Noted for its manipulation and vindictiveness, the Yaoundé government, has succeeded to pit Southern Cameroonian armed groups against each other.

Over the last months, various armed groups that are supposed to be fighting against the Yaoundé government, have been at each other’s throat for reasons that are unclear to many observers.

The battles field of the northwest regions has become the graveyard of many young fighters because of internal conflicts and betrayals.

Southern Cameroonian armed groups have been infiltrated and the presence of huge amounts of money has triggered a lot of suspicion and enmity.

While Southern Cameroonians are clearly regretting what is happening, there is a group that is robbing its hand in glee – the Yaoundé government- as the bullets that were meant for army soldiers are now being wasted on fellow fighters due to disagreements and bloated egos.

The government’s plan is carefully being implemented by the country’s Territorial Administration minister, Paul Atanga Nji, who is doing everything in his power to demonstrate to his Yaoundé pay masters that he is up to the task.

The chaos playing out in the jungles of the northwest and southwest regions is hurting many and even some on the government side are not happy with the way Southern Cameroonians are currently conducting their war.

Speaking to a Cameroon  Concord News Group correspondent in the Southwest regional capital of Buea on Monday, January 27, 2020, a gendarme officer who is aware of the tricks employed by the government said if the various armed groups did not clean up their mess, the revolution, which is a nightmare to the government, will fizzle out very soon.

The officer, who elected anonymity, said that he was surprised that Southern Cameroonians were not aware of the gimmicks the government was playing.

He stressed that the government was completely overwhelmed and if Southern Cameroonians could put their differences behind them and close ranks, the cash-strapped government would be obliged to head to the negotiating table.

He added that the Southern Cameroons crisis had delivered a massive blow to the government’s liver, making it hard for the desperate regime to be on its two legs.

He pointed out that the country’s economy had been serious hurt by the crisis, adding that the collapse of state corporations such CDC, PAMOL and SONARA which are located in Southern Cameroons had robbed the reckless  government of vital resources.

He said Yaoundé and Douala were shadows of their former self, adding that it was still a miracle that civil servants were receiving their salaries.

He stressed that the months ahead would be challenging, as government revenues keep on drying up, while whatever was still available was being used to buy weapons and to pay desperate soldiers who are longing to go back home, safe and sound.

The gendarme officer added that the government was silently targeting Southern Cameroonian activists, stressing that there was a plan in place to arrest those who lived abroad in case they came to Cameroon.

He advised that activists living abroad should continue sensitizing the world to the humanitarian catastrophe and genocide that are playing out in the two English-speaking regions of the country.

He said that many young men were being recruited into the military and given a three- month training that was grossly adequate to face the fighters in Southern Cameroons.

He stressed that many of them were from the South region and were ill-equipped to deal with the challenge they are asked to overcome.

He said some 2,028 soldiers had lost their lives as a result of the senseless war, adding that the government was doing all it could to ensure that the real figures never get released as this could trigger a violent reaction in East Cameroon.

He urged Cameroon Concord News Group writers to continue doing their job, as it remained the main source of reliable information which was really causing the government a real headache.

“They are confused that the Cameroon Concord News Group is always publishing genuine and disturbing news,” he said, adding that “if they could lay hands on the writers and their senior staff, they would heap a sigh of relief.”

“Cameroon Concord News Group is a real thorn in their side. They dislike the news portal, but they are always heading there to find out what is really happening within government circles. Some of them are in the dark of what is happening both at the Unity Palace and at the Star Building. It is the Cameroon Concord News Group that actually brings them the latest news,” he concluded.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Villagers in Cameroon’s volatile northwest region are fleeing separatist violence ahead of February 9 local and parliamentary elections to neighboring Nigeria.  The rebels have vowed to stop the elections and are clashing with the military while civilians are caught up in the fighting. 

Christians at True Faith Ministries, in the Nigerian border village of Atta, sing for God to protect them.   

Pastor Innocent Okoli, 47,  says more than 70 of them are Cameroonians who fled increased violence ahead of February 9 elections.

He says they crossed the border, about 40 kilometers (29 miles) away, in the past two weeks to escape clashes between Cameroon’s military and rebels.

