VZCZCXRO2253
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMA RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUEHYD #0974/01 2181219
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 061219Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY YAOUNDE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8030
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0190
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0373
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 YAOUNDE 000974 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
YAOUNDE FOR DAO 
 
DEPT FOR AF/C, DRL 
PRM FOR HENNING 
ACCRA FOR REGIONAL REFUGEE COORDINATOR NATE BLUHM 
KAMPALA FOR FREDRICKS 
LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA ACTION OFFICERS 
EUCOM FOR J5-A AFRICA DIVISION AND POLAD YATES 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF PHUM PGOV CM CT
SUBJECT: CAMEROON: M'BORORO REFUGEE TRAIL OF TEARS POURS 
ACROSS CAR BORDER (C O R R E C T E D  C O P Y) 
 
REF: A. STATE 38658 
     ¶B. YAOUNDE 295 
     ¶C. YAOUNDE 409 
     ¶D. YAOUNDE 503 
 
This message is corrected to add additional addressees. 
 
¶1.  (U)  Summary.  Refugees from the Central African Republic 
(CAR) are crossing Cameroon's eastern border in increasingly 
large numbers.  They are the victims of escalating violence, 
and their situation has worsened despite continued aid from 
NGOs.  Aid operations are impeded by the tenuous security 
situation, customs, funding problems, and the scattered 
locations of the refugees over difficult terrain.  End 
Summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
Refugee Population Grows by 30% in Five Months 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶2.  (U)  Embassy team met with UNHCR reps in Bertoua and 
visited M'bororo refugee sites at Ndokayo and Garoua-Boulai 
in Cameroon's East Province along the border with the Central 
African Republic (CAR) on July 19 to follow up on reports of 
increased refugee migration since the UNHCR's Joint 
Assessment Mission in February.  UNHCR representative Jacques 
Franquin confirmed on August 2 that the number of registered 
refugees is now 26,091 (6,859 households), an increase within 
a period of five months of nearly 30 percent over the 20,383 
registered as of February.  The UNHCR rep in Bertoua told 
Poloff on July 19 that the refugees are arriving daily, 
"completely destitute," and refugees who spoke to the Embassy 
team said they expected more to come.  UNHCR has registered 
entire villages that fled the CAR en masse. 
 
-------------------- 
Malnutrition Rampant 
-------------------- 
 
¶3.  (U)  In addition, the UNHCR rep in Bertoua told Poloff 
that the number of children dying from malnutrition had 
increased dramatically;  in the town of Gbiti alone, there 
were 41 mortalities.  Poloff spoke to one woman in Ndokayo 
who had lost nine out of 10 children, and many of the 
inhabitants there said they had lost family members. The 
UNHCR rep said that he believed these deaths were all related 
to malnutrition.  Although not a trained medical observer, 
Poloff noted the appearance of the children was visibly worse 
than those seen during the February JAM visit, where the 
malnutrition confirmed by medical examiners was not apparent 
to an untrained observer.  Medical care has been made 
available to refugees.  Poloff visited a hospital in Ndokayo, 
where staff said they treated dozens of refugees free of 
charge every day, though the hospital was empty at the time 
of the visit.  One bedridden man in Ndokayo said he was 
unable to walk to the infirmary because of his illness, but 
would do so later. 
 
-------------------- 
Increasing Violence 
-------------------- 
 
¶4.  (U)  The level of violence attending the influx of 
refugees and the bandits who pursue them is reported to be 
increasing, and many have lost family members.  There are 
more reports of hostages killed, refugees are arriving with 
fewer resources, and the refugees reported the use of torture 
to extort information from victims.  One man said he had been 
dragged by the neck, and another had the tips of his ears cut 
off and the fingers of his right hand burned off.  Poloff 
spoke to one Baya man who was living with the M'bororo 
refugees in Garoua-Boulai who said that although the M'bororo 
are the favorite targets of the bandits, they will also 
torture local Baya in order to make them reveal where the 
M'bororo are located.  The Baya, another ethnic group 
overlapping the same areas as the M'bororo in CAR and 
Cameroon, make up about 25 percent of the refugee population, 
according to UNHCR.  A Cameroonian M'bororo who tried to work 
in CAR told to Poloff he was harassed out of the country, 
arriving at the border literally naked. 
 
 
YAOUNDE 00000974  002 OF 003 
 
 
¶5.  (U)  In addition, Embassy contacts reported in April that 
there was an increase in gang activity, theft, drunkenness, 
prostitution (and attendant STDs), and orphans in the Bertoua 
area as a result of the influx, and that at least four heads 
of families had committed suicide as a result of losing their 
cattle.  Some of this loss they attributed to an unusually 
long dry season that resulted in the loss of an estimated 
100,000 head of cattle in the areas of Bertoua, 
Garoua-Boulai, Meiganga, Ngoundal, Tibati, Banyo, and as far 
away as the Northwest Province.  The UNHCR rep told Poloff 
that even the cattle that remain cannot be used or sold, 
because they are needed to rebuild the herds. 
 
