Norway detains a German national suspected of inciting crimes against humanity in Cameroon

OSLO, Norway — Norwegian police said Wednesday that they had detained a German national of Cameroonian heritage for allegedly inciting crimes against humanity in war-torn Cameroon, the first time Norway was embarking on legal proceedings for such crimes.

The man, who is in his 50s, lives in Norway but has not been named. He was detained because the National Criminal Investigation Service, known in Norway as KRIPOS, said that they believed he “had a central role in an ongoing armed conflict in Cameroon.”

Anette Berger, the prosecutor in the case, said, “We are in an early phase of the investigation, and there are several investigative steps that remain."

On Wednesday, KRIPOS would seek his custody from the Oslo District Court “on the basis of the risk of tampering with evidence.”

For the past seven years, a protracted armed conflict known as the Anglophone crisis has devastated communities across the west African country's two English-speaking regions — officially called Northwest and Southwest — as armed separatists clash with government forces.

Following a crackdown on peaceful protests in 2016, armed rebel groups mobilized and vowed to fight for the independence of the Anglophone areas, which they call Ambazonia.

The ensuing conflict with the Cameroonian military has killed more than 6,000 people and displaced over 760,000 others, according to the International Crisis Group. The rebel groups, as well as the military and police, have been accused of committing abuses and crimes against civilians.