“These are Christians with very different experiences.  You have Christians who are yet to trace their loved ones, you have many separated children in church,” he said. “You have so many unaccompanied children.  You know, you cannot just minister to them without helping them to get food to eat and then find something to do.”

A majority of the Cameroonians are women and children.

Regina Shey Najela, 18, says she and her younger brother joined a group of women to flee from Cameroon’s border village of Ngarum after security clashed with rebels, known as Amba boys.

“The Amba boys entered the quarter [our village] so, the policemen came shooting all over,” she said.  “We ran, we slept in the bush.  My mother said that she will look for a way [for us to escape].  I am here with my junior brother.  Before we left, they burned our house.”

Aid group Positive Youth Africa has been providing relief material to Cameroonians fleeing the fighting to Atta.

Aid worker Franka Ma-ih Sulem Yong says it is difficult to estimate how many people have crossed from Cameroon to Nigeria in recent weeks because border villages are difficult to access.

But Ibrahima Mustapha, a community leader of the Mambilas ethnic group in Nigeria’s Taraba state, says they have received over 300 Cameroonians in the past two weeks.  

The latest violence comes as Cameroon authorities try to hold local council and parliamentary elections in the troubled Northwest and Southwest regions.

President Paul Biya has insisted the elections will take place and ordered the military to kill all rebels who refuse to surrender.  

Unrest broke out in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions in 2016, when teachers and lawyers protested the dominance of the French language and French-speaking officials.

Rebels took up arms a year later, demanding a separate English-speaking state they call “Ambazonia.”    

The conflict with Cameroon’s military since then has killed about 3,000 people, many of them villagers caught up in the fighting.  The United Nations reports that at least 50,000 Cameroonians have fled the fighting to Nigeria.

Culled from VOA

The Southern Cameroons Interim Government on Monday condemned French Cameroun troops’ killing of senior Ambazonia self defense commanders including General Chacha and General Efang. In a telephone conversation with our European political affairs correspondent, Chi Prudence Asong, the Ambazonia Vice President Dabney Yerima also called for reactivating the armed attacks against French Cameroun.

The exiled Southern Cameroons leader observed that “the killing of prominent Ambazonia self defense commanders is purely a crime that urges all Southern Cameroons factions to come together and reactivate armed resistance against the occupation forces.”

He slammed Minister Paul Atanga Nji, and his French Cameroun sponsored militia for the atrocities going on in Southern Cameroons adding that “the French Cameroun gendarmerie and militias are carrying out daily arrests against Ambazonia activists and militants, while the French Cameroun army is continuing with its genocidal campaign in the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.”

The current Biya Francophone regime military escalation against the people of Southern Cameroons was launched in a bid to guarantee security for the so-called twin poll this February.

It is vital to include in this report that the French Cameroun military success comes amid infighting among Ambazonia groups.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with files from Chi Prudence Asong

Cameroon’s police are on high alert over possible separatist attacks in the capital, Yaounde, a senior police officer said on Monday.

Cameroon police chief Martin Mbarga Nguelle said security forces have been on high alert since receiving relevant intelligence reports.

He urged the police to adopt a higher level of vigilance in “sensitive posts” and to report any suspicious activities.

Nguelle warned that the attackers mainly use motorcycles to undertake their operations.

Police sources said some of the “wanted and notorious” armed separatists have already made contacts with “their friends” as they plan to sneak into the capital and other urban centers to launch attacks.

Armed separatists want the Northwest and Southwest English-speaking regions to secede from the majority French-speaking Cameroon and form a new country known as “Ambazonia.” They have been clashing with government forces since 2017.

Last Friday, Cameroonian president Paul Biya said on last Friday, although the security situation in the regions has improved, “few (separatist) groups” continue to commit atrocities and to destroy the property of citizens.

Source: Xinhaunet

The renowned Ambazonia  General Chacha leader of a Southern Cameroons Restoration Force popularly known as the Bui Warriors, was killed on Sunday January 26, 2020 during a French  Cameroun military operation in Bui County.

The Francophone dominated Cameroon government army reportedly launched a surprise attack late in the night in the camp that was harbouring the brave Southern Cameroons fighter and twenty of his combatants in Kikaikom in the Kumbo district.

