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49-674: The Southern Cameroons Youth League (SCYL) was an Ambazonian independence movement, led by Ayaba Cho Lucas and Ebenezer Akwanga . While Ayaba went on to become the leader of the Ambazonia Governing Council , Akwanga saw SCYL transform into the African People's Liberation Movement . SCYL was one of the organizations that arose from the split of the Southern Cameroons National Council . This Cameroon -related article

98-623: A provisional government in exile . In course of the insurgency, however, this government-in-exile splintered several times, resulting in infighting and several factions claiming to be the legitimate leadership of Ambazonia. This infighting hampered the coordination among the rebels as well as negotiations between separatists and the Cameroonian government. Despite the Interim Government's internal disputes, its members and other exile activists have maintained some influence over

147-764: A Regional Executive Council. Additional powers over health and education were also granted to municipalities. The Regional Executive Council is led by the President of the Regional Assembly and includes a vice president, three commissioners, two secretaries and a questor. The first committee, elected in December 2020, was as follows: The region was notable for having the first English-speaking university in Cameroon (the University of Buea). Towns include

196-508: A cable TV distributor got arrested for four days for airing images of the SCBC. On social media platforms such as Facebook , hate speech, propaganda and disinformation have been shown by both sides. The Ambazonians have been accused of using fake news headlines and photo manipulation. Over the course of the insurgency, Ambazonian insurgents have also framed their struggle in religious terms to gain support. The separatist insurgents involved in

245-627: A fear of domination by much larger Nigeria. Endeley was defeated in elections on 1 February 1959 by John Ngu Foncha . Southern Cameroons federated with Cameroon on 1 October 1961 as " West Cameroon ", with its own prime minister . However, the English-speaking peoples of the Southern Cameroons did not believe that they were fairly treated by the 80% majority French-speaking government of the country. Then-president Ahmadou Ahidjo feared that Southern Cameroons would secede from

294-658: A reference to the destruction caused by the civil war. The area around the mouth of the Wouri River is where the English language was permanently established for the first time in Southern Cameroons, when missionary Alfred Saker founded a settlement of freed slaves by Ambas Bay in 1858, which was later renamed Victoria (present-day Limbe ). In 1884, the area became the British Ambas Bay Protectorate, with Victoria as its capital. Britain ceded

343-627: A result of torture by rebel militias, are described as "short-sleeved", while the act of cutting off someone's fingers is termed "garri". Southwest Region (Cameroon) In 1884, the region was colonized by Germany under the Protectorate regime until 1916 when it became a condominium administered jointly by the United Kingdom and France . In 1919, the administration of the South West region became solely British. In 1961,

392-708: A total school strike since 2017 due to concerns over the lack of Anglophone teachers and curriculum. Teachers and students have been kidnapped and killed and many schools and school materials burned while many children have had no schooling since the crisis began. Others have alleged that some militias have engaged in ransom attacks against civilians to fund their continued activities. Meanwhile, government forces have torched entire villages suspected of harboring separatists, disappeared and executed civilians without due process, and tortured detainees. Reports of indiscriminate killings, torture, rape and other gender-based violence by both sides have been widely reported. The governments of

441-586: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Ambazonia 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

490-454: Is derived from the word Ambozes , the local name for the bay at the mouth of the Wouri river, known in English as Ambas Bay . The name was coined by Fon Gorji Dinka in 1984 as part of a campaign for the restoration of autonomy and preservation of Anglophone institutions in the region. The term Ambazonia is more usually associated with the separatist or independence-seeking faction, while

539-595: The Ambazonia administration regard both the Northwest and Southwest regions as being constituent components of their envisaged breakaway state. The region is divided into six divisions or departments : Fako , Koupé-Manengouba , Lebialem , Manyu , Meme and Ndian . These are in turn broken down into subdivisions. Presidentially appointed senior divisional officers ( prefets ) and subdivisional officers ( sous-prefets ) govern each respectively. As part of

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588-619: The Cameroonian English dialect . However, separatist forces have also developed a unique slang in the context of the insurgency. For instance, rebels call their camps "churches", conveying deeper spiritual meaning to these important places where insurgents can organize and hide. Researcher Roderick Lando also speculated that the term "church" was connected to the rebels conducting rituals invoking protective magic at their camps. Similarly, some rebels refer to their guns as "bibles" and their attacks as "crusades", whereas others use

637-558: The Major National Dialogue , the region was given a "special status" in December 2019, granting additional rights and responsibilities in relation to economic, health, social, educational, sports and cultural development. Under the special status the region has a bicameral Regional Assembly, made up of a 20-member House of Chiefs composed of traditional leaders and a 70-member House of Divisional Representatives nominated by municipal councils. The Regional Assembly appoints

