#ambazonia

Introduction: The Ongoing Anglophone Conflict in Cameroon The Cameroon conflict is a tragic and prolonged struggle that has engulfed the country’s English-speaking regions for nearly a decade. The crisis pits separatist groups fighting for the independence of Ambazonia against government forces determined to maintain national unity. This armed conflict has devastated communities, leaving…

October 14/2024 NEWS Key Legal Victory for Dr. Ayaba Cho as Norwegian Court Moves Case ForwardIn a pivotal development, the legal team defending Dr. Ayaba Cho has secured an important early victory in a Norwegian court. The court has decided to proceed with the trial, focusing on whether the alleged crimes occurred in the territory of “One Cameroon” or in the former British Southern Cameroons,…

A group of 30 women were kidnapped by pro-independence rebels nearly four days ago in western Cameroon, which has been bloodied for more than six years by a conflict between separatists from the English-speaking minority and the security forces, according to authorities.

They were "severely tortured and abducted by armed terrorists" in the village of Kedjom Keku, in the North West region, where armed separatist groups frequently kidnap civilians, mainly for ransom, the prefecture of the Mezam department said in a statement Tuesday.

The authorities always use the word "terrorists" to refer to armed rebels demanding independence for the North-West and South-West regions, which they call "Ambazonia", populated mainly by the English-speaking minority of this predominantly French-speaking central African country.

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A colonel in the army told AFP on Tuesday evening that some 30 women were abducted by separatists on Saturday morning and that they had not yet been found. The communication service of the Ministry of Territorial Administration confirmed to AFP that the authorities had "no news of the hostages" on Tuesday evening.

The day before their abduction, these "elderly" women were organising a "peaceful march to protest (...) against the exactions and criminal activities of the terrorists", the Mezam prefecture said.

The two English-speaking regions have been the scene of a deadly conflict since late 2016 between separatist rebels on one side, who call themselves the "Amba Boys" or "Amba Fighters", and the army and police on the other, both sides being regularly accused by international NGOs and the UN of crimes against civilians.

The conflict has left more than 6,000 people dead and forced more than a million people to move, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank.

- "Taxes"-

The women had "publicly demonstrated" the day before their abduction against "the exploitative activities of the Amba Fighters" and in particular the obligation imposed on civilians by the latter to pay them "monthly taxes of 10,000 CFA francs (15 euros) for men and 5,000 for women (7.50 euros)", explains in a statement the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa (CHRDA), an NGO based in Yaoundé which documents human rights violations in Africa.

The rebels claim that they collect these "taxes" to finance their "war effort for independence".

A video is circulating on social networks, purporting to show these women, sitting on the ground and obviously frightened, which AFP was unable to authenticate but which the CHRDA quotes and describes in its statement, ensuring that it was posted by the "Amba Boys".

Armed men insulted and threatened them, saying they were going to kill the women, whom they accused of "complicity with the military", according to the CHRDA, which denounced a "barbaric act" by their kidnappers.

Some armed rebel groups regularly carry out kidnappings for ransom of civilians, sometimes in large groups like the abduction of these 30 women, especially in schools that they accuse of teaching French.

They also regularly commit targeted assassinations against representatives of the authorities but also against civilians whom they accuse of "collaborating with the army".

Their abuses are regularly denounced by international NGOs and the UN, which also regularly accuse the army of committing fatal blunders against civilians, summary executions, acts of torture and even raids and killings in villages.

The conflict broke out at the end of 2016 after the violent repression of peaceful demonstrations by members of English-speaking civil society, some of whom feel ostracised by the French-speaking majority of this country, which has been ruled with an iron fist for more than 40 years by President Paul Biya, 90.

The latter has been intractable, even towards the more moderate who call for a federalist solution to the conflict, and his regime has deployed the elite army and police on a massive scale for more than six years to suppress the rebellion.

[VOA is US State Media]

Cameroon lawmakers say they have high expectations from the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit that begins Tuesday in Washington.

The lawmakers hope the U.S. will agree to prosecute more than 200 leaders of the western Cameroon separatist movement currently living in the United States.

Emmanuel Nsahlai, an American-based human rights lawyer of Cameroonian origin, said the vast majority of people who raise funds to buy weapons for separatist forces in Cameroon's western regions are based in the U.S. "We have filed criminal complaints against close to 200 major Ambazonia separatist activists, all the major leaders in the U.S. of the Ambazonia Governing Council, and also filed criminal complaints against about a dozen of their non-profit organizations that they created to finance this separatist Ambazonia terrorism and violent crimes," Nsahlai said.

Ambazonia is the name armed groups want to give to an English-speaking state they hope to break off from Cameroon and its French-speaking majority. The conflict since 2017 has killed 3,500 people and displaced 750,000, according to the U.N.

Cameroon's government has for years been urging the U.S. and Europe to crack down on separatists operating outside the country.

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has announced plans to hold a one-million man match alongside peoples of the Oodua and Ambazonia nations, at the European Union Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium on June 14 and 15, 2022. This announcement was included in a statement issued by Emma Powerful, the IPOB’s spokesperson.DCO Global News Published on April 14, 2022 By Odoh Dominic…

Cameroonian rebels, Ambazonia, invade Taraba, kill monarch, raze houses

Suspected Ambazonia rebels from Cameroon have invaded  Takum Local Government Area of Taraba State, wreaking havoc. According to the Senate Deputy Minority Leader, Emmanuel Bwacha, the suspects gunned down the village head and some residents of Manga community. Manga village is 20 kilometers away from Kashimbilla Dam. File Photo. The lawmaker, coming under a point of order during Senate plenary…

The President of the Ambazonia Governing Council, leader of Ambazonia Liberation War Dr. Cho Ayaba on Friday in a live broadcast address Biafrans whose leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is set to appear in court on Thursday, October 21, 2021, after he was abducted and extra-ordinary rendition to Nigeria from Nairobi, Kenya.Read the full transcript of the live broadcast below;DCO Global News Published on…