Seven young men who confessed to be Ambazonia separatist fighters from Widikum, in Momo Division, have dropped their weapons to join the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Centre (DDRC) in Bamenda.
The outfit is one of three centres created by the Cameroon Government to re-orientate repentant Boko Haram and Ambazonia fighters.
The Secretary General at the North West Governor’s office, Saidou Moussa, received the fighters on Saturday, October 12, in Bamenda, along with some Momo elites.
Mr Mussa praised the fighters for making the right choice by heeding to the government’s call to abandon armed militancy and pursue peace.
Momo Senator, Enwe Francis, also received accolades for his vital role in securing the surrender of the fighters.
“I want to thank Senator Engwi for his efforts in bringing these boys out of the bushes. I urge other elites to support President Biya’s peace policy. I call on those still in hiding to come forward and join this peace-building process,” said Saidou Moussa.
The ex-combattants will be joining hundreds of others already lodging at the Bamenda DDR center.
The center, alongside others in Buea and Mora, was created by a presidential decree in 2018 following the escalation of the Anglophone Crisis into an armed conflict.
Kum Henry Itchi, who coordinates the Bamenda DDR centre, said they now have 502 ex-fighters.
“The DDR since creation has been receiving young people who have dropped their weapons despite widespread misinformation that when they come here, they will be killed,” Mr Kum said.
Clarifying the activities of the center, he added, “We have a school at the DDR where their kids can go to school, and they are workshops where they would be trained to be what they want to become.”
Despite the government’s assurances, many separatists remain adamant to the invitation to join the DDR program and have continued their quest for an independent state in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions.
Images released by separatists on October 1 this year showed dozens of armed fighters still lurking in bushes and villages in the North West and South West Regions.
The images suggested that the government has to go beyond its current strategy used to resolve the separatist conflict.