Announcements

**CREER** · #61 5 May 2019

Quote:

Originally Posted by CREER

Two French (tourists we believe) and their guide have gone missing in Parc Nationale de Pendjari in the north of Benin, it's now been 3 days.

Sad news, their guide was found shot dead, vehicle burnt out and the French believed to being held!

Will update as I get more ...

**lbendel** · #62 10 May 2019

https://www.lemonde.fr/international...0497_3210.html

An operation by French special forces has succeeded to free the 4 hostages (the 2 above-mentionned French toutists from Pendjari plus one American and one South Korean) that were being held hostages in BF. Unfortunately, 2 soldiers have been killed in combat.

The bad news is that the unrest that has spread from Libya to Mali to BF now impacts Benin as well.

The good news (sort of) is, the French have stopped paying for the liberation of hostages, so hopefully the trend will not spread (wishful thinking). That is not good news for the families of the special ops men of course.

Laurent

**Ride Far** · #63 12 May 2019

And today, an attack on a Catholic church in north central Burkina kills 6... one month after a similar church attack in a nearby town also killed 6.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-48246715

**Jay_Benson** · #64 12 May 2019

Further details here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-48228353

**Chris Scott** · #65 19 May 2019

https://www.france24.com/en/20191305...ks-g5-hostages

**7800** · #66 14 Jul 2019

Hi

Can anyone advise on the situation in Cameroon at the moment. Is it possible to go around it heading south (shipping a motorbike as well) if things go downhill

Thanks

**Kissnofrog** · #67 17 Jan 2020

Hi,
I‘m planing to go down the west coast starting this Autumn.
Recently I heard about serious safety concerns from Cameroon.
Anyone having any recent experiences?

Regards,
David

**simon dippenhall** · #68 17 Jan 2020

Worth checking in also at Facebook group Overlanding Africa

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

**Surfy** · #69 17 Jan 2020

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kissnofrog

Hi,
I‘m planing to go down the west coast starting this Autumn.
Recently I heard about serious safety concerns from Cameroon.
Anyone having any recent experiences?

Regards,
David

If you plan to do the full way down, you should probably should not only inform yourself about Cameroon.

Surfy

**Chris Scott** · #70 22 Jan 2020

Good question as I've only just caught up with this but see nothing here.

Risks in the north of Cameroon (Boko Haram) are well known and still there afaik, but the Anglophone portion of Cameroon (formerly Southern Cameroons Brit colony) has risen against the dominant Francophone government and is seeking independence. Oddly enough it's right next to Biafra which people my age will remember well.
Wiki call it the Anglophone Crisis
Elsewhere it's the Ambazonia War.

This has affected overlanders as the once notoriously muddy but lately sealed Ikom–Ekok crossing leads into the heart of the conflict zone and has become closed to foreigners. Cameroonian consulates (in Nigeria: Lagos, Abuja, Calabar) may make you sign an affidavit promising you won't use this crossing.

In Calabar they may also insist you've bought a ferry ticket to Limbe or Tiko before they issue a visa.
The boat takes ~15 hours and will cost about $450 with a bike. It's 55km from Toko to Douala.
Leaves when full or twice week?

The only alternative is the overland crossing 700km to the north (but not too far north) between Gembu and Banyo. Same distance from Abuja.
It's unsealed and so presumably dry season only (if there is such a thing there).

From Banyo it's about 500km to Douala or Yaounde for more visas.

Happy to be corrected.

**Chris Scott** · #71 24 Jan 2020

Interesting and easily digested report from ACLED
https://www.acleddata.com/2020/01/23...about-in-2020/

Sahel looks bad and escalated in 2019, but compare it to Mexico.