ANALYSIS: Israel-Hamas Ceasefire: What lessons for Cameroon as Anglophone crisis enters 8th year?

By Hans Ngala

The world has welcomed the news that Israel and Hamas – the militant group fighting on behalf of Palestinians – reached a peace deal on Sunday. Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu made the announcement on Sunday January 19.
Three Israelis held by Hamas were swapped for 90 Palestinians held by Israel, according to the Associated Press. Fighting that had been going on intermittently between Israel and Hamas, escalated on October 7, 2023 when Hamas militants attacked Israelis attending a music festival, capturing dozens and injuring many others in the process.
As what some analysts perceive to be a ‘fragile’ truce begins this week after 15 months of intensified fighting (fighting that has lasted for decades before the 15-month intensification) what lessons can Cameroon draw from the world’s longest-running conflict?
On January 7 while addressing reporters at a press conference in Mar-a-Lago, President-elect Donald Trump said that “if all hostages held by Hamas are not released before I take office, all hell will break out”.
It is safe to say that a conflict whose roots date as far back as 1948 with the Israeli occupation of Palestine, cannot simply be solved overnight. Of course, there are many complicated nuances in the picture. The same is true for Cameroon’s Anglophone Conflict which is nearly 10 years old now. This October will mark 8 years since Ambazonian separatists declared the “independence” of Ambazonia from the rest of Cameroon – a show of defiance to Paul Biya’s now-42-year grip on power.
In his December 2024 address to Cameroonians, Biya reaffirmed his military solution to the conflict, saying that “It can never be overemphasized that the separatist cause championed by these purportedly enlightened beings is doomed to failure” and that “the fate of diehard warmongers is unenviable”.
While Biya seemed to take a softer tone in his end-of-year address this time – shifting from referring to separatist fighters as “terrorists” to calling them simply as “armed gangs” – he was firm in his resolve to stick to a military offensive, refusing any form of negotiations with separatists and faulting them solely for the unrest in Anglophone regions even though there is documented evidence to show that soldiers under his command caused the violence to erupt. “Troops and attack helicopters opened fire on protesters at the height of separatist rallies in English-speaking areas of Cameroon” Reuters reported in 2017, this after talks with a consortium of lawyers and teachers, collapsed in Bamenda and some of the leaders were arrested.
The internet was later shut down in April that year as authorities tried to control the growing discussions around secession in Anglophone regions. The internet blackout would last for three months, making it one of the longest internet shutdowns in Africa.
As Hamas and Israel begin a ceasefire this week, the dynamics are a solid reminder to Paul Biya and his advisers that a military solution will not solve this intra-Cameroon conflict. Hundreds of civilians and military personnel have been killed and continue to be killed. Towns such as Bamenda and Buea only enjoy sporadic peace even though government through its media channels on CRTV, tries to give the impression that normalcy has returned.
A national dialogue was held in Yaoundé in 2019 but failed to solve the crisis as major separatist leaders were not invited and some who did, later claimed that they were not allowed to sufficiently express themselves.
Both government and separatist leaders need to recommit to a peace deal with both sides making concrete commitments that show they are willing to ensure a lasting peace and end to hostilities. This would include the release of political prisoners such as Sisiku Ayuk Tabe who remains in detention since his capture from Nigeria in 2018 and Mancho Bibixy who was arrested in Bamenda at the height of the Anglophone protests.
Separatist leaders must for their part ensure that they desist from attacking civilians and students and ensure that teachers are not attacked for doing their job either. A neutral ground can then be found for talks to take place. South Africa, Canada or the United States are some of the places where talks can be held, so that Yaoundé barons will not feel the need to try and lord it over others or intimidate them from truly expressing how they feel.
During these negotiations, neighboring Nigeria (which shares a history with the former Southern Cameroons or today’s Anglophone regions) should also be present along with human rights organizations and a suitable agreement, perhaps similar to that of Bosnia and Sarajevo would be agreed on. This would not be a novelty in Cameroon as it was a two-state federation from 1961 to 1972 with Buea as West Cameroon’s capital and Yaoundé as East Cameroon’s capital. This is probably the most agreeable solution that will serve to end the bloodshed while maintaining Cameroon’s territorial integrity. Biya himself acknowledged Buea as the former capital of West Cameroon in 2010, saying history had not forgotten Buea as former capital.
Yaoundé as a sole capital with its dilapidated or non-existent infrastructure has seen increasing congestion on roads, poor waste management and a gaping lack of public amenities and a return to a two-state capital would not only serve to decongest Yaoundé but also appease Anglophones.
Cameroonian authorities cannot continue to spend billions of Francs on the purchase of war artillery when those funds could serve more noble causes like education, health, agriculture and infrastructure.
The Israel-Hamas war has raged on for decades and the sooner Yaoundé realizes that it is largely up to them to push for peace talks, the better it would be for all Cameroonians.