By Hans Ngala
As the Anglophone Crisis enters its ninth year later this year, the world has largely ignored the intrastate conflict. On June 3 this year, the Norwegian Refugee Council listed the conflict as one of “the world’s most neglected displacement crisis”.
This stands in great contrast to the August 15 meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Both men met at a military base in Alaska – a former Russian territory – which was sold to the US in the 1860s. This strong desire by the US to intervene in Ukraine and end the conflict there, stands in stark contrast to the ongoing conflict in Cameroon which began roughly around the same period when Trump was running for his first term in 2016. Cameroonians in the US marched with placards calling for Trump to help stop the killings, calls that went largely ignored.
While the Ukraine was is only four years old in comparison to the Anglophone Crisis, the world has largely stood in support of Ukraine, recognizing them as the weaker party and the one’s suffering Russian aggression. Sanctions have been imposed on Russia, Western media have criticized Moscow and countries deemed by Western nations to be in support of Russia – have been swiftly dealt with.
However, when it comes to Cameroon, there has been a deafening silence. Of course, the stakes are much lower in the Cameroonian context. For starters, it is a civil war – a word which even authorities in Yaounde refuse to use – sticking just with “crisis”. Given that is a civil war in which Yaounde doesn’t allow international journalists to cover, this makes it hard for international media to cover it from the ground. Cameroonian journalists who try covering it, are often accused by authorities of being pro-secessionist and are often arrested.
In 2018 after an American Baptist missionary, Charles Wesco was killed after getting caught in crossfire between soldiers and separatist fighters in Bamenda, the US embassy in Yaounde towed a very delicate line, calling for peace but no swift action was ever taken. The US which is heaping sanctions on Moscow by the day, never pushed Yaounde to the negotiating table. No sanctions were meted out on separatist fighters too. However, in 2019, the Trump administration cut of some of its military assistance to Cameroon, citing “credible allegations” of human rights abuses in relation to the Anglophone Crisis. However, this was never enough to ensure an end to the conflict. No concrete measures were taken to push separatist leaders (many based in the US) to come to talks either.
The FBI has raided the homes of some US-based separatist leaders for investigations, but no concrete measures have been taken to ensure that talks happen.
Norwegian police also arrested Cho Ayaba in late 2024. Although the exact nature of the accusations against him is unclear, initial police reports indicated that Ayaba Cho was being held on charges of incitement of crimes against humanity in Anglophone Cameroon, and was arrested on the grounds of universal jurisdiction for serious international offences, such as war crimes and crimes against humanity, Arrey Ntui wrote for the International Crisis Group at the time.
Cameroon is not one of Africa’s most influential countries like Nigeria, South Africa or Kenya and this could also explain why unlike Ukraine, the Anglophone Crisis is being largely ignored. Even though the talks between Trump and Putin on August 15 did not produce a ceasefire as Trump had promised, they still signal Trump’s willingness to end the conflict, something that he and Joe Biden largely ignored when it came to Cameroon.
This leaves Cameroon in a delicate situation now as nationwide presidential elections are scheduled for October 12. While voter turnout is likely to be low in the conflict-hit Northwest and Southwest regions, the insistence on conducting elections while this part of the country is embroiled in deadly clashes, speaks to Yaounde’s unwillingness to broker peace. The call has repeatedly been for armed separatists to lay down their arms while not meeting their demands or releasing those who have been imprisoned in connection with the conflict. While Cameroonians want a return to peace and normalcy, the Biya regime needs to meet the separatists halfway and agree to a compromise that works for both parties. It is clear that the Anglophone Crisis will not be negotiated in a Western country like the Russia-Ukraine war where there are high stakes.
Biya’s government organized a national dialogue in 2019 which was highly celebrated when it was announced but ended without any concrete resolution of the conflict. It took place in the absence of many key separatist leaders such as Ayuk Tabe who remained imprisoned – even to this day. Other separatist leaders in the diaspora were also not invited and the talks produced little effects to stop fighting in the concerned regions.
Schools are supposed to resume in September, barely some weeks from now and many students in these regions will likely still be unable to return to class as a result of the fighting between soldiers and separatists. Most Anglophones have moved to Anglophone schools located in Francophone regions but thousands more are unable to relocate and will likely have their studies interrupted or not attend school at all.
The urgency for separatists and the Biya government to sit on the negotiation table, is louder now than ever. Now after nearly 9 years of conflict, destruction of schools, businesses and human lives, it is clear that this is a conflict between Cameroonians that needs to be solved by them. However, other African countries can help mediate the process in a neutral location in another African country where both sides can talk freely.
For a lasting solution to the Anglophone Crisis, both the Biya government and separatist leaders must be persuaded to the negotiating table through concrete incentives and pressure. On the part of the government, the African Union and trusted African states such as Ghana or Kenya could play a leading role as neutral mediators, rather than Western powers whom Yaoundé perceives as interfering. The African Union and Western donors could also tie cooperation, aid, and even certain privileges to Cameroon’s willingness to engage in genuine dialogue. Pressure from Canada and the UK (the former leader of the Southern Cameroons trusteeship) could also be decisive if London recognizes that stability in Cameroon is vital to regional security.
For separatist fighters, incentives must go beyond mere calls to “drop arms.” Diaspora leaders, many of whom exert influence on the ground, need to be given guarantees of safe participation in talks, including temporary suspension of arrest warrants during negotiations. Those in prison need to be released and fighters on the ground could be offered amnesty programs tied to disarmament and reintegration, as well as opportunities for education and employment. The Biya government is already doing the reintegration of some fighters who have dropped their arms and this is a good gesture. However, because conflict is still ongoing, more needs to be done by the government to incentivize more fighters to drop their arms and convince separatist leaders and fighters that some kind of acceptable deal will be made – one that works for both parties. Without such assurances, they are unlikely to trust the process.
At the heart of the talks, certain issues must be agreed upon. First, the protection of cultural and linguistic rights of Anglophones must be constitutionally guaranteed. Second, meaningful decentralization (not the current form) or federal arrangements should be explored as a compromise between outright secession and the current over-centralized state. Third, accountability for war crimes committed by both government forces and separatists must be pursued through truth and reconciliation mechanisms rather than blanket impunity. The South African Truth and Reconciliation model can be copied. Finally, reconstruction of schools, health centers, and businesses in the Northwest and Southwest must be prioritized to show communities that peace brings tangible benefits.
