Cameroon faces significant challenges linked to organised crime, armed conflict and violent extremism, from Boko Haram factions in the Far North, to separatist violence in the North-West and South-West, to incursions by Central African rebel groups in the east. Across all these areas, organised and transnational criminal networks exacerbate conflict and sustain violence.

Drawing on a diachronic, thematic, territorial and cross-cutting approach, this report maps criminal activity across Cameroon's strategic zones and identifies the groups, activities and territorial dynamics that finance armed groups and fuel ongoing violence. It finds that criminal networks are increasingly adaptable, that illicit activities are hybrid in nature, and that both networks and trends have become transnational in character.

About the authors

Raoul Sumo Tayo is the Central Africa senior researcher at the Central Africa Observatory on Organized Crime and Violence, having previously worked for ENACT, the Small Arms Survey and the University of Maroua. He holds a PhD in History of International Relations from the University of Yaoundé I.

Aïcha Pemboura is a researcher at the ISS' Central Africa Observatory on Organized Crime and Violence, based in Yaoundé. She has worked with the US Institute of Peace and the Boutros-Ghali Observatory, and holds a PhD in political science.