Before the army destroyed his village and killed his three brothers, Abang was a farmer and an electrician.
Today, he is one of hundreds of English-speaking men who are fighting with hunting rifles and magic amulets against the Cameroonian army formed in the United States and France to try to obtain the independence of a new country they call Ambazonia.
The English-speaking minority in Cameroon has been calling for greater autonomy since the former British and French-held territories were united in a single Central African nation in 1961. These demands have become increasingly noisy since the 1980s.
In October 2017, peaceful demonstrations – calling for the use of English in courts and courts – worsened when security forces killed dozens of protesters and imprisoned hundreds more.
This violence has resulted in the birth of several separatist armed groups that have since killed and kidnapped many leaders in the Northwest and South West, the two English-speaking majority regions. Abang’s group, the Ambazonia Defense Forces, or ADF, is the largest.
More than 180,000 people have been displaced by counter-insurgency operations by Cameroonian security forces, which have killed civilians and burned villages. Most of the fighters interviewed by IRIN joined the militia after being forced to flee their homes.
In a report released today, Amnesty International claims that separatists have killed at least 44 security forces and attacked 42 schools since February 2017.
Some attacks on schools have been attributed to the Ambazonia defense forces by the local population. but Amnesty could not establish this link. and a spokesperson for the ADF denied the group’s involvement.
Amnesty has also reported allegations that more than 30 people were arbitrarily killed by security forces, including a high-profile attack on the village of Dadi in December 2017 in which at least 23 people, including minors, were arrested. then severely tortured.
The government has denied allegations of systematic violations of human rights by its security forces. He says he is open to dialogue, but insists that the unity of Cameroon is “non-negotiable”.
Abang, who is in his thirties, is tall and leans forward slightly as he sits. His kindness and his quick smile only disappear when he speaks of the injustice that drove him to take up arms. Then, his eyes darken and he gesticulates angrily as he speaks. He’s wearing a black T-shirt – the only top he has, he says.
Abang lives in a camp made up of a few buildings made of mud, a courtyard (which the fighters call the parade ground) and two bamboo poles on which flags are sometimes hung. There are 50 other fighters in the camp.
“Even if they kill me, there is no problem,” says Abang. “I sacrifice my life.”
According to Ambazonia’s defense chief, Cho Ayaba, his group has 1,500 active soldiers in more than 20 camps throughout English-speaking Cameroon.
During one week, IRIN met with fighters from several camps and saw a hundred fighters in total. The ADF seems to be the main armed group operating in English-speaking Cameroon. Their equipment is mediocre – they wear flip-flops rather than combat boots.
“We do not want to be slaves anymore.”
Around his neck, Abang is wearing what he calls, with a smile, a monkey pistol. It is a hunting rifle made in Nigeria. The task is bulky: you turn a screw under the barrel so that the gun snaps into the middle, push a cartridge into the chamber, click on the rifle to put it back in place and finally, turn the screw to lock it.
Abang carries half a dozen red rounds in a belt around his waist. He can not afford more than that. None of the ADF men in Abang camp have assault rifles; the whole rebel army seems to have barely a dozen.
This is not a match for the assault weapons worn by soldiers of the Cameroonian army. They were trained and equipped by France and the United States.
The English-speaking minority in Cameroon has been calling for greater autonomy since the former British and French-held territories were united in a single Central African nation in 1961. These demands have become increasingly noisy since the 1980s.
In October 2017, peaceful demonstrations – calling for the use of English in courts and courts – worsened when security forces killed dozens of protesters and imprisoned hundreds more.
This violence has resulted in the birth of several separatist armed groups that have since killed and kidnapped many leaders in the Northwest and South West, the two English-speaking majority regions. Abang’s group, the Ambazonia Defense Forces, or ADF, is the largest.
More than 180,000 people have been displaced by counter-insurgency operations by Cameroonian security forces, which have killed civilians and burned villages. Most of the fighters interviewed by IRIN joined the militia after being forced to flee their homes.
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| Shocking Cameroon News - "I Killed Three Soldiers Because They Killed All My Brothers" |
Some attacks on schools have been attributed to the Ambazonia defense forces by the local population. but Amnesty could not establish this link. and a spokesperson for the ADF denied the group’s involvement.
Amnesty has also reported allegations that more than 30 people were arbitrarily killed by security forces, including a high-profile attack on the village of Dadi in December 2017 in which at least 23 people, including minors, were arrested. then severely tortured.
The government has denied allegations of systematic violations of human rights by its security forces. He says he is open to dialogue, but insists that the unity of Cameroon is “non-negotiable”.
Abang, who is in his thirties, is tall and leans forward slightly as he sits. His kindness and his quick smile only disappear when he speaks of the injustice that drove him to take up arms. Then, his eyes darken and he gesticulates angrily as he speaks. He’s wearing a black T-shirt – the only top he has, he says.
Abang lives in a camp made up of a few buildings made of mud, a courtyard (which the fighters call the parade ground) and two bamboo poles on which flags are sometimes hung. There are 50 other fighters in the camp.
“Even if they kill me, there is no problem,” says Abang. “I sacrifice my life.”
According to Ambazonia’s defense chief, Cho Ayaba, his group has 1,500 active soldiers in more than 20 camps throughout English-speaking Cameroon.
During one week, IRIN met with fighters from several camps and saw a hundred fighters in total. The ADF seems to be the main armed group operating in English-speaking Cameroon. Their equipment is mediocre – they wear flip-flops rather than combat boots.
“We do not want to be slaves anymore.”
Around his neck, Abang is wearing what he calls, with a smile, a monkey pistol. It is a hunting rifle made in Nigeria. The task is bulky: you turn a screw under the barrel so that the gun snaps into the middle, push a cartridge into the chamber, click on the rifle to put it back in place and finally, turn the screw to lock it.
Abang carries half a dozen red rounds in a belt around his waist. He can not afford more than that. None of the ADF men in Abang camp have assault rifles; the whole rebel army seems to have barely a dozen.
This is not a match for the assault weapons worn by soldiers of the Cameroonian army. They were trained and equipped by France and the United States.