686-597: The "Buea Declaration", which called for constitutional amendments to restore the 1961 federation. This was followed by the second All Anglophone Conference (AAC2) in Bamenda in 1994. This conference issued the "Bamenda Declaration", which stated that if the federal state was not restored within a reasonable time, Southern Cameroons would declare its independence. The AAC was renamed the Southern Cameroons Peoples Conference (SCPC), and later

735-592: The ASC on some level. There are also dozens of smaller militias. The insurgent groups differ considerably in their aims and methods, though they generally enjoy some level of grassroots support among the rural population. However, civilian support suffered over the rebellion's course, as a growing number of locals became dissatisfied with the separatists' conduct, rebel infighting, and the conflict's extended duration. Most rebel groups engage to some level in criminal activities such as kidnapping for ransom and illegally taxing

784-731: The Anglophone Crisis consider themselves loyal to Ambazonia and use the Ambazonian national symbols, but they are split into dozens of often competing militias of changing political allegiances. The militia commanders have been described as " warlords " by researchers. The armed separatists are locally called "Amba Boys". The militias generally vary in size, ranging from small groups to alliances with hundreds of members. The rebel militias are mainly recruited from Anglophone youths who have either lost family members to Cameroonian security forces or believe that they have no future on

833-650: The Anglophone regions. In the subsequent trials, Amnesty International and the SCNC found substantive evidence of admissions through torture and force. The raid and trial resulted in a shutdown of SCNC activities. In response to this, in April 1998 a small faction elected Esoka Ndoki Mukete, a high-ranking member of the Social Democratic Front, as the new chair of the SCNC. In October 1999, when many of

882-672: The Cameroon Bar Association Fongum Gorji Dinka wrote that the Cameroonian government led by Paul Biya was unconstitutional and announced the former Southern Cameroons should become independent as the Republic of Ambazonia. Dinka was incarcerated the following January without trial. Three years later, he escaped to Nigeria. In 1993, representatives of Anglophone groups convened the first All Anglophone Conference (AAC1) in Buea. The conference issued

931-722: The Cameroonian authorities in 2001. In 2006, a faction of SCNC once again declared the independence of Ambazonia. In November 2016, a number of large protests and strikes were organized, initially by Anglophone lawyers, students, and teachers focused on the growing marginalization of English and Anglophone institutions in the law and education. Several demonstrations were violently dispersed by security forces, leading to clashes between demonstrators and police in which several people were killed. Violence by both sides undermined negotiations in early 2017, which fell apart without an agreement. The violence led to additional demonstrations, general strikes (called "lockdowns"), and further crackdowns by

980-495: The Cameroonian government and other official sources, such as the UN, continue to refer to the " Northwest Region " and " Southwest Region " (or sometimes the "NoSo" regions), the official names of the two administrative provinces since 1972. As an alternative to "Ambazonia", separatists have also used "Ambaland". Other sources may also refer to "Southern Cameroons", "Anglophone Cameroon" or "Cameroon's Anglophone regions". To refer to

1029-416: The Cameroonian government. In 2016 and 2017, a widespread protest movement was met with a violent government crackdown, which led to rioting and violence against security forces and, in 2017, a unilateral declaration of independence by Ambazonian leaders. The violence developed into a guerrilla war , and as of 2023 , clashes continue, with population centers and strategic locations largely controlled by

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1078-477: 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. Until 1961, the territory of these regions was the southern part of a British trust territory, British Cameroon while the rest of Cameroon

1127-539: The French-speaking parts of Cameroon, Ambazonian separatists have used the term "la République" and more derogatory descriptors like " banana republic " or "colonial Cameroun". "Banana republic" is used as a criticism of the Cameroonian institutions, whereas "colonial Cameroun" is used to criticize the Francophone dominance. The Ambazonian activists call the war zone of the Anglophone Crisis " Ground Zero ",

1176-633: The Red Dragons, Tigers, ARA, Seven Kata, ABL, with varying levels of coordination with and loyalty to Ambazonian political leaders. In practice, pro-independence militias operate largely autonomously from political leaders, who are mostly in exile. On 5 January 2018, members of the Ambazonia Interim Government in exile in Abuja, Nigeria , including President Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe , were arrested and deported to Cameroon into

1225-685: The Southern Cameroons Peoples Organisation (SCAPO), with the Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC) as the executive governing body. Younger activists formed the Southern Cameroons Youth League (SCYL) in Buea on 28 May 1995. The SCNC sent a delegation, led by John Foncha, to the United Nations, which was received on 1 June 1995 and presented a petition against the 'annexation' of the Southern Cameroons by French Cameroon. This

