Cameroon Military kill “FM Bitter Cola”, four others in Meme

Popular Ambazonia separatist commander and self-styled “Field Marshall Bitter Kola” (real name Bake Francis) has been killed alongside  four of his close aids in a shootout with the Cameroon military. 

The Guardian Post newspaper reported that BIR commander, Major Zakarioau Machou Mgbatbou, led the military operation that raided the separatists’ base at Mufako Butu village in Konye Subdivision, Meme Division of the South West Region, on Sunday, September 17. 

They killed five fighters, including the self-proclaimed “FM Bitter Kola,” whose body was displayed in Kumba yesterday.

Hundreds of city dwellers turned out at BICEC Junction to view the corpse of the dreaded separatist commander.

Weapons soldiers retrieved from the fighters were also on display: eight guns; one rocket launcher; 26 explosives; and metal cables.

The Senior Divisional Officer for Meme, Chamberlain Ntou’ou Ndong, described the late Amba commander as a terrorist who wreaked havoc on communities across the Meme Division, and attacked security and defence forces along Kumba-Mamfe road on several occasions.

Late “FM Bitter Kola” gained prominence in the separatist ranks when he became spokesman of Ambazonia People’s Liberation Council  (APLC) where he made several videos announcing decisions of the group.

Few days before he was killed, he appeared in a video, announcing a two-week lockdown in the crisis-hit English-speaking Regions. 

Not only did the lockdown ground schools and businesses for two weeks, it also caused the death of several civilians who were attacked and killed for attempting to resume normal activities. 

In Kumba, a student was killed at Mile I during a gun exchange between separatists and the military, while the home of the Divisional Officer for Kumba II was heavily attacked. 

“FM Bitter Cola” also announced a ban on some transport agencies in the Anglophone Regions a few days before he died. The ban caused inter-urban transport agencies in Bamenda to ground their vehicles on Tuesday, September 19.