Related Research Articles
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 2025.
Wirba Joseph Mbiydzenyuy,is a Cameroonian politician,humanitarian and social activist.
Ayaba Cho Lucas is an Ambazonian activist. He is the former Secretary General of the Southern Cameroons Youth League (SCYL) and served as leader of Ambazonia Governing Council (AGovC),a separatist organization in Southern Cameroons that has an armed wing,the Ambazonia Defence Forces (ADF). He was arrested in Norway in September 2024 and charged with incitement of crimes against humanity.
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.
Samuel Ikome Sako is an Ambazonian politician and incumbent president of the internationally unrecognized proto-state of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia. He was elected president of the Interim Government a month after Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe,the first president,was abducted in Nigeria and extradited illegally to Cameroon. From captivity in Yaoundé,the former president Ayuk Tabe announced that he had dismissed Sako in May 2019,a decision that started the long-running Ambazonian leadership crisis.
The president of the Interim Government of Ambazonia is the head of state of the unrecognised breakaway state of Ambazonia,which claims the Northwest Region and Southwest Region of Cameroon. No country has formally recognized Ambazonia's independence and the various pro-independence armed groups have not consistently controlled any territory,but are engaged in guerrilla campaigns against pro-government forces. The territory claimed by Ambazonia is currently the site of an armed conflict between Anglophone separatist guerrillas ("Ambazonians") and the Cameroonian military known as the Anglophone Crisis.
This is a timeline of the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon during 2017.
This is a timeline of the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon during 2018.
This is a timeline of the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon 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 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 four 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.
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 Ambazonian leadership crisis is an ongoing internal conflict within the Interim Government of Ambazonia (IG). The crisis started on 2 May 2019,when a document signed by the first president of Ambazonia,Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe,acting from detention in Yaoundé,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 Kondengui and Buea prison riots occurred on July 22 and 24,2019,respectively. While the first riot started off as a protest against poor prison conditions and unjust detainment,the second riot was carried out in support of the former. Both riots were violently quelled by security forces,and hundreds of prisoners were transported to undisclosed locations. The fate of these prisoners and rumors of casualties during the crushing of the riots had political implications in the ongoing Anglophone Crisis,and brought international attention to the prison conditions. Following the riots,many suspected participants were subjected to torture,and were brought to court and sentenced without their lawyers present.
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.
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 in Cameroon during 2020.
The Anglophone Crisis,an ongoing civil war between the Cameroonian state and Anglophone separatists who are trying to establish a new state called "Ambazonia",broke out due to grievances which built up within Cameroon at large and its English-speaking parts specifically over several decades.
References
- 1 2 3 4 Profile: Meet The Man, Sisiku Julius Ayuktabe, The Ambazonian Revolutionary Leader, Cameroon News Agency, Jan 21, 2019. Accessed Feb 1, 2019.
- 1 2 Cameroon Anglophone crisis: Major incidents over a deadly year (1), AfricaNews, 1 October 2018. Accessed 13 January 2019.
- ↑ "Several killed in Cameroon as anglophones declare 'independent Ambazonia'". Euractiv. 2 October 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
- ↑ Cameroon: Anglophone Crisis - Dialogue Remains the Only Viable Solution, AllAfrica, 7 December 2017. Accessed 9 March 2019.
- ↑ Just In-Dr Samuel Ikome Sako Is New Acting Interim President of The ‘Federal Republic of Ambazonia’, Cameroon News Agency, 4 February 2018. Accessed 19 April 2018.
- ↑ Cameroon: Ambazonia leaders appear before judge at military tribunal, Journal du Cameroun, 28 November 2018. Accessed 13 January 2019.
- ↑ Detained Ambazonia leaders reject Cameroonian nationality in court, Journal du Cameroun, 6 December 2018. Accessed 13 January 2019.
- ↑ Case against Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, others suspended, Journal du Cameroun, 10 January 2019. Accessed 8 July 2019.
- ↑ Cameroon: Ambazonian leader sets conditions for dialogue, Journal du Cameroun, 28 May 2019. Accessed 8 July 2019.
- ↑ Cameroon: Nigerian Court orders return of Ambazonia leaders, Journal du Cameroun, 1 March 2019. Accessed 1 March 2019.
- ↑ Cameroon: Detained Ambazonia leaders issue ‘freedom protocol’ from jail, Journal du Cameroun, 5 March 2019. Accessed 8 July 2019.
- ↑ Cameroon: Detained Ambazonia leaders to boycott court sessions till further notice, Journal du Cameroun, 27 April 2019. Accessed 27 April 2019.
- ↑ Cameroon: Ambazonia leaders ‘pressured’ to appear before Appeal court, Journal du Cameroun, 16 May 2019. Accessed 17 May 2019.
- ↑ Cameroon: Detained Ambazonia leader dissolves ‘Interim Government’, Journal du Cameroun, 2 May 2019. Accessed 8 July 2019.
- ↑ Cameroon: Confusion as detained Ambazonia leader impeached by peers, Journal du Cameroun, 12 June 2019. Accessed 12 June 2019.
- ↑ Cameroon: Sepratist hardliners react after impechment of detained Ambazonia leader, Journal du Cameroun, 12 June 2019. Accessed 12 June 2019.
- ↑ Crise anglophone : Un ancien député du SDF appelle les séparatistes à dire la vérité aux masses souffrantes, Le Bled Parle, 4 July 2019. Accessed 4 July 2019. (French)
- ↑ Cameroon: Detained Ambazonia leaders to go on hunger strike over missing prisoners, Journal du Cameroun, 30 July 2019. Accessed 30 July 2019.
- ↑ Cameroon: Detained Ambazonia leaders handed life sentence, Journal du Cameroun, Aug 20, 2019. Accessed Aug 20, 2019.
- ↑ Cameroon anglophone separatist leader handed life sentence, The Guardian, Aug 20, 2019. Accessed Aug 20, 2019.
- ↑ Cameroon: Life jail sentence is a major push to our restoration quest- Ambazonia leaders, Journal du Cameroun, Aug 26, 2019. Accessed Aug 27, 2019.
- ↑ Court Upholds Life Sentence Of Ambazonia Leaders, Lawyers Say Judgement Is Scandalous, Cameroon News Agency, Sep 19, 2020. Accessed Sep 19, 2020.
- ↑ Cameroon:Detained Ambazonia leader rubbishes Major National Dialogue resolutions, Journal du Cameroun, Oct 10, 2019. Accessed Jan 27, 2020.
- ↑ Dr. Sako sworn in as President of Ambazonia, Mimi Mefo Infos, Nov 30, 2019. Accessed Nov 30, 2019.
- ↑ Jailed Ambazonia Leaders Fear For Their Lives, Cameroon News Agency, Jan 26, 2020. Accessed Jan 26, 2020.
- ↑ COVID-19 Ceasefire: The Big Four React, Cameroon News Agency, Jul 5, 2020. Accessed Jul 7, 2020.
- ↑ Political Infighting Could Obstruct a Nascent Peace Process in Cameroon, World Politics Review, Sep 22, 2020. Accessed Sep 23, 2020.
- ↑ "Ambazonia leader calls for unity, peace between groups". Cameroon News Agency. Retrieved 2024-01-02.