ANGLOPHONE CRISIS: Government Intensifies Manhunt for Anglophone Activists After Soldiers Killed in Nkambe and Muyuka*

The killing of four soldiers in separate ambushes by Ambazonian fighters during protests against the May 20 celebrations in the Anglophone regions has drawn a sharp response from the Cameroonian government.

One soldier was killed in Remi a quarter of  Bongom village in Nkambe Central, Donga Mantung Division, Northwest Region on the 14th May and three others  killed in Muyuka Subdivision, Southwest Region on the 17th May.

A highly placed source told The Vanguard on condition of anonymity that the government is scheming  stricter security measures targeting Anglophones in the  diaspora,  accusing them  of financing the armed struggle back home. 

According to the source, the state plans to tighten study visas for Anglophones  youths seeking to advance their education in Europe, America, and Asia, alleging that many of them end up  involving in Anglophone activism and funding  separatist fighters back home.

SCNC activist Patrick Ndangoh who ended up  dying under detention in Yaounde. 

The source also said special security forces  have been dispatched to Europe, the U.S., and Asian countries to identify supporters of the Anglophone struggle and fish them from their hideout to face the heavy arm of the law. 

He hinted that State intelligence services have reportedly infiltrated SCNC networks abroad, and several leaders are being targeted for arrest.

Over 50 names allegedly linked to the SCNC — including Ngensa Emmanuel, Ngum George, Fabian Ayuk, Gur Etienne Ntaryike, Talla Marie Orock, Shallot Mbime, and Ndifor Benjamin ,have been forwarded to Yaoundé from China, the U.S., Belgium, the UK, Brazil, and Italy for legal actions to be taken against them.

On the issue of marginalization of Anglophones in Cameroon, the source acknowledged that the problem has not been  given  due attention, but condemned the use of arms against the state as a solution. Our source happened to be a Anglophone serving the state of Cameroon in Yaounde. He told The Vanguard that Anglophones under detention in  Military barracks in Yaounde are in appalled social conditions.  " I would leave this country  if I have the lease opportunity as I have been accused of facilitating the escape Anglophones detainees from our camp.

It should be recalled  that  the Anglophone crisis remains one of the most neglected crises in the world. According to the Norwegian Refugee Council.

Their latest report indicates that over  3.4 Million people are  affected by the crisis. 

The Norwegian Refugee Council  in her recent report recounts that for the third consecutive year, the Cameroon’s English-speaking regions crisis  is one of  the world’s most neglected humanitarian  crisis.

The NRC’s 2024 report, released places Cameroon ahead of Burkina Faso on its annual list of the ten most overlooked crises globally. The organization says the situation in the Northwest and Southwest regions remains acute, with approximately 3.4 million people in urgent need of assistance and protection. More than 1.1 million people are internally displaced, while nearly 500,000 have sought refuge in neighboring Nigeria.

20 May: A Date of Historical doom of Anglophones 

Many  anglophones consider  May 20 which marks the anniversary of Cameroon’s 1972  referendum that established a unitary state, replacing the federal structure agreed  upon at the 1961 cosmetic Foumban conference, the waterloo of their cultural identity and have  since then been agitating.

 The Foumban talks reportedly sidelined anglophone interests after British trusteeship ended, setting in a motion  gradual erosion of political and cultural autonomy of the Anglophones. 

Since then,  pundits have observed that the anglophones minority  are  marginalized  in national politics, administration, and public services. 

In most   parts of the Northwest and Southwest, schools have remained closed for close  to a decade due to insecurity and strikes, disrupting the education of children.

 Humanitarian and Human Rights Concerns 

The Norwagian Refugee Council (NRC) attributes the lack of international response to a combination of factors: limited humanitarian funding, minimal media coverage, and what it describes as insufficient political will from the international community to intervene.

The organization warns that instability and violence have continued to escalate, while government acknowledgment of the scale of the crisis has remained limited.

Human rights groups and local sources report widespread allegations of arbitrary arrest and detention. Civilians are said to have been targeted by both state security forces and armed separatist groups, with some detained and released only after ransom payments. The NRC notes that many innocent civilians have lost their lives or being  imprisoned for offenses they did not commit, as the crisis has become entangled with the activities of the judiciary, military, and separatist fighters.

A Crisis Without a Platform

It should be recalled that despite the scale of displacement and humanitarian need, the issue has rarely been the subject of substantive debate in Cameroon’s National Assembly. Political Pundits describe the absence of formal deliberation as dehumanizing, arguing that it leaves anglophone grievances without a legitimate political outlet.

The conflict in the Northwest and Southwest regions remains one of the longest-running internal conflicts in Central Africa, with no comprehensive ceasefire or proper  political attention by the state.

 When news breakout,we break, giving every detail as events unfold. 

By Vanguard Media Group 

CEO: Chifu Edward C.

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