Norwegian police on Wednesday said they had arrested a man on suspicion of incitement to commit crimes against humanity in Cameroon, with sources identifying him to AFP as separatist leader Lucas Cho Ayaba.
The Kripos police unit that deals with war crimes and crimes against humanity said in a statement that it had arrested "a man in his 50s" on Tuesday, but did not name him.
"Kripos considers that the suspect is playing a central role in the ongoing armed conflict in Cameroon," it added.
Cameroon has been gripped for years by a conflict in its two anglophone regions, in the northwest and southwest, between separatists and the state.
The anglophone community, which has long complained of marginalisation and discrimination, makes up about 20 percent of the largely-francophone central African country.
Ayaba is the leader of the Ambazonia Defence Forces, one of the main armed groups operating in the anglophone areas.
According to a source in the communications ministry and a lawyer representing victims of the armed conflict, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Ayaba was the man arrested.
The 52-year-old, a former student union activist in the 1990s, holds German nationality.
It was the first time that Norway arrested someone on suspicion of inciting crimes against humanity.
If convicted, he could face 30 years in prison.