French President Emmanuel Macron has acknowledged that France waged a war marked by "repressive violence" in Cameroon before and after its independence in 1960.

This follows a joint report by Cameroonian and French historians in January on France’s role in push for sovereignty by its former colony from 1945 to 1971.

In a letter, President Emmanuel Macron cited a report by a joint French-Cameroonian team of historians, which clearly demonstrated that France had waged a 'war' in Cameroon, characterized by 'repressive violence.