French Cameroun army  general Valère Nka, commander of the 5th military region who made the news public also said the security situation in Bui County was heading back to normal.

General Chacha is the second prominent Ambazonia Self Defense chief to be killed within a week, after General Efang .

Since the beginning of the 2020, the Biya Francophone regime has announced significant military reinforcements in Southern Cameroons, in preparation for the parliamentary and municipal elections on February 9.

By Rita Akana

Cameroonian President Paul Biya said on Friday the security situation in the troubled English-speaking region of the country has improved since a national dialogue to end the conflict took place last year.

“Thanks to the determination of our defence and security forces to protect our fellow citizens in the northwest and southwest (Anglophone regions), the situation has significantly improved,” Biya said here in a speech during the 37th graduation ceremony of the Combined Services Military Academy.

“It is hoped that the new measures taken following the major national dialogue will contribute towards restoring lasting peace and calm,” Biya said.

He regretted that despite the peace efforts, “few (armed) groups” continue to commit atrocities and to destroy the property of citizens in the region.

“For those who persist in going down the wrong road to use violence, we will have no other choice but to combat them to protect our fellow citizens,” Cameroon’s Minister of Defense Joseph Beti Assomo told Xinhua following the ceremony.

Since 2017, government forces have been clashing with armed separatist forces who want the northwest and southwest English-speaking regions to secede from the majority French-speaking nation and form a new country known as “Ambazonia.”

Source: Xinhuanet

The Bui event is another indicator of the need and urgency to achieve a unified self-defense front in the Ambazonia war of independence

The Ambazonia Self-Defense Council (ASC) notes with dismay the unfortunate event in Bui that has resulted in the loss of some of our bravest fighters due to miscalculation among defense forces. We are deeply saddened by the news. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your families.

In fact, the ASC strongly condemns any act that results in the taking away of the life of a person, maiming a person or any act that is contrary to the recognized norm of self-defence against illegally occupying military and administrators of La Republic du Cameroun within the territory of Ambazonia. Instead, we must strive to minimize internal misunderstanding and by coming together under a united front in order to better confront our common enemy:  La Republique du Cameroun.

We encourage those responsible for the forces, both Bui Warriors and ADF forces, to conduct thorough investigations for the appreciation of the people of Ambazonia and identify concrete corrective steps, and implement them to prevent such incidents from happening again anywhere across Ambazonia.

While expecting the concerned authorities in Bui and ADF to investigate the Bui event to help inform the Ambazonia public on what happened, why it happened, and how it happened, we would like to offer some best practices that can be implemented immediately to minimize misunderstanding in Ground Zero.

Moving forward, we encourage all Self-Defence forces to incorporate and abide by following five rules of engagement:

1. Every fighter or unit that plans to move into or pass through a friendly territory must notify the appropriate commanders operating in advance of at least 12-24 hours. The advance notification time is necessary to allow consultations, determine if the request is from a friendly fighter or unit, and assess that the intent of the request is genuine, prior to deciding whether to approve. Do not inform them while on the move because by then it would be too late and you will be mistaken for an enemy. On the other hand, the receiving commander who is in the territory should address the request in a timely manner usually within 12 to 24 hrs. This is a necessary mechanism to avoid friendly fire exchange.

1. Neighboring commanders must maintain constant communication amongst themselves to ensure they are aware of their surroundings and avoid any intruder.

1. We are our brothers’ keepers. Every self-defence force must ensure the safety of the force. Any disputes must be addressed by the leadership in a timely manner. No restoration force or the commander should make life and death decisions on the battlefield by themselves regarding other Restoration forces. Any of such actions that occur will be addressed through the appropriate hierarchy as soon as possible.

1. The priority of every self-defence force or unit on GZ is the protection of civilians and their property against the forces of La Republique du Cameroun that has increased acts of massacre, arrest for ransoms, and burning to ashes economic assets of our people and their homes including humans.

1. All Self-Defense forces must act at all times in a disciplined manner and professionalism to earn the trust and confidence of our civilian population, who is the most important person we are fighting for. In turn, we call on our civilian population to continue to provide the support to all our Self-Defence forces until we completely liberate our land from the illegal occupying and terrorist forces of President Paul Biya.

Long Live Ambazonia