Anglophone Crisis

Civil War in Cameroon

The ongoing war in Cameroon, also known as the Anglophone Crisis or the Ambazonia Conflict, has been a source of instability and violence in the country for several years. The conflict is rooted in historical and political grievances, and has led to a humanitarian crisis that has affected thousands of people.

Cameroon is a bilingual country, with English and French being the official languages. The country was formed in 1961 when the British Southern Cameroons and the French Cameroun joined together to form a federation. However, tensions arose between the Anglophone minority in the Southern Cameroons and the Francophone majority in the rest of the country, as the Anglophones felt marginalized and discriminated against.

The current conflict began in 2016, when Anglophone lawyers and teachers began protesting against the imposition of French-speaking judges and teachers in Anglophone areas. The protests were met with a violent crackdown by the government, which further inflamed tensions. Separatist groups emerged, calling for the secession of the Anglophone regions and the creation of a new state called Ambazonia.

The government responded with a heavy-handed approach, deploying the military to crush the separatist movement. The conflict has since escalated, with both sides engaging in acts of violence and human rights abuses. Civilians have been caught in the crossfire, and many have been forced to flee their homes. There have been reports of extrajudicial killings, torture, and arbitrary arrests by both the military and the separatists.

The humanitarian situation in Cameroon has deteriorated as a result of the conflict. According to the United Nations, over 700,000 people have been displaced, and more than 3 million are in need of humanitarian assistance. The conflict has disrupted essential services such as health care and education, leaving many vulnerable populations without access to basic necessities.

Efforts to resolve the conflict have been hampered by a lack of political will on both sides. The government has rejected calls for dialogue, while the separatists have refused to lay down their arms. The international community has called for an end to the violence and for both sides to come to the negotiating table, but so far these calls have gone unheeded.

Essay written by Oscar Auliq-Ice
© Oscar Auliq-Ice.

Related posts:

As soon as you go outside with the conveniences of modernity removed, you enter a new environment and instantly begin to play the game called survive and thrive. Failure to play this game, by the…

The model created by US start-up OpenAI and supported by Microsoft, which allows users to ask questions and receive natural language responses, has been subject to privacy concerns by the Italian…

In this progress report, we revisit the issues highlighted in last year’s review of the Bitcoin ecosystem and see how things have improved, and also highlight completely new developments. I’ve been…