September 2021 Bamessing ambush | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the Anglophone Crisis | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Cameroon | Ambazonia | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Unknown | "General No Pity" [1] "General Sagard" [2] | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
6th Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) [3] | Bambalang Marine Forces [4] Jaguars of Bamessing [2] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
15 killed Two armored vehicles destroyed [4] | None confirmed |
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, [1] and led to the announcement of a "paradigm shift" by Cameroon's Defense Minister Joseph Beti Assomo six days later. [5]
By September 2021, the separatists had acquired anti-tank rockets, probably imported from Nigeria. These weapons were used in a series of attacks, [6] with the first taking place at Kumbo on 12 September. [4]
According to Agence Cameroun Presse, the ambush was jointly organized by two separatist militias, namely the Bambalang Marine Forces led by "General No Pity" and the Jaguars of Bamessing commanded by "General Sagard". [2] The attack targeted a convoy of the 6th Rapid Intervention Battalion which was on a reconnaissance mission. [3] The rebels stopped the convoy using an improvised explosive device [7] [8] next to a hill [7] on a road from Bamessing to Sabga, [2] whereupon they fired anti-tank rockets and destroyed two armored vehicles. [4] The insurgents then targeted the government troops with heavy gunfire. [4] Overall, 15 soldiers were killed in the ambush. [2]
Following the ambush, the separatist fighters including "General No Pity" filmed themselves celebrating next to the burning vehicles before taking off with captured weapons. [1] [2] Based on the footage, Agence Cameroun Presse journalist Ariane Foguem argued that rebels had also taken uniforms from the convoy. [2] The insurgents went on to post videos on social media which showed them posing with the naked corpses of the killed soldiers. Foguem also claimed that the rebels had captured some soldiers whom they subsequently tortured to death. [9]
After the attack, Cameroonian forces went to search for the separatists in Babanki and killed at least two civilians. [10] Cameroon's United Socialist Democratic Party, an opposition party, called for a ceasefire between the government and the separatists in response to the ambush, with party president Prince Ekosso stating that the "whole country is bleeding". [6] United People for Social Renovation secretary general Serge Espoir Matomba stated on Facebook that the ambush was a "shameful attack on Cameroon's democracy". [2]
General No Pity was allegedly killed in 2023, although as of May 2024 his death has not been confirmed. [11] General Sagard was killed by Cameroonian forces in May 2024. [12]
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 have engaged in armed conflict with the Cameroonian military, in what is known as the Anglophone Crisis, and have attempted to set up governments-in-exile, and supportive militias have exerted control over parts of the claimed territory. No country has recognized Ambazonia's existence as of 2024.
United People for Social Renovation is a political party in Cameroon.
The Anglophone Crisis, also known as the Ambazonia War, is an ongoing armed conflict in the English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon, between the Cameroonian government and Ambazonian separatist groups, part of the long-standing Anglophone problem. Following the suppression of 2016–17 protests by Cameroonian authorities, separatists in the Anglophone regions launched a guerrilla campaign and later proclaimed independence. Within two months, 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 2018.
This is a timeline of the Anglophone Crisis during 2019.
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, Together with the Ambazonia Defence Forces, it was one of the most prominent militias fighting in the early Anglophone Crisis. It is mainly active in Meme and Fako.
Red Dragon is an Ambazonian separatist militia loyal to the Interim Government of Ambazonia, and is part of the Ambazonia Self-Defence Council. It was led by Lekeaka Oliver, and controlled most of Lebialem Division in the Southwest Region, driving away the traditional rulers and local administrators. The group was greatly weakened in 2022, with Oliver being killed.
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.
This is a timeline of the Anglophone Crisis during 2021.
The Anglophone Crisis is an ongoing armed conflict in the Republic of Cameroon in Central Africa, where historically English-speaking Ambazonian separatists are seeking the independence of the former British trust territory of Southern Cameroons, which was unified with Cameroon since 1961.
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.
Operation Bui Clean, also called Operation Kumbo Clean or Operation Clean Kumbo, was a military offensive conducted by the Cameroon Armed Forces against Ambazonian separatists in Cameroon's Northwest Region from May to June 2021. The operation took place in the context of the Anglophone Crisis.
This is a timeline of the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon during 2024.