The All Anglophone Conference designed to enable all Southern Cameroons’ factions to find a unified position on the way forward in efforts at resolving the conflict in the two English-speaking regions of Cameroon.

The Washington conference will also help to soften certain positions and iron out some of the differences that have made it hard for Southern Cameroonians to take a common stance that will help them deal with the Yaounde government that has unleashed a reign of terror on civilians in the two English-speaking regions of the country.

Though some factions like the group led by Dr. Cho Ayaba have refused to attend the Washington conference, the first day clearly revealed that most of the Southern Cameroons factions are looking forward to dialogue that can help bring about the cessation of hostilities in the country.

Some 5,000 Cameroonians have been killed ever since the conflict started in 2016 and the government’s refusal to embrace calls for an inclusive dialogue implies that more hostilities are in the offing.

Reports by rights groups have placed the blame for the hostilities on the government’s doorstep and the government’s intransigence is provoking the wrath of countries such as USA, Canada and the United Kingdom which hold that an unstable Cameroon is bad news to the entire sub-region.

Stay tuned for as our correspondents talk with the various stakeholders.

By Kingsley Betek in Washington