¶6.  (U)  Residents of Bertoua told Poloff that they fear 
burglary by bandits coming in from the CAR, although a 
Cameroonian Rapid Intervention Brigade (BIR, French acronym) 
is active in the area and has reportedly captured several of 
the bandits. 
 
-------------------- 
Friction with Locals 
-------------------- 
 
¶7.  (U) Friction between local residents and refugees has 
been reported, although relations are generally good.  The 
UNHCR rep said that a local chief in Ndokayo has been very 
supportive.  Chiefs in four zones inform UNHCR whenever 
someone arrives, although newcomers have complained about 
problems with registration.  A local merchant told Poloff 
that prices have not risen, but his business has increased. 
Local residents from this impoverished area ask why they 
cannot receive the same goods and care as the refugees.  The 
M'bororo also compete for grazing land, and their cattle harm 
the crops of local farmers.  There were reports that theft of 
crops by refugees, some of them starving children, had become 
rampant, but there have been no reported arrests.  Poloff was 
told that some law enforcement officials intimidate refugees 
and sometimes seize the identity cards they need to obtain 
food assistance. 
 
----------------------------------- 
Aid Sufficient but Facing Obstacles 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (U)  Relief operations face considerable obstacles, but 
aid has begun to reach the refugees, according to UNHCR.  Aid 
operations are impeded by the tenuous security situation, 
customs, funding needs, and the scattered locations of the 
refugees over difficult terrain.  UNHCR, in tandem with the 
World Food Program (WFP), Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF, 
Doctors Without Borders), the Red Cross, and other groups, 
schedules regular deliveries of food and medical care.  A WFP 
food shipment arrived in Douala July 15, but was held up by 
customs for 15 days.  A major distribution by four teams of 
relief workers is scheduled for August 8, and four subsequent 
distributions are planned through December 2007.  Food 
assistance consists of corn, beans, oil, sugar, salt, and 
protein biscuits.  MSF also provides hydratants to combat 
infantile diarrhea.  Other items supplied to the refugees 
include blankets, mattresses, jerrycans, soap, and hygienic 
kits.  In addition, there are programs to supply 15 wells, 
and medical supplies to the district medical centers. 
 
¶9.  (U)  The Ministry of Public Health is working with UNHCR, 
MSF, and UNICEF to address the problem of malnutrition. The 
UNHCR rep in Bertoua said that the assistance is substantial 
-- thousands of tons -- and would be sufficient to cover the 
needs of the refugees there, even though the need has 
increased dramatically.  However, UNHCR is requesting 200,000 
USD in additional funding.  There are some missionaries who 
have been providing food aid as well, including a recent 
delivery of ten tons of food and other aid to Garoua-Boulai. 
Nevertheless, the refugees say they have become frustrated 
with the slow pace of delivery of aid from the UNHCR. 
 
---------------------- 
Comment: Trouble Afoot 
---------------------- 
 
¶10.  (U)  If the violence in CAR continues unabated, the 
ensuing influx of refugees could be massive and become a 
 
YAOUNDE 00000974  003 OF 003 
 
 
destabilizing factor.  Word to kin in CAR that assistance is 
available in Cameroon is likely to continue to draw them, and 
anyone remaining in CAR may be targeted by the bandits, who 
are in turn following the refugees into Cameroon.  This 
migration will be difficult, perhaps impossible, to stop. 
The fact that the bandits are entering towns indicates an 
increased boldness, perhaps out of desperation on their part. 
 It may also indicate that the resources of their preferred 
victims, the M'bororo, have been depleted, and they are 
searching for new victims.  Even though border checkpoints 
are strict, the border itself is extremely porous, especially 
to people traveling on foot.  There are M'bororo and Baya 
resident in both CAR and Cameroon, so it is impossible to 
distinguish native from foreigner by appearance.  In addition 
to adding to the potential for social unrest, the largely 
Muslim refugee population also changes the demographic of the 
area.  In February, Poloff learned that the number of mosques 
in Bertoua had gone from two to 13.  Refugee children do not 
ordinarily attend school, but one M'bororo told Poloff he 
sends his children to a local madrassa.  Although no 
religious tensions have been reported, a local official and 
an NGO rep told Poloff that opposition party UNDP tried to 
register M'bororo to vote in the July 22 elections, in 
contravention of Cameroonian law.  While these attempts were 
unable to sway the election, they could serve to polarize 
communities along political lines.  End Comment. 
NELSON