EU calls on Cameroon security forces to use 'proportional force'

The European Union has called on Cameroon to ensure its security forces use “proportional force” in the country’s restive English-speaking west.
“Resorting to violence cannot be a means of achieving political ends,” said EU foreign affairs spokesperson Catherine Ray in a statement on Wednesday.
“It remains crucial for the security forces to be proportionate in their use of force while carrying out their duties.”
Dozens of people have been killed since October in a violent crackdown on protests against the mainly French-speaking government.
Many English-speakers have accused the Francophone majority of discrimination and that has fuelled a separatist movement.
Police say 22 police and soldiers have been killed in the violence but officials in the capital Yaounde have not released figures for the number of separatist or civilian losses.
“Fresh acts of violence in the (anglophone) northwest and southwest regions of Cameroon have caused the death of at least three members of the security forces and a number of civilians,” the EU statement said.