Operation Free Bafut

Last updated
Operation Free Bafut
Part of the Anglophone Crisis
Bafut - NorthWest Region - Cameroon.png
View of the village of Bafut
Date26 April – May 1, 2020 [1]
Location
Bafut, Northwest Region, Cameroon
Result Armed separatists weakened [2] but not expelled entirely from Bafut [3]
Belligerents
Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon Flag of the Federal Republic of Southern Cameroons.svg  Ambazonia
Commanders and leaders
Col. Alain Charles Matiang [1] General Peace Plant  † [1]
General Alhaji  † [1]
Units involved
Rapid Intervention Battalion
501st Airforce Base [4]
Motorized Infantry Brigade [4] 		Seven Karta
Strength
More than 300 soldiers [2] ?
Casualties and losses
None dead, some wounded
(Cameroonian claim) [5]
Unknown number dead or wounded
(separatist claim) [5] 		15 dead
(Cameroonian claim, confirmed by separatists) [1]
13 civilians dead (according to locals) [5]
No civilian casualties (Cameroonian claim) [5]

Operation Free Bafut was a week-long Cameroonian military operation against the Seven Karta militia in and around Bafut that resulted in the deaths of two separatist generals. [1]

Contents

Background

Following the beginning of an armed rebellion in the Anglophone areas of Cameroon, Bafut quickly became a battleground between separatist forces and the Cameroonian military. Local taxi operators who lost their livelihood due to the conflict organized the "Seven Karta" militia around 2017/18, and occupied parts of the region. [6] Government troops raided the Bafut Royal Palace at least twice in 2018 and 2019, both times claiming to search for armed separatists. Though no rebels were found in either raid, the soldiers used the occasions to burn part of the palace, loot its museum, and injured the Fon's brother. [7]

Battle

The operation was launched on April 26, with the official aim of expelling the Seven Karta militia from Bafut. The operation involved more than 300 soldiers, and consisted of a series of raids on separatist camps. Throughout the first day of the operation, several people were arrested while one civilian was killed. [8] One of the main aims of the operation was to secure Saddle Ranch hotel, a tourist site which armed separatists had turned into a base. [1] The operation also involved a raid inside the palace of the Fon of Bafut. [9] Separatists claimed that the palace was damaged during the operation, though the Cameroonian military denied these charges. [1] [4]

On May 1, the Cameroonian Army announced the deaths of two separatist generals known as General Peace Plant and General Alhaji. [2] The Cameroonian Army also captured weapons, ammunition, six motorbikes, a vehicle and two horses from the separatists. [1]

Casualties

The Cameroonian Army claimed that no civilians had been killed during the fighting. This was disputed by local villagers, who claimed that 13 civilians had died. The Cameroonian Army announced that it had killed 15 separatists, including the two generals; this was not disputed by the separatists, who in turn claimed to have inflicted losses on the Cameroonian Army. Cameroon claimed that only a few of its soldiers had been wounded. [5]

Aftermath

Operation Free Bafut succeeded in weakening the separatists in the area, but did not spell a definite end of separatist activity in Bafut. In November, Cameroonian soldiers re-invaded the town and burned down several houses. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bamenda</span> Place in Northwest, Cameroon

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 km (227 mi) north-west of the Cameroonian capital, Yaoundé. Bamenda is known for its cool climate and scenic hilly location.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anglophone Crisis</span> 2017–present separatist conflict in Cameroon

The Anglophone Crisis, also known as the Ambazonian War of Independence or the Cameroonian Civil War, is an ongoing civil war in the former Southern Cameroons regions of Cameroon, part of the long-standing Anglophone problem with profound root causes. Following the suppression of the 2016–17 Cameroonian protests, Ambazonian nationalists or separatists in the Anglophone territories of Northwest and Southwest 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International reactions to the Anglophone Crisis</span>

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 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.

Seven Karta is an Ambazonian separatist militia that is part of the Ambazonia Self-Defence Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lekeaka Oliver</span> Ambazonian separatist commander (1968–2022)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ngarbuh massacre</span> 2020 attack in Cameroon

The Ngarbuh massacre took place in northwestern Cameroon on 14 February 2020 during the Anglophone Crisis, and resulted in the murder of 21 civilians, including 13 children, by Cameroonian soldiers and armed Fulani militia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Bamenda Clean</span> Part of the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon

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.

This is a timeline of the Anglophone Crisis during 2021.

On 16 September 2021, two Ambazonian separatist groups, namely the Bambalang Marine Forces and Jaguars of Bamessing, ambushed a military convoy near Bamessing, Ngo-Ketunjia. The ambush was one of the deadliest single separatist attacks so far in the Anglophone Crisis, and led to the announcement of a "paradigm shift" by Cameroon's Defense Minister Joseph Beti Assomo six days later.

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.

Events in the year 2022 in Cameroon.

This is a timeline of the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon during 2023.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Cameroon:Two Ambazonia ‘Generals’ killed after military raid in Bafut, Journal du Cameroun, May 4, 2020. Accessed May 4, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 Military Launches Operation Free Bafut, Bamenda Online, May 1, 2020. Accessed May 1, 2020.
  3. 1 2 Twitter, Cameroon News Agency, Nov 2, 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 "Cameroon: North West - Defence Forces Destroy Armed Fighters Camp in Bafut". AllAfrica. 5 May 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Cameroon Military Denies Civilian Deaths in ‘Successful’ Raids on Rebels, Voice of America, May 4, 2020. Accessed May 7, 2020.
  6. ↑ Cameroon's Anglophone crisis: Red Dragons and Tigers - the rebels fighting for independence, BBC, Oct 4, 2018. Accessed Mar 13, 2019.
  7. ↑ Ilaria Allegrozzi (11 October 2019). "World Heritage Site Attacked in Cameroon". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  8. ↑ Cameroon: One killed in military raid in North West region, Journal du Cameroun, Apr 27, 2020. Accessed Apr 27, 2020.
  9. ↑ Twitter, Cameroon News Agency, Apr 29, 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.