Military raids Akwaya kills six suspected separatists

The Cameroon military has reportedly killed six separatist fighters and destroyed their hideout at Obonyi III village, in Akwaya Subdivision, Manyu Division of the South West Region.

The attack occurred over the course of the week.

The Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR), which conducted the raid, also seized 15 weapons from the separatist camp, The Guardian Post newspaper reported.

They also collected more than 2,300 pieces of ammunition.

Among the weapons seized were homemade rifles, pistols, caliber ammunition, electric detonators, and charger boxes, among others.

This was the latest of several raids the military has conducted on hideouts of separatist fighters in the Anglophone Regions in the last few weeks.

Starved By Underdevelopment

The village, which the military raided, is one of several impoverished communities in Akwaya Subdivision, which Ambazonia separatists control.

Despite its vast nature and enormous agricultural potential, Akwaya Subdivision is considered among the most backward areas in Cameroon in terms of development.

Due to years of government neglect, the area is starved of motorable roads, electricity, pipe-borne water, infrastructure, and other features of development.

The pattern in the English-speaking Regions is that separatist fighters have turned out to be more active in areas that are underdeveloped.

This is the case of the Lebialem, Ndian, and Manyu Divisions in the South West Region, where vast parts of the divisions have never seen electricity, pipe-borne water, or tarred roads.

The situation is also similar in the North West Region, which hosts some of the most powerful separatist armed groups.

In Akwaya, the situation of underdevelopment is even more dire.

One of the local authorities there responded to MMI’s inquiry in August and noted that the region’s poor roads contributed to the area’s high concentration of separatists.

The roads make it difficult for the military to penetrate the area.

As such, most communities in Akwaya Subdivision continue to bear the brunt of the separatist conflict in the Anglophone Regions of Cameroon, which has dragged on for over six years now.

Reccurent violence

This is not the first time that Akwaya has been in the news for the wrong reasons. In June 2022, a tragic incident occurred in the Akwaya.. According to local sources, approximately 30 villagers lost their lives in a series of attacks. These attacks were a result of a land dispute between neighbouring communities, which was further escalated by the involvement of separatist insurgents who acted as hired mercenaries.

Mimi Mefo Info