BY SANDRA LUM
For over five years, a brutal armed conflict has been raging in the English-speaking North West and South West Regions.
Separatist fighters, who have taken up arms against the state and clamouring for the breaking away of the North West and South West Regions into a state they have christened Republic of Amabazonia, having been clashing the military.
But as the crisis rages on, there have been new twists with residents in some localities in the conflict-hit regions being caught between atrocities committed by Ambazonia separatist fighters and government’s clampdown on suspected separatists and sympathisers of the Anglophone cause, with the use of defence and security forces.
Some, who are accused by separatist fighters of siding with the military, are often abducted by the fighters, and are either killed or are only set free after the payment of huge amounts of money as ransom. Meanwhile, those accused by the military of collaborating with the fighters are also either killed by the military, or are arrested, tortured and detained under very inhumane conditions. Some have reportedly died in detention.
Because of the rising insecurity in the crisis-affected regions, many have been fleeing for safety. A case in point is that of Abunaw Agbor Henry, who used to live in Ukraine. Abunaw is said to have, in December 2021, travelled to Cameroon, with his fiancé, whose name we got as Ano Mbede Bouli Lune, and their son, Abunaw Agbor Ano Henry. They are said to have traveled to Cameroon for the 15 years death celebration of Abunaw Agbor’s father.
However, while in Egbekaw village in Mamfe Central Subdivision, Manyu Division of the South West Region, on February 15, 2022, separatist fighters are reported to have stormed Abunaw Agbor’s family residence, kidnapping him, his fiance and son. They are said to have been whisked away to one of the camps of the separatist fighters.
The Ambazonia separatist fighters are reported to have accused Abunaw Agbor of being a “blackleg” and having not been supporting their “fight for liberation”
Abunaw is said to have only been freed the next day after, following the payment of ransom of an undisclosed amount of money.
But Abunaw Agbor’s ordeal was far from over. The separatists are said to have insisted that before his fiancé and son will be released, he must bring five bags of rice, which he must deliver himself at a spot they indicated to him. Abunaw is said to have taken the bags of rice to the spot and his wife and son were released,
Nevertheless, on their way home, they came across the military, who accused him of having links with, collaborating with the fighters, supplying them arms and providing financial and technical support. The military is said to have claimed that the bags Abunaw had taken to the separatists contained arms.
The soldiers are said to have ordered Abunaw to take them to the spot where he had dropped the bags. But on their way there, the separatist fighters launched an attack on the military. In the midst of the crossfire between the military and the fighters, Abunaw is said to have escaped.
For fear of his life, Abunaw is said to have later taken his partner and son and fled from Egbekaw village. Since then their whereabouts is not known. But it is believed that they left the country.
However, we gathered that on March 1, 2022, the government declared Abunaw wanted and a warrant of arrested was declared for him.
If arrested, Abunaw Agbor Henry will be tried in a military tribunal, under the 2014 anti-terrorism law, whose maximum punishment is the death sentence. That is if he is not killed outright, like many others who have been victims of extrajudicial killings within the context of the armed conflict in the North West and South West Regions.
We also gathered that the separatist fighters in Egbekaw village are accusing Abunaw of having brought the military to attack them. They are said to have vowed to deal with him. If the separatist fighters lay hands on Abunaw, he will definitely be killed like many others who have been victims of atrocities allegedly committed by the fighters.
Origin of Anglophone crisis
It should be recalled that the Anglophone crisis, something that pundits say had been brewing for several years, boiled over in 2016, when Common Law Lawyers in the North West and South West regions went on strike. They were demanding for the return of the federal system of government, redeployment of Civil Law Magistrates back to Civil Law Courts in French Cameroon, among other grievances. Not long after, teachers in the North West and South West regions also went on strike, demanding for the redress of several issues concerning the English system of education.
Things, however, got worst when Anglophones in both regions, who had been fed up with the unfavourable political and economic situation of the country, the use of French as the dominant and official language, and the marginalisation of the Anglophones, joined the strike.
The crisis recently degenerated into an armed conflict when some Anglophones picked up arms to fight for independence of the Anglophone regions.
The armed conflict has caused the deaths of thousands and thousands more internally displaced with some living in bushes while several other thousands have fled to neighbouring Nigeria, where they are living as refugees.
Separatist leader, Sissiku Ayuk Tabe, and nine others, who were arrested in Nigeria and later extradited to Cameroon, are currently detained at the Kondengui maximum security prison in Yaounde, where they are serving life sentences.
Many other activists such as Mancho Bibixy, Penn Terrence, Tsi Conrad, among others, are also serving jail terms at the Kondengui prison.
While the Anglophone crisis continues to escalate, international organisations and other western powers have called on the government to address the root cause through genuine and inclusive dialogue.