1274-459: The Southern Cameroons delegation at a conference in London asked for a separate region. The British agreed, and Southern Cameroons became an autonomous region with its capital still at Buea. Elections were held in 1954 and the parliament met on 1 October 1954, with E. M. L. Endeley as Premier. The United Nations organised a plebiscite in the region on 11 February 1961 which put two alternatives to

1323-609: The United States and Germany have expressed concern over the human rights violations and scaled back or cancelled military cooperation with Cameroon over reported abuses. France, the UK as well as the European Parliament have also expressed concern and pushed for negotiations between the parties to resolve the crisis. The separatists assert that Ambazonia is legally governed by the "Interim Government of Ambazonia", as

1372-403: The accused were found guilty in the 1997 trial, the faction led by Mukete became more assertive. On 1 October 1999, militants took over Radio Buea to proclaim the independence of Southern Cameroons, but failed to do so before security forces intervened. The leadership and many members of the SCNC were subsequently arrested. After clashes with the police, the SCNC was officially declared illegal by

1421-567: The area to the German territory of Kamerun in 1887. Germany had some trouble establishing control over the hinterlands of Victoria, and fought the Bafut Wars against local fondoms until 1907. Following World War I and the Treaty of Versailles , Kamerun was divided between a French and a British League of Nations Mandate . The French mandate was known as Cameroun, and comprised most of

1470-458: The constitution, as the majority of deputies from West Cameroon had not consented to legitimize the constitutional changes. They argued that Southern Cameroons had effectively been annexed by Cameroon. Shortly afterwards, French Cameroun's political leadership changed the constitution again, appointed French-speaking Paul Biya as Prime Minister and successor to Ahmadou Ahidjo. In a memorandum dated 20 March 1985, Anglophone lawyer and President of

1519-568: The custody of government forces to face criminal charges. On 4 February 2018, it was announced that US-based preacher Dr. Samuel Ikome Sako would become the Interim President of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, temporarily succeeding Ayuk Tabe. However, despite receiving a life sentence on terrorism charges from a Cameroon court, on 2 May 2019, Ayuk Tabe declared from prison the dissolution of Sako's caretaker cabinet and

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1568-675: The declaration of independence, while fourteen Cameroonian troops were killed in attacks claimed by the Ambazonia Defence Forces . The Cameroonian government stated that the declaration had no legal weight and on 30 November 2017, the President of Cameroon signaled a harder line on separatist attacks on police and soldiers. A massive military deployment accompanied by curfews and forced evacuations of entire villages. This temporarily ended hopes for continued dialogue and kicked off full-fledged guerilla war in Southern Cameroons. Several different armed factions have emerged such as

1617-518: The early phase of the Anglophone Crisis, the "Southern Cameroons Broadcasting Corporation" (formed by exiles in South Africa) was a major channel to distribute propaganda in Cameroon to incite Anglophones into siding with the rebels. Cameroon attempted to then ban the channel, but failed as people could still view it on the internet. On the same day the BBC reported that, Voice of America reported that

1666-448: The former German territory. The British mandate was an elongated strip of land along the border of Colonial Nigeria , consisting of Northern Cameroons and Southern Cameroons, including the historical Ambas Bay Protectorate. This territory was organized as British Cameroons . The British administered the territories through indirect rule , allowing native authorities to administer the population according to their own traditions. In 1953,

1715-629: The government engaged in counterinsurgency actions, with swathes of more remote, rural areas controlled by separatist militias and used to launch guerrilla attacks. Ambazonian forces have struggled to form a united front, and internecine conflicts have hampered efforts to negotiate with Cameroon or establish control over the various militia groups engaged in the fighting. Ongoing violence has led to widely reported human rights abuses by both sides, including indiscriminate killing of civilians, torture , rape and other gender-based crimes, unjustified detentions , and kidnappings . The term "Ambazonia"

1764-514: The government into early 2017, including the banning of civil society organizations, cutting off phone and internet connections from January to April, and arrests of demonstrators. Although the government established a Commission to focus on Anglophone grievances and took steps to address issues of language equity in courts and schools, continued distrust and harsh responses to protests prevented significant deescalation. By late 2017, with dialogue efforts moribund and violence continuing on both sides,

1813-403: The idea of an Ambazonian nation state, exile activists have also set up a variety of other organizations to support the Interim Government. These include the "Southern Cameroons Ambazonia Consortium United Front" (SCACUF), the "Southern Cameroon Broadcasting Corporation" (SCBC) to spread propaganda, and a "Southern Cameroon Ambazonia Education Board" (SCAEB) to enforce a new curriculum in schools in

1862-618: The labour market of a Francophone Cameroon. Militias are also known to conscript people, including children, into their ranks. Some rebels have also kidnapped girls to serve as sex slaves. Many guerilla groups have joined the Ambazonia Self-Defence Council (ASC) under the Interim Government. Major non-ASC groups include the Ambazonia Defence Forces (ADF) and the Southern Cameroons Defence Forces (SOCADEF), which both cooperate with

