Biya pulls joker, rejects international dialogue, deploys Special Forces to NWSW regions
By Hans Ngala
In a confidential document sent to the Ministry of Defense, the Secretary-General at the Presidency of the Republic, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, said that President Paul Biya had approved a request from MINDEF to deploy Special forces to the 5th and 2nd military regions which is the Northwest and West Regions; and the Southwest and Littoral regions respectively.
The deployment of the Special Forces comes after President Biya, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, has already deployed the GSO of police; GPIGN of gendarmes in 2018, and the Rapid Intervention Battalion, better known by its French acronym (BIR).
This could signal that the regime is desperate to win the war in the North west and South west regions, after opting for a military option instead of dialogue, after declaring war on separatist fighters in November 2017.
The Head of State made the declaration of war at the Yaounde Nsimalen International Airport as he returned from Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire where he attended the 5th Africa Union-European Union Summit on 30 November 2017.
President Biya who, up until that time had not publicly addressed the deteriorating socio-political crisis in the North West and South West Regions of the country declared:
“I heard with deep emotion, the assassination of four soldiers and two police officers in the South west region of our country. Following the disappearance of these six military officers, I’ll like to present my condolences to the bereaved families as well as to our defense forces. I think that things are becoming clearer to everyone now that Cameroon is a victim of repeated terrorist attacks from a secessionist group. In the face of such repeated aggression, I’ll like to assure Cameroonians that measures have been taken to eliminate these criminals and bring back peace throughout the national territory”.
According to recent reports, the Biya government has also refused to be part of the Swiss-led talks that offered hope that negotiations were now going to begin between the Cameroon government and separatist groups with a view for peace to return.
The Ambazonia Coalition Team (ACT) issued a statement in response to the development:
“We, Southern Cameroonian liberation movements have been briefed of the choice made at the highest level of Cameroun to prioritize war and to seek military victory over a negotiated political settlement. Yaounde has told the Swiss government that they are not interested, at this moment, in third-party mediation…”.
All these developments are happening against the backdrop of France – Cameroon’s closest foreign partner, nominating a military general as the new French ambassador to Cameroon.
This could mean a new strategy to combat separatists in the NW and SW regions, and would explain why Biya is so confident he would defeat separatists in a military (rather than negotiated) option.
In a statement dated September 16 (which CNA has a copy of), Thierry Marchand who is a French military general will take up his duties in Cameroon soon.
France is also changing its geopolitical game, learning the Malina lesson the hard way. A military general as Ambassador will know how to better negotiate military deals than prompt French soldiers to leave with their tails between their legs as they did in Mali.
It also shows that France is not letting Cameroon go anytime soon. The country is facing attacks from almost every region but the situation in the North West and South West regions has preoccupied Paris for a long time. Opinions are rife that France is encouraging Cameroon to take a military option because losing the Anglophone regions, means losing oil and other riches that have made their treasury swell.
