20, June 2021
Southern Cameroons situation deteriorating as fighting rages 0
Explosions and heavy gunfire have rocked the entire Southern Cameroons as the humanitarian crisis worsens. More than 3,000 soldiers have also been killed and more than two thousands of them have been seriously injured.
The Biya regime has not been releasing the numbers and names of soldiers killed in battle for fear that such news could demoralize its military.
The humanitarian situation in Southern Cameroons is dire and deteriorating. Thousands of Southern Cameroonians continue to seek refuge in neighboring Nigeria and many more displaced in French speaking Cameroun as fighting between government and Ambazonia Restoration forces rages on.
The death toll is thought to be more than 40 000 lives, almost all of them civilian children, men and women, murdered by Cameroun government troops in a series of targeted killings, organized massacres, and killings by fire in over 400 villages burnt down to ashes across Southern Cameroons.
To be sure, over half a million people have been forcibly displaced as refugees living in various countries and especially in refugee camps in Ghana and Nigeria. Over another half a million people have become IDPs hiding in forests, caves and hills due to forced displacement. Additionally, over 1.5 million people are facing a humanitarian disaster.
Every Monday streets in Southern Cameroons are deserted except for people fleeing the ongoing clashes.
The clashes pit troops nominally loyal to the 88-year-old dictator, Paul Biya, against Ambazonia Restoration Forces theoretically commanded by the Ambazonia Interim Government of Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe who is now serving a life sentence in Yaoundé.
The Biya Francophone government is hiding the numbers of soldiers killed and, in certain cases, it tells the families of the troops that their children have simply defected or escaped from the military. More than 1,000 army soldiers cannot be accounted for by the military and there are no efforts by the government to establish the truth about their whereabouts.
The situation in Southern Cameroons-Ambazonia has deteriorated and there is random shooting and quite heavy mortar fire coming from both sides with locals not knowing who is responsible as both Cameroon government army soldiers and Ambazonia fighters are now dressed in the same military camouflage.
The Fighting appears to be escalating rapidly in the rural areas of Southern Cameroons with the Yaoundé government now deploying armor vehicles. Recent clashes in both the South West and North West have exposed several weaknesses in the Cameroon government military.
The US has announced visa restrictions against some senior government officials blocking the implementation of a peace deal. UN Secretary-General Antonio Gutterres has also been maintaining a kind of deliberate silence on the genocide going on in Southern Cameroons.
For the moment, the fighting appears to be spreading across the entire Southern Cameroons and it is threatening critical medical supplies for thousands of people in places such as Bui, Menchum, Ndian, Kupe Muanenguba, Akwaya, Meme and parts of Fako and Mezam.
About half of the population in Douala, the chief city in the Littoral region in French speaking Cameroun is threatened with famine; inflation is at 300% and Cameroon as a nation is effectively bankrupt.
By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai
21, June 2021
Southern Cameroons Crisis: Ambazonia forces given new directives 0
Restoration Forces: Our Responsibility in Battle
My Dear Restoration Forces,
The people of Southern Cameroon and the Interim Government of Ambazonia salute your courage and resilience in defending our homeland from the invading and occupying forces of La Republique du Cameroun. For nearly five years, these forces have committed heinous atrocities on our people and property. They have burned over 521 of our villages, killed over 20,000 of our people, including women and children. Their day of reckoning is looming as your successes on the battlefield over the last weeks are demonstrating. Your resilience is proof that nothing will stop us from achieving our collective goal. This time, it is total independence of our homeland or resistance forever.
Self-defense is a right, and it is a core component of our liberation struggle. As you continue to discharge the enormous duty of protecting our people and reclaim our land, the Interim Government of Ambazonia wants to counsel that you must observe international law at all times. War is a dangerous undertaking, but it has rules of engagement. We must achieve our goals of freedom whilst staying on the right side of international law.
The support and adoration you have received thus far for your work are well earned. But recently, there have been disturbing videos, images and messages on social media from the conflict in our country. These are the hallmarks of a regime on its last legs. Local militias loyal to the regime in Yaoundé have been carrying out atrocities, and they intend to pin some of these criminalities on you. So, you must be vigilant and not duplicate their savagery and cruelty. The Interim Government condemns atrocities like beheadings, kidnappings, extrajudicial killings, and torture robustly. As self-defense and pro-independence forces, you must not engage in any of these activities. However, we must understand that there will be consequences for our actions one day. POWs must be treated humanely at all times as they have rights that are protected under international law.
The Interim Government wants to be very clear that our Country Sundays must remain in place till further notice. However, as you continue to make significant advances on the ground, your Interim Government will pursue diplomatic avenues to help achieve our goal. We call on the UN to commission a UN Security Council Mandated Fact-Finding Mission to investigate the atrocities during this conflict. Such a mission will curb the loss of lives and bring this war to an end.
To all in Ground Zero, the Interim Government of Ambazonia urges you to persevere, for victory is coming our way soon. Therefore, remain focused as soon, we will be free at last.
Thank You,
God bless the Federal Republic of Ambazonia
Dabney Yerima