Cameroon 'military contractors' killed in Russia-Ukraine war - BBC confirms leaked memo
Cameroon still has not acknowledged the deaths in an official statement.However, on Monday a statement from the foreign ministry was sent to the state broadcaster CRTV, listing the names of 16 Cameroonians it said were resident in Russia.Aired on Monday evening, it asked the relatives of those named to get in touch about an urgent matter, giving no further information.While Cameroon refrains from publicly commenting on its nationals participating in Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Reuters news agency reports that it saw an internal memo from March 2025 in which the defence minister expressed concern over soldiers leaving the country to fight in Ukraine, and asked officers to monitor their units.Several African nations have sought to address the worrying number of their nationals being lured to fight for Russia.Ghana is amongst those which has urged Russia to stop recruiting combatants. The West African nation says at least 55 Ghanaians have been killed fighting in the war.In February, Kenya's foreign minister told the BBC that more than 600 recruitment agencies suspected of duping Kenyans with promises of jobs abroad had been closed. Sixteen Kenyans are said to be missing in Russia, while 47 others have returned home from the front in Ukraine, officials have said.Zimbabwe says 15 nationals have been killed after being recruited, and more than 60 people are still trapped on the front lines.Earlier this year, South Africa repatriated 17 citizens who said they had been trapped in Ukraine's Donbas region after being deceived into fighting for Russia.
