Southern Cameroons Crisis: Buea on high alert as fighting intensifies ⁰

The Cameroon government has put its security forces on alert as violence intensifies in the Southern Zone with Ambazonian fighters blocking the main highway linking Fako to Meme County. Over the week end, Southern Cameroons militants were in battles with the Cameroon army. The Cameroon government claimed the armed separatists were staging attacks against government positions in Ekona and Muea.

We gathered that several government troops were killed and another 16 were injured during gun battles at Mbalangi.  Cameroon government troops created a security cordon around the city of Buea on Sunday and moved in on Monday in an apparent attempt to trap Ambazonian Self-Defense Council Restoration Forces operating in the capital city.

Unconfirmed reports from the Akwaya and Ndian areas say Southern Cameroons fighters have seized official buildings and many fear violence will escalate as the government continues its military crackdown. The Ambazonian conflict has been spreading from the rural areas into the urban centers as the Biya Francophone government put its troops in Buea and in Douala on high alert on Monday, citing concerns about the escalating violence and deteriorating security situation in Southern Cameroons.

The move came after Ambazonian militants staged attacks in Muea some few meters away from Buea. There are concerns that Fako could be the next county to fall to Ambazonia Self-Defense forces after Manyu, Lebialem and Ndian.

By Sama Ernest in Muea