of the Lake Chad Basin Commission, say the lake’s water resources have diminished by 70% within the past 50 years.
However, Cameroon authorities blame the advancing desert noting that it has pushed farmers, fishermen and cattle ranchers to settle along the Logone River for survival.
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