Cameroonian papers focus on Bakassi dispute.

Yaounde, Cameroon (PANA) - Hearing at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague on the border dispute between Cameroon and Nigeria was the focus of comments by the Cameroonian press this week.

Cameroon and Nigeria share a 1,200 km-long common border, but the dispute is mainly over the Bakassi peninsula, which has huge oil and gas deposits.

The dispute took a bad turn when Nigerian troops invaded Bakassi in 1993, under the pretext of protecting Nigerian nationals. But later on, the two countries opted for a peaceful settlement.

As a result of that option, the ICJ on 18 February began hearing the two parties over the issue, which has negatively affected relations between them in the last nine years.

The major Cameroonian newspapers have sent correspondents to The Hague to cover the hearings, and the private daily, Mutations, published a feature on the proceedings and on the historical background of the dispute.

Another paper, Le Messager, carried an interview with Cameroon's Justice minister, who accused Nigeria of trying to "draw Cameroon into war."

On a separate beat, the tri-weekly La Nouvelle Expression reported the arrival in Cameroon of 10,000 Nigerians who fled ethnic fighting in their country. It also reported clashes at the border with Equatorial Guinea.