As Russia continues to expand its wartime industrial capacity following the outbreak of the Russia–Ukraine War, growing attention is turning to the recruitment of young African women—including Cameroonians—into a controversial industrial scheme at the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Russia’s Tatarstan region. Marketed as an educational and employment opportunity for women aged 18 to 22, the “Alabuga Start” program has reportedly drawn hundreds of African recruits to work in facilities linked to the production of military drones. But the program is now raising serious questions in Cameroon after claims by the CEO of Enangue Holding that the country’s Ministry of External Relations was aware of—and supportive of—the initiative, despite reports that the zone has already been targeted by Ukrainian drone strikes and that participants may face racism, coercion, and dangerous working conditions.
Attempts by CNA to get clarity from the Ministry of External Relations regarding Cameroon’s awareness of and involvement in the Alabuga program, met with bureaucratic bottlenecks. However, attempts to get clarity from Enangue Holdings went unanswered. Emails were never replied to. However, a search on the company’s Facebook page showed young girls, with some from Africa, seemingly involved in various social events – none of them portraying work at a drone factory.
However, in August 2025, CNA identified two Cameroonian girls who were heading to Russia at the time. We sought at the time, to find out whether they were going for studies and were aware of the Alabuga program but they were skeptical to talk to us.
Cameroonian journalist and commentator, Franklin Sone Bayen is of the view that “Those conscripted for military service on behalf of Russia sign up on personal engagement”. Bayen further argues that “There is no information suggesting that free citizens are captured by Russian authorities and forced to the battlefront. That could be the case of prisoners in Russian jails offered the incentive of freedom upon returning from the battlefield. While it may not have legal implications, it certainly has moral or ethical implications. Defending the fatherland is a call for citizens, not foreigners taken advantage of because of their weak socio-economic background, which could be the case of Cameroonians conscripted to fight for Russia”.
While CNA has been at the forefront of reporting on Russian recruitment tactics in Cameroon, our reportage has encouraged other newsrooms to begin paying attention to Russian involvement in Cameroon, especially its recruitment of Cameroonians – one of the largest such networks in Africa.
On April 20, our sister newsroom, MMI News, reported that “A Cameroonian family is searching for answers after a 33-year-old man who traveled to Russia to work as a soldier went missing, with no contact for more than nine months.
Omar Moluh Ndam left Cameroon in February 2025, according to his wife, who says his departure was a personal decision. He was believed to have joined other foreign recruits working alongside Russian forces, although the exact nature of his deployment remains unclear.”
While the Russians exploit Cameroonians’ weak economic standing, Bayen argues that the blame for letting this happen in the first place, rests at the feet of the Biya regime:
“Generally speaking, as with conscription for combat recruitment for service of any kind of service is a personal engagement” Bayen says. He goes on to clarify that “Cameroonians are travelling all over the world for jobs. It could be the moral responsibility of the government of Cameroon to provide due diligence advice to its citizens, if the government is aware as in the case of Alabuga. This responsibility may increase in case of a risky job like Alabuga”.
Russian recruitment in Cameroon is a complex issue because those signing up to fight for Russia, do so more for the money than because of any ideology. Which would explain why there are also Cameroonians joining the Ukrainian army to fight against the Russians – again, purely for the money. This means Cameroonians who are strangers to each other, may find themselves fighting against other Cameroonians on the battlefront on the Russian and Ukrainian sides.
At the time of writing this report, I spoke to a senior security official at Cameroon’s National Police Headquarters who had been in Europe for a business trip. He did not want to be named but he said while transiting through Paris, he met two Cameroonian men who had recently just left the Ukrainian army at the end of their contracts and were now settling into their civilian lives.
Russia’s Alabuga program targeting Cameroonian girls will only see the targeted recruitment of Cameroonian girls ended when other girls who have been through the program actually begin speaking out and when the Cameroonian government instead of being in cahoots with the Russians, becomes more forthright.
“A government that cares may set safeguards and rules of engagement with foreign governments” Sone Bayen says.
“There are governments that watch over the interests of their citizens. The government of Cameroon has not demonstrated much interest in the welfare of its citizens travelling through risky terrain, confronted with risks and submitted to inhumane treatment in foreign lands. Though the government of Cameroon had not communicated about Cameroonians service on the battlefront for Russia, the Embassy of Russia in Cameroon recently reported the case of 16 Cameroonians killed on the battlefront. That is a grossly reduced number from about a hundred Cameroonians reported to have died fighting for Russia but the mère fact of Russia reporting their plight to the government of Cameroon shows Russia recognizes that the Government of Cameroon owes its citizens some moral responsibility”.
From Cameroon to Tatarstan: Russia’s Recruitment of Cameroonian Girls Into Its Alabuga SEZBy Hans Ngala
