Separatists declare lockdown ahead of back-to-school, threaten civilians who fail to comply

Armed Ambazonian separatist fighters have issued threats against civilians who defy their latest lockdown order. In a video that surfaced on August 21, the fighters declared their intent to disrupt the upcoming school resumption in Cameroon’s English-speaking North West and South West regions. Lockdown was introduced in 2017 when the conflict in Anglophone Cameroon started. The now disbanded civil society consortium at the time which introduced the policy it said it was a strategy to pressure the government to address the key grievances raised by English-speaking lawyers and teachers.

Identifying themselves as the “Mountain Lions,” a separatist group operating in Fako Division of the conflict-ridden Southwest region, the fighters announced a two-week lockdown starting September 9, coinciding with the first day of the new school year in Cameroon.

“We are announcing a lockdown from September 9, and we are calling on all Ambazonians to be very careful,” warned a male voice in the video, which shows several armed men.

Continuing their usual rhetoric, the separatists threatened to target civilians who violate the lockdown order. They also issued a specific warning to workers of the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC), cautioning them against resuming work.

“We also want to warn our parents working with the CDC. We hear you people want to start work,” the voice continued. “We will not go after the military but those who violate the ghost town.”

Over the past eight years, armed separatist fighters have frequently targeted civilians as part of their struggle for an independent state. Lockdowns, threats, killings, and attacks on education have become infamous tactics employed by the separatists, drawing widespread condemnation.

Mimi Mefo Info