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Ambazonia Defence Forces

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Ambazonia Defence Forces
Leaders
Dates of operation2017 – present
Allegiance Ambazonia
IdeologyAmbazonian nationalism
Size
  • 1,500 (according to the ADF; as of July 2018)[6]
  • 200–500 (according to independent sources; by 2019)[3]
AlliesRepublic of Biafra IPOB (ESN)[7]
Opponents Cameroon
Battles and warsAnglophone Crisis

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.[6]

Whereas other separatist militias have refrained from bringing the war outside the Anglophone regions, the ADF has taken a different stance. Since April 2021, the ADF has been allied with the Indigenous People of Biafra and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network.[8] Furthermore, Ayaba has declared that if Cameroonians rise up against the government of Paul Biya, the ADF will support them militarily.[9]

History

The ADF has been fighting a guerrilla war against the Cameroonian Armed Forces in the Anglophone part of the country since September 2017.[10] In June 2018, it claimed to have 1,500 soldiers under its command, spread across 20 bases across Southern Cameroons.[6] Numerically and materially the inferior of their adversary, they rely on hit-and-run attacks, ambushes and raids, taking advantage of their familiarity with the terrain. The ADF aims to raise the cost of Cameroon's military presence in the region higher than the profits the country gets from there.[11] Cameroonian authorities have acknowledged that they have little control outside the cities in Southern Cameroons;[12] according to a foreign journalist who spent time with the ADF, this owes partly to the poor infrastructure in the region, making it hard for the army to pursue the guerrillas.[6]

The ADF is loyal to the AGovC, which is not part of the Interim Government of Ambazonia. This has led to a complicated relationship with the Interim Government, which initially did not endorse an armed struggle. On November 9, 2017, the Interim Government condemned ADF attacks that killed three gendarmes.[13] The Interim Government's nonviolent stance changed in early 2018, opening the possibility of cooperation between it and the ADF. The ADF has declined offers to be integrated into the Ambazonia Self-Defence Council, an umbrella organization established by the Interim Government to unite all separatist militias under one banner. Following the death of General Ivo Mbah in December 2018, President Samuel Ikome Sako praised the deceased general and urged all separatist militias to "ignore our minor differences" and unite.[14]

In March 2019, an ADF leader announced that they would take the war into the French-speaking parts of Cameroon. A week later, separatists - possibly the ADF - raided Penda Mboko, Littoral Region, and injured three gendarmes.[15] This was in defiance of the policy of the Interim Government, which has stressed that the war should take place solely within the borders of Southern Cameroons.[16]

In late-August 2019, the ADF announced that a half-year lockdown was being planned. This was in response to the life sentences that had just been handed to Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe and nine other detained separatist leaders by the Yaoundé Military Tribunal.[17]

After at least five instances in January 2020 where angry villagers attacked separatist camps, the ADF openly condemned war crimes committed by fellow separatists. ADF fighters were given orders to arrest anyone caught terrorizing civilians, including fellow separatists.[18] Later in the month, the Southern Cameroon Restoration Forces, led by General Chacha, abducted 40 ADF fighters, six of whom were executed.[19]

When SOCADEF declared a 14-day ceasefire at the end of March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the AGovC said that the ADF would do the same if Cameroonian troops were confined to their bases for the duration of the ceasefire.[20]

As a response to Operation Bamenda Clean, the ADF called on locals to rise up against the Cameroonian army.[4]

In March 2021, "General Efang" of the ADF publicly apologized to the population for war crimes committed by some separatist elements. He claimed that separatist fighters abusing civilians were often under the influence of drugs, and lamented that this had led to the creation of pro-government local paramilitaries.[21]

On April 9, 2021, the AGovC formally entered into an alliance with the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN).[8] According to ADF deputy defense chief Capo Daniel, this would entail joint military operations, joint training bases, and an effort to seize the mutual border and ensure a free flow of weapons.[22] By April 2022 this had been partly achieved, as Ambazonian forces and the ESN had consolidated their control over much of the common border and brought 90 percent of cross-border trade to a halt.[23] The alliance was denounced by the Interim Government of Ambazonia as well as by other Biafran separatist groups.[24]

In April 2023, Capo Daniel resigned from AGovC and, by extension, the ADF, in order to pursue independent activism. Ayaba Cho Lucas acknowledged his resignation and thanked him for his years of work.[5] By May, Daniel had founded a new militant group called the Ambazonia Dark Forces, and openly called on his fighters to abduct journalists for ransom.[25]

