Airplane above the Statue of Liberty, New York. Photo: Spencer Platt / Getty images / Profimedia
Eight African immigrants from Senegal, Sierra Leone and Ethiopia arrived in Cameroon on Monday after being deported from the United States, several sources familiar with the situation told Agence France Presse on Wednesday.
Cameroon is the sixth African country to accept third-country nationals expelled by the authorities under US President Donald Trump, after Ghana, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland – no), Rwanda, Equatorial Guinea and South Sudan, writes Agerpres. The authorities in Yaounde, unlike those in other African states, have not publicly announced any agreement with the US in this regard. The New York Times newspaper wrote last Saturday that it would be a secret bilateral agreement.
The eight Africans were detained upon arrival in Yaounde, according to U.S.-based attorney Alma David, who specializes in the rights of foreigners, and Cameroonian attorney Joseph Fru Awah, who is familiar with the case. It would be five men and three women.
The information was confirmed to AFP by an internal UN source in Cameroon, on condition of anonymity. The Cameroonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs communicated, at the agency's request, that it has no information regarding the arrival of the respective persons.
The New York Times, however, said nine other expelled Africans arrived in Yaounde on January 14 by air from Alexandria, Louisiana.