1911-550: The leading Ambazonian nationalist movements organized the umbrella organization Southern Cameroons Ambazonia Consortium United Front (SCACUF). SCACUF unilaterally declared the region's independence as Ambazonia on 1 October, the anniversary of Southern Cameroons' independence from the United Kingdom. SCACUF sought to transition itself into an interim government with its leader, Sisiku Ayuk Tabe Julius , as interim president. At least 17 people were killed in protests following

1960-463: The local cocoa industry to sustain themselves. A significant number of rebels also use religion to justify their operations. Protective magic and charms ( odeshi ) are important to many insurgents, but "de-contextualised Biblical and Koranic verses" are also used in propaganda videos. Rebel leaders such as General No Pity have publicly suggested that they enjoy mythical and religious protection to enhance their reputation. Ambazonians generally use

2009-604: The people: union with Nigeria or union with Cameroon. The third option, independence, was opposed by the British representative to the UN Trusteeship Council, Sir Andrew Cohen , and as a result was not listed. In the plebiscite, 60% of voters in the Northern Cameroons voted for union with Nigeria, while 70% of voters in the Southern Cameroons opted for union with Cameroon. The results owed partly to

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2058-491: The rebel areas. Currently, a proposal by members of the Ambazonia Interim Government in exile states that the Federal Republic of Ambazonia would be a federation made up of three autonomous states (however, within the proposed constitution in 'Article 1, Section 1.a' this number may be subject to change). Ambazonian separatists have a major presence in the Internet , and effectively use social media to spread their ideas. In

2107-570: The region joined Cameroon as part of the federated state of West Cameroon . At the end of 2017, an Ambazonian separatist movement in the two English-speaking regions of the North-West and South-West initiated a wave of violence affecting the military, police, business leaders and workers. The separatist militiamen are trying in particular to prevent children from returning to school. Between 2016 and 2019, separatists reportedly ransacked, destroyed or burned more than 174 schools Separatists from

2156-984: The restoration of his own cabinet. Sako resisted, leading to the 2019 Ambazonian leadership crisis . As the violence intensified, international efforts to resolve the crisis picked up. On 13 May 2019, the United Nations Security Council had an informal meeting to discuss the Anglophone Crisis . Peace talks mediated by the Swiss government have fallen apart multiple times, primarily due to factional divisions and lack of actual control over militias by separatist leaders making even preliminary steps difficult. The war has been characterized by guerilla attacks by separatist militias against both security forces and against civilians suspected of collaboration or simply failing to abide militia's declared school and election boycotts or "lockdowns" which prevent all travel and activity. Many militias have sought to enforce

2205-478: The separatist militias operating in Cameroon itself. For instance, separatist exiles have organized fundraising campaigns which included the introduction of their own cryptocurrency , the AmbaCoin ; the resulting money is then used to buy weaponry for the militias on the ground. The commanders of some militias also operate from exile. In order to provide the separatist movement with some cohesion and strengthen

2254-495: The terms "sugarcane" or "stick" for weapons and "groundnuts" for cartridges. Lando argued that the usage of more sacrosanct terms by only some rebel factions may had resulted from the internal disagreements within the separatist movement. In contrast, the term "frying popcorn" for combat situations is very common among rebels. When rebels state that they "wasted" an individual, they describe an assassination. Traitors are termed "blacklegs". Those who had suffered amputations, often as

2303-515: The union, taking its natural resources with it. Following a French Cameroon unilateral referendum on 20 May 1972, a new constitution was adopted in Cameroon which replaced the federal state with a unitary state , and also gave more power to the president. Southern Cameroons lost its autonomous status and became the Northwest Region and the Southwest Region of the Republic of Cameroon. Pro-independence groups claimed that this violated

2352-514: Was a French trust territory, French Cameroon . At independence, a plebiscite was held, and voters in Southern Cameroons opted to join Cameroon as a constituent state of a federal republic . Over time, the power of the central government, dominated by Francophones , expanded at the expense of the region's autonomy. Many inhabitants identify as Anglophones and resent what they perceive as discrimination and efforts to eliminate Anglophone legal, administrative, educational, and cultural institutions by

2401-546: Was followed by a signature referendum the same year, which the organisers claim produced a 99% vote in favour of independence with 315,000 people voting. SCNC activities were routinely disrupted by police. On 23 March 1997, about ten people were killed in a raid on a gendarme camp in Bamenda . The police arrested between 200 and 300 people, mostly SCNC supporters, but also members of the Social Democratic Front , an opposition party with significant support in

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