The border town of Kentzou was amongst the areas most heavily affected as refugee arrivals peaked between February and March. According to Emmanuel Halpha, the prefect of the Batouri area in the east of Cameroon, Kentzou’s population “tripled in record time”.

Unlike refugees who are protected by international conventions, third-country nationals (TCNs), who neither belong to the country of refuge or the one they fled, are not covered by any global rights conventions. It is often up to their governments to look after them and arrange for their repatriation.