Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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143. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the assessment that has been made of the circumstances surrounding the recent kidnapping of approximately 80 persons including children from a school in the town of Bamenda, Cameroon; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46583/18]

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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I am aware of the kidnapping on Monday 5 November of 78 schoolchildren and three others in the town of Bamenda in North West Cameroon.

The Government fully supports the 6 November statement of the EU calling for the schoolchildren to be freed immediately and without conditions, expressing solidarity with the families of the kidnap victims, and calling on all parties to engage in a constructive and inclusive dialogue in order to find a solution to the ongoing crisis in the North-West and South-West regions of Cameroon.

I am pleased to hear reports that all 78 children have now been freed and hope that the remaining victims will be freed immediately and without conditions.

The Government remains concerned by the deteriorating political and security situation in Cameroon and will continue to monitor human rights and humanitarian developments in close coordination with our EU partners and through the Embassy of Ireland in Abuja.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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144. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the assessment that has been made of the circumstances surrounding the death of a person (details supplied) in the town of Bamenda, Cameroon on 30 October 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46584/18]

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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I am aware of the case of a death late last month of a US citizen in the town of Bamenda in Cameroon. The person in question had been in Cameroon for 12 days when he was shot in a crossfire between Government forces and separatist elements, part of the ongoing violence in that country relating to the desire of certain English speaking communities to secede.

The circumstances of the killing remain disputed. Official Cameroon sources say that the person in question was killed by secessionists planning an attack on a nearby university, and that four secessionists involved were subsequently killed by Government forces. Secessionists allege that Government forces were to blame for the killing.

I understand that the US State Department is providing assistance to the family of the deceased to return to the US.

While Ireland does not have an Embassy in Cameroon, our Embassy in Nigeria continues to monitor the situation closely. My Department is engaged in monitoring in the evolving humanitarian situation and its regional impact, via the UN Resident Coordinator, UNOCHA, the EU delegation in Yaoundé, and in contacts with regional bodies.

In this context, I recall the EEAS statement of 28 September on the situation in Cameroon, which called for constructive and inclusive dialogue for a sustainable solution. It remains the responsibility of the Government of Cameroon to create a secure environment in which all citizens are protected from violence, and where international human rights standards, including protection for minority groups, are upheld.