By Atia Tilarious Azohnwi
Cameroon’s security forces have put up a spirited fight against separatists in the North West and South West regions in the last two months. They seem to have made gains in their effort to decapitate the home-front of the armed groups fighting for the independence of a state they call Ambazonia.
In his end of year address to the nation, Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya urged separatist fighters to surrender and be pardoned or stay on and be “neutralised”.
Hear him: “If my appeal to warmongers to lay down their weapons remains unheeded, the Defence and Security Forces will be instructed to neutralise them. I am well aware of the distress these rebels are causing the populations of these regions. This situation cannot be allowed to continue.”
With no public show of surrender from the separatists, President Biya might have instructed the defense and security forces to engage the last option – that of decapitating the armed groups apparently in a bid to force the rank and file armed fighters to surrender.
Just recently, news of the death of the Commander of the Red Dragons in Lebialem, Oliver Lekeaka aka Field Marshall made rounds on social media. Though the news turned out to be fake, reports have it that his ranks had sustained grave casualties after a military offensive.
Amba ‘General Sebastian’ falls
On Thursday, January 3, 2019, the death of ‘General Sebastian’, a kingpin of the Ambazonia separatist movement in Widikum, Momo Division of the North West region of Cameroon, was reported.
‘General Sebastian’ as he was popularly called was killed during a military raid on his camp in Widikum, reports confirmed.
Security sources say 17 separatist fighters were killed in the course of the raid while several weapons were seized and the camp completely destroyed.
However, the separatist movement in their social media outings dispute the figures portrayed by the army and say only ‘General Sebastian’ was killed in the course of the attack as his ‘soldiers’ fell back and took cover.
Two ‘Ambazonia Generals’ killed in Mamfe
Two kingpins of the Ambazonia armed separatist groups were killed on Sunday January 6, 2019 by elements of the Rapid Intervention Batallion, security sources said.
‘General Obi’ was killed during a raid carried out by the task force of the Rapid Intervention Batallion in the early hours of Sunday.
During the raid another kingpin, Ojong Elvis Ojong aka ‘General Eyong’ was equally killed by the soldiers while several weapons were seized and their camps burnt down.
Army sources said they were still continuing with their various operations to dismantle the various separatist camps in the town of Mamfe and neighbouring villages.
On the heels of the January decapitating of Amba groups was the killing of Ivo Mbah. The commander of the Ambazonia Defense Force (ADF), popularly known as General Ivo, and three other armed separatists were killed early Friday December 21, 2018 in a clash in Teke, a remote locality in the outskirts of Kumba, Meme Division.
“Chief terrorist called General Ivo was killed during an operation early this morning at Teke,” an army statement said. “His corpse has been brought to the military camp in Mabanda.”
The death was immediately confirmed by Ambazonia Governing Council (AGC), believed to be the main sponsor of ADF.
“This morning, one of Ambazonia’s bravest and finest breed was killed in action. General Ivo died in the battle of Teke,” AGC leader Ayaba Cho posted on his Facebook page.
There were conflicting reports about who killed the separatist leader. Some say he was killed when a local armed vigilante group attacked his camp but the army said he was killed by Cameroon’s elite Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR).
Ivo, said to be one of the very first separatists who took up arms to fight the Cameroonian army, was reportedly controlling over 30 camps of armed separatists across the restive Anglophone regions.
Ivo’s demise came after that of the purported ‘Amba General for Fako’; ‘Commander Tiger’, ‘General Bie-bier’ and others in Guzang following internal clashes. Amba ‘General Amigo’ and nine others were killed in Belo on November 16.
At least ten suspected separatist fighters were killed on Friday November 16, in an operation carried out by Cameroon security forces, sources have confirmed.
Security sources say an operation launched in the early hours of that Friday enabled security forces to ambush the fighters including their kingpin popularly called “General Amigo”.
However, separatists say they were set up by an insider at a funeral before they were ambushed by security forces in Belo.
‘General Amigo’ was last seen in a video on Monday November 12 alongside another ring leader ‘General RK’ as both men seem to reassure their followers of their ‘unity’. The whereabouts of ‘General RK’ has since remained a mystery.
What has since been intriguing to observers is the solo and isolated nature in which the ‘generals’ and ‘commanders’ were picked out and ‘neutralised’. Social media activists have it that ‘General’ Ivo was killed as the result of an in-house plot which may not be unconnected to the infighting that has since emerged within the ranks of the separatists.
The Interim Government (IG) of Dr. Samuel Sako and the Ambazonia Governing Council of Lucas Cho Ayaba seem to be in a long drawn war. Chris Anu, Ambazonia’s secretary for communication is said to have engaged Prof. Carlson Anyangwe and Milan Atam.
As the diaspora grinds in greed, the home front bleeds in blood. Many are those who are calling on those in the diaspora to shift grounds and make meaning out of the trumpeted calls for dialogue. The pain and suffering is too much for the indolent masses, analysts say.