Case study by CIPAD Summary
The security situation in the border area of Cameroon, the Central African Republic and Chad The Phenomenon of Highway Robbery pascal touoyem
The border area between Cameroon, the Central African Republic and Chad has become a ‘Triangle of Death’, where ‘Zarguinas’ or ‘road bandits’ roam the borders in search of goods and ransom subjects. The violence of these armed gangs assumes many faces and includes looting livestock and harvest, taking hostages, raping women, amputating limbs, shooting, murdering, trafficking in arms, burning villages. It is the scale and tragic consequences of road banditry, or highway robbery, that motivated this study. The research data and evidence describe a multifaceted and daily violence that generates more than a thousand direct and collateral victims each year and indicate that this insecurity seems to be spreading beyond the ‘Triangle of Death’ to the Congo Basin. This climate of terror results in the frequent movement of displaced populations (e.g. Central African and Chadian refugees in Cameroon; Cameroonians who are internally displaced in the bush under extremely difficult and humanly unbearable conditions), and, through the flight of capital, a heavy burden on the national economy of Cameroon. This study examines the manifestations and dynamics of highway robbery in this area and seeks to analyse its causes in order to promote an urgent implementation of solutions, limit its expansion and to promote the return of peace to this area. The birth and the development of highway robbery in these borderlands stem from a combination of several factors: the proliferation of small arms and light weapons (SALW) in Central Africa; the proliferation of rebellions and coups, notably in Chad and the Central African Republic and, correspondingly, the proliferation of experts in the use of small arms (veterans, ex-convicts and former rebels for the most part); the economic crisis of the 1980s and the surplus of unemployed—for whom highway robbery may have become a standard means of livelihood—and finally, the inter-ethnic conflict between the Arab Choa and the Kotokos that affects the whole sub-region of Central Africa.
Conjoncture sécuritaire en zone frontalière Cameroun Tchad République Centrafricaine: eléments d’analyse anthropopolitiste du phénomène des coupeurs de route by Pascal Touoyem Published by CIPAD, Yaoundé, with the support of SIPRI Part of the SIPRI Africa Security and Governance Project, funded by OSI October 2011
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case study by cipad
Inter-ethnic conflict is central to the activities of the Zarguinas, and at the same time, it is one of its main causes, development factors and consequences of highway robbery. While ethnic tensions are one of the factors that have resulted in the expansion of highway robbery, conversely, there is a striking impact of highway robbery on the relationship between the Arab Choa and the Kotokos. Discussion among members of different ethnic communities about the bandits feeds the ethnic stereotypes that contribute to the tensions between the two groups and sustain the insecurity in the region. Ultimately for Cameroon, highway robbery in the border area has become a matter of national defence, but it is also—precisely because of the transboundary nature of the Zarguinas phenomenon—a matter of collective and human security
the security situation in the border area of cameroon
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Facts about Cameroon Figures are for 2010 unless indicated other wise. Figures in US$ are at current prices.
Population, 2010 (m.) GNI, 2010 ($ b.) GNI per capita, 2010 ($) ODA as a share of GNI, 2009 (%) Debt as a share of GNI, 2009 (%) Human Development Index, 2010a Unemployed, 2004/2010 (% of total labour force) Life expectancy at birth, 2009 (years) Literacy rate, 2009 (% of adults) Military expenditure, 2010 ($ m.) as a share of GDP, 2009 (%) as a share of CGE (%) Education expenditure as a share of CGE, 2008 (%) Health expenditure as a share of CGE, 2009 (%) Armed forces personnel, 2009 as share of total labour force, 2009 (%) Global Peace Index 2010e Ibrahim Index of governance performance, 2010f
Cameroon
Sub-Saharan Africa World
19.6 22.0 1 180 2.9 1.8 0.456 2.9b
854 1 054 1 187 4.9 2.0 0.430 ..
6 841 62 573 11 081 0.2 .. 0.620 6.2c
52 68 368 1.6 6.8c 19.2
54 .. 30 100 1.7 .. 18.9
69 84 1 620 000 2.7 10.0d 15.1
8.2
..
..
23 100 0.3 2.210 45.0
1.56 million 0.5 .. ..
27.9 million 0.9 .. ..
CGE = central government expenditure; GNI = gross national income; GDP = gross domestic product; ODA = official development assistance. a The lower the index, the less human development. b This figure is for 2007. c This figure is for 2010.
d This figure is for 2009.
e On a scale of 1–5. The lower the index, the more peaceful the country. f On a scale of 0–100, where 100 is the best.
Sources: Africa Development Indicators, World Bank online, , choose ADI ; World Development Indicators & Global Development Finance, World Bank, , choose WDI & GDF; World Development Report, World Bank, ; Human Development Report, UNDP, ); Global Peace Index, ; Ibrahim Index, ; SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, .
CIPAD
CIPAD
An African Peace Forum Service BP: 30 552 Yaoundé Cameroon Tel.: 00 237 96 02 54 96 Fax: 00237 22 22 69 28 Email :
[email protected] Internet: www.cipad-africa.org
The Interdisciplinary Centre for Development and Human Rights (Centre Interdisciplinaire pour le développement et les droits humains, CIPAD) is a nonpartisan, independent, humanitarian, and non-profit organization, defined as a Service for Peace (SeP), based in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Established in 1999, CIPAD seeks to contribute to non-violent social transformation through its programme for ‘democratic peace building’.
SIPRI Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) is an independent international institute dedicated to research into conflict, armaments, arms control and disarmament. Established in 1966, SIPRI provides data, analysis and recommendations, based on open sources, to policymakers, researchers, media and the interested public. Signalistgatan 9 SE-169 70 Solna, Sweden Telephone: +46 8 655 97 00 Fax: +46 8 655 97 33 Email:
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