Cameroon has confirmed the deaths of 16 of its soldiers fighting in Ukraine, following a notification from Russia.
The central African nation's foreign affairs ministry sent a memo to the Russian Embassy, acknowledging the fatalities among Cameroonian personnel serving in what Russia terms the "special military operations zone." The ministry stated that "necessary arrangements" were being made to inform the families of those who died.
In a separate communication issued on the same day, the ministry also invited the relatives of six other Cameroonian nationals residing in Russia to attend a meeting regarding "urgent matters," though no further details were provided.
In March last year, Cameroon’s defense minister instructed the country's various military high commands to take “strict emergency measures” to prevent further defections by active or retired Cameroonian soldiers.
Ukraine has said it believes more than 1,700 Africans have been recruited to fight for Russia, and several African nations have said some of their citizens have been tricked into fighting for Russia by offers of lucrative jobs or skills training.
An intelligence report presented to parliament in Kenya earlier this year said that 1,000 Kenyans were recruited to fight for Russia after being misled with false promises of jobs in the country before being sent to the front lines.
Two Nigerians were killed late last year fighting for Russia, Ukraine’s intelligence agency said this month.
Another AP investigation in 2024 found that African women were also duped into being part of the Russian war effort and sent to work in a factory assembling attack drones to be used against Ukraine. They were lured by social media adverts offering work-study programs.
