War Profiteers: Cameroom Government Military Forces and Ambazonian Separatist Fighters Exploit Conflict for Profit

Ever since the Anglophone crisis cracked down in the two English speaking regions of the North West and South West regions of Cameroon in 2016, all attempts to get both parties to a negotiating table have failed.

It all started when people of these two regions cried out against a massive marginalisation levelled on them by the Yaounde-Cameroon regime.They protested and took to the streets demanding for fair treatment. Teachers, lawyers, bike riders and many others coordinated by human rights activists and opinion leaders; Mancho Bibixy,Felix Ngalim, Barrister Agbor Nkongho and others, took to the streets and they were later on arrested, jailed and tortured.

All these spurred anger of many Anglophones as they resolved to create a resistance force in a bid to put an end to the series of arbitrary arrests launched by dictator and gerontocrat Paul Biya Bi Mvondo and his La Republic military troops.

Sissiku Ayuk Tabe, leader of the Ambazonia Republic fighting for cessation and more then ten others, were later on arrested in the Federal Republic of Nigeria and jailed at the Yaounde Nkondengui central prison till today.

Despite all efforts by nations like Canada, France and many others to mediate and put an end to this crisis, separatist fighters and government forces have kept these two regions under tension.

This is simply because both forces have transformed this war into a money making scgeme and those paying the price are the poor citizens who have been forced to flee and abandon their property. Those who succeed to stay, are regularly kidnapped by so-called separatist fighters and huge ransoms demanded before their release. Women are regularly raped and children forced to pick up fire arms and join the seperatist fighters.

In the ranks of the Cameroon government, top military officers and government officials have been « fed fat » from this crisis ever since it started due to funds regularly disbursed to purchase fire arms and sustain troops  on ground.

Ambazonian leaders abroad have been gathering enough funds from sympathisers abroad and enriching themselves with all in the name of purchasing sophisticated weapons and sustaining separatist fighters on ground.

This is a real war market that’s been going on since 2016 and the local population has been paying the price. « Something must be done to put an end to this nightmare » a military officer laments.

The only solution is pushing the warring parties concerned to a dialogue table as all cosmetic solutions set up by the Cameroon government and the Ambazonian leaders have yielded no fruits till today.

Yomkil Kana

Cameroon