Cameroon president halts prosecution of 289 separatists

Cameroon President Paul Biya on Thursday called a halt to the prosecution of some 289 separatists from the West African country's western English-speaking regions, his office said.

Biya "has decided on... the halt of cases pending in military courts against a certain number of people arrested for offences committed during the crisis in the (anglophone) Northwest and Southwest" regions, a statement said, adding that the measure concerned "289 detainees".