Kidnappings Fund Ongoing Conflict in Cameroon

Armed groups in Cameroon's English-speaking regions have turned a social uprising into a profitable business. They are sustaining the conflict through widespread kidnappings for ransom. A brutal system of extortion targeted civilians in 2023. These groups collected at least $7.9 million in ransom payments last year alone. This funding allows the fighters to continue their campaign of violence. What began as a political crisis is now a cycle of kidnapping and extortion that fuels the conflict.