Revealed: Francophone gendarmes were killed in coordinated attacks ⁰

Cho Ayaba, a leading member of the Ambazonian struggle has confirmed that Southern Cameroons militants killed two gendarmes in two coordinated attacks in the Bamenda County.  There are however conflicting reports on the incident in Bamenda.

French Cameroun authorities have issued 15 international arrest warrants against leaders of the Governing Council including the President of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, Sisiku Ayuk Tabe. This is the latest development as tensions continue to escalate in the so-called one and indivisible Cameroon, with Anglophone secessionists upping the ante in what they say is their struggle against President Paul Biya’s Francophone government, and the French-speaking majority, for equality.

The deaths of the two gendarmes, who were reportedly ambushed by gunmen on motorbikes, was confirmed by Cameroonian security officials. English-speaking Cameroonians say they suffer social and economic marginalisation and are forced to work in French. The deaths marked the worst fighting between Ambazonian militants and government forces in the central African state following mostly peaceful protests during the course of last year.

However, the peaceful protests have solicited a harsh response by security forces, including the use of helicopter gunships to fire on civilians, resulting in dozens killed and hundreds arrested. Last month French Cameroun opposition leader Aboubakar Siddiki was sentenced to 25 years in prison by a military court on charges that his lawyer and Amnesty International said were politically motivated.

The court convicted Siddiki, the president of northern Cameroon’s main opposition party, of hostility against the homeland as well as revolution and contempt of the president over accusations he plotted to destabilise the country.

The military crackdown on protesters has been accompanied by political dissidents being detained without trial while the media has been muzzled, including banning the opposition English-language TV channel. French-speaking Cameroon gained its independence from France in 1960 and the linguistic divide has existed for ages underground, only resurfacing recently in response to government violence.

Reported by African Independent