Ambazonia,alternatively the "Federal Republic of Ambazonia" or "State of Ambazonia",is a political entity proclaimed by Anglophone separatists who are seeking independence from Cameroon. The separatists claim that Ambazonia should consist of the Northwest Region and Southwest Region of Cameroon. Since 2017,Ambazonian rebels are in an armed conflict with the Cameroonian military,in what is known as the Anglophone Crisis,setting up a government-in-exile and capturing some territory. No country has recognized Ambazonia's existence as of 2023.
Ayaba Cho Lucas is an Ambazonian activist. He is the former Secretary General of the Southern Cameroons Youth League (SCYL) and is the current leader of Ambazonia Governing Council,a separatist organization in Southern Cameroons.
Ayaba was expelled from the University of Buea in 1993 because he had led a one-man demonstration against tuition increases;he has been in exile from Cameroon since then. He eventually ended up in Norway,where he studied human rights and development at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences,and from where he has based his activism ever since. In January 2017,Ayaba was allegedly targeted for assassination in Brussels,Belgium.
The Anglophone Crisis,also known as the Ambazonia War or the Cameroonian Civil War,is an ongoing conflict between Ambazonian militant groups and the Cameroonian government in the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon,part of the long-standing Anglophone problem. Following the suppression of 2016–17 protests by Cameroonian authorities,Ambazonian separatists in the Anglophone regions launched a guerrilla campaign against the Cameroon Armed Forces,and later unilaterally proclaimed independence. In November 2017,the government of Cameroon declared war on the separatists and sent its army into the Anglophone regions.
The Ambazonia Defence Forces (ADF) are a military organization that fights for the independence of Ambazonia,a self-declared independent state in the Anglophone regions of the former Southern Cameroons,Cameroon. It was formally established by the Ambazonia Governing Council (AGovC) on 9 September 2017,the same day as the organization declared a war of independence.
Ivo Mbah was an Ambazonian general who fought in the Anglophone Crisis. Reportedly one of the first separatists to go to war against Cameroonian authorities,he fought for more than a year before he was killed in combat with the Cameroonian Armed Forces.
Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe is an Ambazonian separatist leader from Ewelle village in Manyu division,and is the disputed first president of the unrecognized Federal Republic of Ambazonia. In January 2018 he was extradited from Nigeria to Cameroon,where he has been incarcerated ever since.
The President of Ambazonia is the head of state of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia,unrecognised breakaway state in West Africa constituting the Northwest Region and Southwest Region of Cameroon,part of the British mandate territory historically known as the Southern Cameroons. No country has yet formally recognized Ambazonia's independence. Ambazonia is currently the site of an armed conflict between separatist guerillas and the Cameroonian military,known as the Anglophone Crisis. For its whole existence,the Presidency of Ambazonia has been a position in exile,as the various pro-independence armed groups have not consistently controlled any territory but are engaged in guerilla campaigns throughout the 16,364 square mile territory.
This is a timeline of the Anglophone Crisis during 2017.
This is a timeline of the Anglophone Crisis during 2018.
This is a timeline of the Anglophone Crisis during 2019.
The Interim Government of Ambazonia is an Ambazonian independence movement,and claims to be the provisional government in exile of the internationally unrecognized state. Formed in the early days of the Anglophone Crisis,the movement has since splintered into several factions that claim to be the legitimate Interim Government.
The Ambazonia Governing Council (AGovC) is an Ambazonian independence movement. The movement has been known as "hardline" compared to other major Ambazonian separatist movements,and unwilling to engage with federalists. Starting off with a complicated relationship with the larger Interim Government of Ambazonia (IG),following the 2019 Ambazonian leadership crisis,the AGovC officially allied itself to the faction of the IG loyal to the first President of Ambazonia,Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe.
Red Dragon is an Ambazonian separatist militia loyal to the Interim Government of Ambazonia,and is part of the Ambazonia Self-Defence Council. It is led by Lekeaka Oliver,and controls most of Lebialem Division in the Southwest Region,where they have driven away the traditional rulers and local administrators.
The Ambazonia Self-Defence Council (ASC),also known as Ambazonia Military Council (AMC),Ambazonia Military Forces (AMF),and Ambazonia Restoration Forces (ARF),is an umbrella organization that consists of several militants that fight for the independence of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia,including the Red Dragons,the Tigers of Ambazonia,Seven Karta,the Manyu Ghost Warriors,the Ambazonia Restoration Army,the Southern Cameroons Defence Forces,the Bui Warriors,General No Pity's forces,and numerous others. Collectively,these militias possibly outsize the Ambazonia Defence Forces and SOCADEF.
The Ambazonian leadership crisis is an ongoing internal conflict within the Interim Government of Ambazonia (IG). The crisis started on 2 May 2019,when a document signed by the first president of Ambazonia,Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe,acting from detention in Yaoundé,declared the dissolution of the cabinet of interim president Samuel Ikome Sako and the restoration of Ayuk Tabe's cabinet. This effectively led to the existence of two interim governments,with neither recognizing the other.
The Kondengui and Buea prison riots occurred on July 22 and 24,2019,respectively. While the first riot started off as a protest against poor prison conditions and unjust detainment,the second riot was carried out in support of the former. Both riots were violently quelled by security forces,and hundreds of prisoners were transported to undisclosed locations. The fate of these prisoners and rumors of casualties during the crushing of the riots had political implications in the ongoing Anglophone Crisis,and brought international attention to the prison conditions. Following the riots,many suspected participants were subjected to torture,and were brought to court and sentenced without their lawyers present.
The Major National Dialogue is the official name of a dialogue between the Government of Cameroon and various opposition parties,aimed at resolving the Anglophone Crisis. The event took place between September 30 and October 4,2019.
Lekeaka Oliver,popularly known as Field Marshall,was a Cameroonian army soldier and later an Ambazonian separatist commander and the leader of the Red Dragon militia. His armed group is part of the loosely-structured Ambazonia Self-Defence Council,and is loyal to the Interim Government of Ambazonia. The Red Dragon is mainly active in Lebialem Division,Southwest Region. Oliver was the brother of Chris Anu,former Secretary for Communications of the Interim Government. Throughout his time as a separatist leader,Cameroonian forces erroneously reported that he had been killed three times. He was killed on 12 July 2022,though it remains unclear whether he was killed by Cameroonian forces or in an incident of separatist infighting.
This is a timeline of the Anglophone Crisis during 2020.
Clement Mbashie,better known by his nom de guerre "General No Pity",is an Ambazonian separatist who commands several militant groups,most importantly the Bambalang Marine Forces and Bui Unity Warriors,in the Anglophone Crisis.
