Ivo Mbah | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Died | December 21, 2018 Teke, Kumba, Cameroon |
| Allegiance |  Ambazonia |
| Service/ | Ambazonia Defence Forces |
| Years of service | 2017–2018 |
| Rank | General |
| Battles/wars | Anglophone Crisis |
Ivo Mbah (died 21 December 2018) was an Ambazonian general who fought in the Anglophone Crisis. Reportedly one of the first separatists to go to war against Cameroonian authorities, he fought for more than a year before he was killed in combat with the Cameroonian Armed Forces. [1]
Recruited by a man who went by the nom de guerre "General Divine", [2] Ivo Mbah was one of the first Ambazonia Defence Forces members, [3] and was popular among his fellow separatists. [4] His followers reportedly believed that he possessed "mystical powers", and Mbah worked with these beliefs, stating in propaganda videos that "no man born of a woman could kill him". [5] According to the Cameroonian military, he commanded more than 30 ADF camps throughout the Anglophone region by 2018. [3] He mainly operated at Matoh and Teke in Meme department. [6]
In the morning on December 21, 2018, Ivo went to Teke, a locality in Kumba, to be present during his driver's wedding. According to the Cameroonian military, his attendance was leaked to the Cameroonian Army, and special forces moved in to assassinate the general. Dressed in civilian clothing, the soldiers moved in to with the intent of capturing the general alive, but a firefight broke out when separatist fighters recognized the soldiers. Ivo took refuge inside a building, where the soldiers pursued him. After an intense fight that involved close combat, the general was killed. Minutes after his death, pictures and videos of his dead body were published on social media. [5] Other sources have stated that Mbah was killed by a local anti-separatist vigilante group [3] or by a rival separatist force. [5]
The killing of Ivo was a significant achievement for the Cameroonian government forces, and a blow to the morale of the separatists. However, the assassination was not a complete success story for the Cameroonian government; the plan had been for Ivo to be captured alive, and use him for intelligence gathering. Instead, he died without giving up any information. The killing also had a detrimental effect for the recently formed disarmament and reintegration programme. [5]
Several separatist leaders wrote tributes to the general. Ayaba Cho Lucas described him as "the finest and bravest that Ambazonia could hope for". Samuel Ikome Sako, Acting President of the Interim Government of Ambazonia, wrote that he personally admired Ivo for his bravery, and that his death was a great loss to the nation. [4] [7]
In May 2022, the ADF abducted CPDM Senator Regina Mundi. The ADF offered to exchange her with 75 political prisoners and threatened to execute her if Cameroon did not comply. The ADF further stated that alternatively, they could trade her dead body for the body of Ivo Mbah. [8]
Ambazonia, alternatively the "Federal Republic of Ambazonia" or "State of Ambazonia", is a political entity proclaimed by Anglophone separatists who are seeking independence from Cameroon. The separatists claim that Ambazonia should consist of the Northwest Region and Southwest Region of Cameroon. Since 2017, Ambazonian rebels are in an armed conflict with the Cameroonian military, in what is known as the Anglophone Crisis, setting up a government-in-exile and capturing some territory. No country has recognized Ambazonia's existence as of 2023.
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 conflict between Ambazonian militant groups and the Cameroonian government in the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon, part of the long-standing Anglophone problem. Following the suppression of 2016–17 protests by Cameroonian authorities, Ambazonian separatists in the Anglophone regions launched a guerrilla campaign against the Cameroon Armed Forces, and later unilaterally proclaimed 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 the former 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.
This is a timeline of the Anglophone Crisis during 2017.
This is a timeline of the Anglophone Crisis during 2018.
This is a timeline of the Anglophone Crisis during 2019.
The Interim Government of Ambazonia is an Ambazonian independence movement, and claims to be the provisional government in exile of the internationally unrecognized state. Formed in the early days of the Anglophone Crisis, the movement has since splintered into several factions that claim to be the legitimate Interim Government.
The Ambazonia Governing Council (AGovC) is an Ambazonian independence movement. The movement has been known as "hardline" compared to other major Ambazonian separatist movements, and unwilling to engage with federalists. Starting off with a complicated relationship with the larger Interim Government of Ambazonia (IG), following the 2019 Ambazonian leadership crisis, the AGovC officially allied itself to the faction of the IG loyal to the first President of Ambazonia, Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe.
The Ambazonia Self-Defence Council (ASC), also known as Ambazonia Military Council (AMC), Ambazonia Military Forces (AMF), and Ambazonia Restoration Forces (ARF), is an umbrella organization that consists of several militants 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, the Bui Warriors, General No Pity's forces, and numerous others. Collectively, these militias possibly outsize the Ambazonia Defence Forces and SOCADEF.
Lekeaka Oliver, popularly known as Field Marshall, was a Cameroonian army soldier and later an Ambazonian separatist commander and the leader of the Red Dragon militia. His armed group is part of the loosely-structured Ambazonia Self-Defence Council, and is loyal to the Interim Government of Ambazonia. The Red Dragon is mainly active in Lebialem Division, Southwest Region. Oliver was the brother of Chris Anu, former Secretary for Communications of the Interim Government. Throughout his time as a separatist leader, Cameroonian forces erroneously reported that he had been killed three times. He was killed on 12 July 2022, though it remains unclear whether he was killed by Cameroonian forces or in an incident of separatist infighting.
This is a timeline of the Anglophone Crisis during 2020.
Operation Bamenda Clean is an ongoing Cameroonian special counter-insurgency operation in Bamenda, Northwest Region, aimed at preventing armed Ambazonian separatists from operating in the city. By January 2021, Cameroon was gradually achieving what a security analyst at the University of Yaoundé called "relative peace" in Bamenda, and the mayor of the city stated that the operation was succeeding. However, as of March 2021, separatist-imposed ghost towns remained widely respected by the local population, and separatists controlled most roads leading in and out of Bamenda.
The Kumba school massacre took place at Mother Francisca International Bilingual Academy during the Anglophone Crisis, in Kumba, Cameroon, in October 2020.
This is a timeline of the Anglophone Crisis during 2021.
This is a timeline of the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon during 2022.
Clement Mbashie, better known by his nom de guerre "General No Pity", is an Ambazonian separatist who commands several militant groups, most importantly the Bambalang Marine Forces and Bui Unity Warriors, in the Anglophone Crisis.
This is a timeline of the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon during 2023.
Ngong Emmanuel, better known by his pseudonym Capo Daniel, is a Ambazonian separatist and political activist who served as member of the Ambazonia Governing Council (AGovC) and deputy commander of the Ambazonia Defence Forces (ADF) until 2023. Since his resignation from the AGovC and ADF, he has become the commander of the Ambazonia Dark Forces. Daniel has generally operated from exile in Hong Kong.