Anglophone crisis: Army Chief says separatists will be defeated on the battlefield.

The chief of staff of the Cameroonian military has said the national army will defeat Ambazonia separatist fighters on the battlefield.

Major General Rene Claude Meka was speaking Thursday, April 27, 2023, in Bamenda during a control mission to assess the security situation and find possible ways to end the more than five years of armed conflict in Anglophone North West and South West Regions.

Issuing fresh instructions to his soldiers, the General called on the defense and security forces to “step up their operations and work with the population to bring peace to the region.”

Government forces have been battling armed separatists in the two regions for more than five years, with thousands of lives and property lost, the brunt of which is borne by the most vulnerable of the civilian population.

The utterances of the army chief of staff contradict the commander of the 5th Gendarmerie legion, General Houseini Djibo, whose base is in Bamenda. A few weeks ago, General Djibo made it clear that soldiers could not end the Anglophone crisis “…every civilian and soldier should stop thinking that it is our forces that will stop the crisis,” he said.

The comments of the army chief of staff indicate that the Cameroon government still believes that the military option remains a viable solution to the conflict that has killed around 4000 people with millions displaced and enormous material damage.

These statements also question the willingness of the Cameroon government to engage in mediation efforts that were organised by the Swiss and most recently, by Canada.

By David Atangana