Link to article: https://www.cfr.org/blog/cameroon-crisis-continues-us-officials-struggle-exert-positive-influence
There is a civil war brewing in Cameroon between the French speaking majority (Francophones) and the minority English speaking population (Anglophones). The United States (U.S) is trying to prevent this from happening by reducing economic and military assistance to put pressure on the Cameroonian government. Congress has introduced a resolution calling for an end to the violence. Unfortunately, nothing that the U.S has tried so far has worked because the U.S has very little influence in Cameroon. The government of Cameroon refuses to pull back on fighting with the Anglophones. The Cameroonian government continues to attack the Anglophones and launched a new offensive over the past week. It is not only a political crisis but also a lot of issues for Cameroon’s population. Per the article “half a million people” have already been forced from their homes.
There could be several possible outcomes which could make the situation worse than it is right now. One possibly is that other neighboring countries could choose to side with either the Francophone government or the Anglophile separatists, leading to a larger regional war. Another scenario is that fighting in Cameroon could force some of the already displaced people across borders into countries like Nigeria, Chad, or the Central African Republic. These are countries that already have many of their own issues to deal with and could result in a larger disaster. I think that due to the U.S. not having a large amount of influence on the Cameroonian government that the French should get involved, since it used to be a French colony and still to this day around 80% of the country speaks French. I also believe that the U.K could have some influence because they also had partial control over Cameroon following WWl. There could also possibly be other Francophone countries neighboring Cameroon who could provide assistance to the people affected by this conflict and work with the Cameroonian government to prevent a civil war.