Ambazonia, officially the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, also referred to as Amba Land, is a self-declared state in West Africa constituting the Northwest Region and Southwest Region of Cameroon, part of the country historically known as the Southern Cameroons. No country has formally recognized Ambazonia's independence, and it is currently the site of an armed conflict between Ambazonian separatists and the Cameroonian military known as the Anglophone Crisis. Ambazonia is located in the west of Cameroon and southeast of Nigeria on the Gulf of Guinea.
Bamenda, also known as Abakwa and Mankon Town, is a city in northwestern Cameroon and capital of the Northwest Region. The city has a population of about 2 million people and is located 366 kilometres (227 mi) north-west of the Cameroonian capital, Yaoundé. Bamenda is known for its cool climate and scenic hilly location.
The Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC) is a political organisation seeking the independence of the anglophone Southern Cameroons from the predominantly francophone Republic of Cameroon. It is a non-violent organisation with the motto "The force of argument, not the argument of force." Because the SCNC advocates separation from Cameroon, it has been declared an illegal organisation by the government of Paul Biya. Security forces regularly interrupt SCNC meetings, arresting members and typically detaining them for several days before release.
Ayaba Cho Lucas is an Ambazonian activist. He is the former Secretary General of the Southern Cameroons Youth League (SCYL) and is the current leader of Ambazonia Governing Council, a separatist organization in Southern Cameroons.
Ayaba was expelled from the University of Buea in 1993 because he had led a one-man demonstration against tuition increases; he has been in exile from Cameroon since then. He eventually ended up in Norway, where he studied human rights and development at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, and from where he has based his activism ever since. In January 2017, Ayaba was allegedly targeted for assassination in Brussels, Belgium.
The Anglophone Crisis, also known as the Ambazonia War, or the Cameroonian Civil War, is an ongoing civil war in the Southern Cameroons regions of Cameroon, part of the long-standing Anglophone problem. Following the suppression of 2016–17 Cameroonian protests, Ambazonian separatists in the Anglophone territories of Northwest Region and Southwest Region launched a guerilla campaign against Cameroonian security forces, and later unilaterally proclaimed the restoration of independence. In November 2017, the government of Cameroon declared war on the separatists and sent its army into the Anglophone regions.
The Ambazonia Defence Forces (ADF) are a military organization that fights for the independence of Ambazonia, a self-declared independent state in the Anglophone regions of Southern Cameroons, Cameroon. It was formally established by the Ambazonia Governing Council (AGovC) on 9 September 2017, the same day as the organization declared a war of independence.
Dr. Samuel Ikome Sako is an Ambazonian politician and the president of the internationally unrecognized proto-state of Federal Republic of Ambazonia. He was elected president of the Interim Government a month after Julius Ayuk Tabe, the first president, was abducted in Nigeria and extradited illegally to Cameroon. He was unilaterally dismissed by Julius Ayuk Tabe in May 2019, a decision that started the long-running Ambazonian leadership crisis.
This is a timeline of the Anglophone Crisis during 2017.
This is a timeline of the Anglophone Crisis during 2019.
From 2018, the Anglophone Crisis drew increasing international attention, and became a challenge to Cameroon's foreign relations. Triggered by a violent crackdown on the 2016–2017 Cameroonian protests, the conflict escalated from a low-scale insurgency to a civil war-like situation. While Cameroon enjoys support from African countries, no country has openly supported the Ambazonian independence movements. However, many countries have put pressure on Cameroon to talk to the separatists. In addition, the separatists enjoy support from officers in the Nigerian Army, who have helped arrange arms deals for them.
The Interim Government of Ambazonia is the provisional government in exile of the internationally unrecognized Federal Republic of Ambazonia.
The Ambazonia Governing Council (AGovC) is a Liberation movement within the Ambazonia Liberation cause. The Ambazonia Governing Council commonly referred to as AGovC is the vanguard organisation that has been fighting for the total liberation of Ambazonia since 2013 when it was founded.
The Southern Cameroons Defence Forces is the armed wing of the African People's Liberation Movement, an Ambazonian separatist movement. It is led by Ebenezer Akwanga, who is based in the United States, and its ground forces were commanded by General Andrew Ngoe. Together with the Ambazonia Defence Forces, it is one of the most prominent militias fighting in the Anglophone Crisis.
The Ambazonia Self-Defence Council (ASC), also known as Ambazonia Military Council (AMC) and Ambazonia Military Forces (AMF), is an umbrella organization that consists of several militias that fight for the independence of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, including the Red Dragons, the Tigers of Ambazonia, Seven Karta, the Manyu Ghost Warriors, the Ambazonia Restoration Army, the Southern Cameroons Defence Forces, and numerous others. Collectively, these militias possibly outsize the Ambazonia Defence Forces and SOCADEF.
Dr. Ebenezer Derek Mbongo Akwanga is an Ambazonian independence activist. He is the chairman of the African People's Liberation Movement, an Ambazonian separatist movement, and heads its armed wing, SOCADEF. A former student at the University of Buea, he and fellow activist Ayaba Cho Lucas founded a pro-independence student association. Their movement was soon outlawed, and in 1997, Akwanga was imprisoned for six years. Following his escape from prison, he joined forces with the Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC). When the SCNC split into several factions, he became the leader of the Southern Cameroons Youth League (SCYL). The SCYL eventually transformed into the African People's Liberation Movement (APLM). In March 2019, he oversaw the APLM taking part in founding the Southern Cameroons Liberation Council, in an attempt to form a united front. Akwanga is also an advocate of the Biafran case, and has spoken in favor of an alliance between Ambazonian and Biafran independence movements. He has called for referendums on independence in both Southern Cameroons and Biafra.
The Southern Cameroons Liberation Council (SCLC) is an Ambazonian umbrella movement, aiming to unite all Anglophone groups on a common front. As of April 2019, it consists of seven movements.
The Movement for the Restoration of the Independence of Southern Cameroons (MoRISC) is an Ambazonian independence movement. In March 2019, it participated in the All Southern Cameroons People’s General Conference in Washington, D.C., and took part in forming the Southern Cameroons Liberation Council.
The Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium (CACSC) is an Anglophone Cameroonian federalist movement.
The Ambazonian leadership crisis is an ongoing internal conflict within the Interim Government of Ambazonia (IG). The crisis started on May 2, 2019, when a document signed by the first president of Ambazonia, Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe, acting from detention in Yaounde and in contact with Cameroon interior ministry officials, declared the dissolution of the cabinet of interim president Samuel Ikome Sako and the restoration of Ayuk Tabe's cabinet. This effectively led to the existence of two Interim Governments, with neither recognizing the other.
The Major National Dialogue is the official name of a dialogue between the Government of Cameroon and various opposition parties, aimed at resolving the Anglophone Crisis. The event took place between September 30 and October 4, 2019.
