The conflict shaking the English-speaking regions of Cameroon, often called the Anglophone crisis or the Ambazonia war , saw a new violent episode this morning in the Northwest region.

Members of the security forces, specifically gendarmes, were the target of a deadly attack as they returned from a mission in Bamenda . The incident was caused by the explosion of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) .

1. Preliminary report: Two police officers were killed in this attack.

The use of IEDs is a frequent tactic of armed separatist groups in this conflict zone.

📰 Context of the Ambazonia War

The Anglophone crisis is an armed conflict that has pitted the Cameroonian government against various secessionist groups operating in the country's two Anglophone regions: the Northwest and the Southwest, since 2017.

This conflict is rooted in a socio-political crisis that began in late 2016. Initially, the protest was driven by corporatist demands (mainly from lawyers and teachers) denouncing the marginalization and creeping Francophonization of the judicial and educational systems.

The situation quickly degenerated into an armed secessionist movement due, in particular, to:

1. The central government's responses were deemed insufficient in addressing the initial concerns.
2. The refusal to open a debate on a possible return to federalism, a structure that some consider a guarantee of regional autonomy.
3. Numerous human rights violations were allegedly committed by security forces during the early stages of the crackdown.

This tense climate keeps both regions in a state of chronic insecurity, marked by regular clashes between the army and secessionist fighters.