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Sangmelima

Sangmelima is a town on the Lobo River, and also the chief town of Lobo division ('Dja et Lobo'), in the South Province ('Province du Sud'), Republic of Cameroon, Africa. The language spoken there is French, with Bulu being the second language.

The population is of the Bulu clan, part of the Beti-Pahuin tribe. The Bulu who migrated to the area during the 19th century, were slave hunters until the British sent the Royal Navy in 1827 to the coastal areas in a bid to stop the slave trade. Cameroon's President Paul Biya is a Bulu, from a village near Sangmélima.

The economy is rural and the people are into rearing fowls and they are noted for owning large poultry farms. The National Road 9 passes through the town, and National Road 17 begins there. There is an airstrip near the town.

The Dja Faunal Reserve ('Réserve du Biosphère du Dja') is a 5,260 km² reserve that extends to the east of the town, and which was designated a World Heritage Site in 1984. UNESCO calls it "one of the largest and best-protected rainforests in Africa, with 90 per cent of its area left undisturbed". There are also said to be "vast forest areas" to the south of the town.

Sangmelima on the map
Location on the Map