In July 2023, Cho Lucas declared that henceforth, whenever Cameroonian forces killed Anglophone civilians, the ADF would kill Francophone civilians. The AGovC leader added that "when Cameroon begins to respect the Geneva Convention, we will do the same".[26]

See also

References

  1. ^ Is the Commander in Chief of the ADF’, Cameroon News Agency, Feb 4, 2018. Accessed Apr 19, 2018.
  2. ^ DeLancey, DeLancey & Mbuh 2019, p. 48.
  3. ^ a b Cameroon’s Anglophone Crisis: How to Get to Talks?, Crisis Group, May 2, 2019. Accessed May 2, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Moki Edwin Kindzeka (10 September 2020). "Cameroon Military Sweeps Northwest City to Weed Out Separatists". Voice of America. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Frontline separatist commander, Capo Daniel, resigns from AGOVC". Cameroon News Agency. 9 April 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d Cameroon: I spent a week embedded with Anglophone armed separatists, RFI, Jun 14, 2018. Accessed Jun 14, 2018.
  7. ^ BREAKING: Nnamdi Kanu, Ambazonia leader to address joint world press conference April 9, Vanguard, Apr 5, 2021. Accessed Apr 7, 2021.
  8. ^ a b AGovC Joins Forces With IPOB, Cameroon News Agency, Apr 9, 2021. Accessed Apr 10, 2021.
  9. ^ Ayaba Calls On Cameroonians To Overthrow Paul Biya, Cameroon News Agency, Apr 22, 2021. Accessed Apr 22, 2021.
  10. ^ Explosions in Bamenda and Killings in Besongabang Military Base, ADF Claims Responsibility, Cameroon Journal, Sept 13, 2017. Accessed Apr 19, 2018.
  11. ^ 'This is a genocide': villages burn as war rages in blood-soaked Cameroon, The Guardian, May 20, 2018. Accessed Jun 1, 2018.
  12. ^ 'Dirty war' ravages Cameroon's Buea region, Daily Nation, May 5, 2018. Accessed May 7, 2018.
  13. ^ ‘Ambazonia’ Interim “President” Condemns Violence Amid Claims By ADF of Masterminding Gendarme Killing, Nov 9, 2017. Accessed Nov 11, 2019.
  14. ^ "Opinion: Ambazonia 'Acting President' Says General Ivo Died A Hero". Cameroon News Agency. 21 December 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  15. ^ Cameroon:Three gendarmes injured as suspected Ambazonia fighters attack Littoral region again, Journal du Cameroun, Apr 2, 2019. Accessed Apr 2, 2019.
  16. ^ Interim Government Warns Cameroun Against Propagating Inter-Citizen War Between Both Cameroons, Bareta News. Accessed Dec 25, 2018.
  17. ^ After Life Imprisonment Sentence: Ambazonians Promise Tough Days Ahead, Cameroon News Agency, Aug 21, 2019. Accessed Aug 22, 2019.
  18. ^ Cameroon Anglophone Villagers Attack Separatist Camps Over Abuse, Voice of America, Jan 8, 2020. Accessed Jan 8, 2020.
  19. ^ Cameroon’s Anglophone Separatists Turn to Infighting, Voice of America, Jan 22, 2020. Accessed Jan 23, 2020.
  20. ^ COVID19: IG, AGovC Will Declare COVID19 Ceasefire Only When All Parties Agree To Internationally Binding Terms, Cameroon News Agency, Nov 27, 2020. Accessed Nov 27, 2020.
  21. ^ Un « général » ambazonien présente ses excuses aux populations du Nord-ouest et du Sud-ouest, Le Bled Parle, Mar 7, 2021. Accessed Mar 8, 2021. (French)
  22. ^ Separatist Movements in Nigeria and Cameroon Are Joining Forces, Foreign Policy, May 20, 2021. Accessed May 20, 2021.
  23. ^ "Cameroon: Separatists, Nigerian Militants Paralyze Border". Voice of America. 25 April 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  24. ^ Internal crisis threatens IPOB, Cameroon separatist union, The Sun Nigeria, May 25, 2021. Accessed May 25, 2021.
  25. ^ "Cameroon: 'Ambazonians' threaten journalists". Deutche Welle. 2023-05-11. Retrieved 2023-04-26.
  26. ^ Investigation: How Nacho killings unfolded, ADF alleged involvement, Cameroon News Agency, July 21, 2023. Accessed July 21, 2023.

Works cited

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