Cameroon’s president orders release of 300 separatists

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AP) - Cameroon’s president is freeing more than 300 separatist fighters from the country’s Anglophone regions in a bid to calm a conflict that has killed nearly 3,000 people in the past two years.

An order signed Thursday by the presidency’s secretary-general says President Paul Biya made the decision to help ensure that peace returns to the country’s Southwest and Northwest regions.

The order discontinues court proceedings against the separatist fighters but does not apply to their leaders. It says the fighters had been accused of misdemeanors.

Cameroon is holding a national dialogue this week to try to resolve the conflict but key separatist leaders refused to attend.

The fighting between the Anglophone separatists and the majority Francophone security forces has forced more than 500,000 people from their homes since 2017.