Timeline of the Anglophone Crisis (2017)

Timeline

Battles and violent events

Political events

This is a timeline of the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon during 2017.

The Anglophone Crisis is an ongoing armed conflict in the Republic of Cameroon in Central Africa, where historically English-speaking Ambazonian separatists are seeking the independence of the former British trust territory of Southern Cameroons, which was unified with Cameroon since 1961.

On September 9, the Ambazonia Defence Council (ADC) declared the deployment of the Ambazonia Defence Forces (ADF) and the launching of combat operations to achieve the independence of Ambazonia. The ADF carried out a guerilla attack against military base in Besongabang, Manyu Division. The ADF commander in charge claimed his soldiers managed to return to base unreduced. Three Cameroonian soldiers were killed in the attack.^[1]
On September 11, a bomb targeting security forces was detonated in the city of Bamenda.^[2] ADF claimed responsibility for the attack.^[1]
On September 21, an improvised bomb wounded three police officers in Bamenda. Separatists were blamed for the attack, which the governor described as an act of terrorism.^[3]
On September 22, Cameroonian troops opened fire against Anglophone protestors. According to eyewitnesses, five people were shot dead and many more were injured.^[4] In Ekok, 700 protesters attacked police stations and hosted the Ambazonian flag in public spaces.^[5]
On September 29, Cameroonian soldiers moved into Eyumodjock, and took over a farm belonging to separatist leader Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe.^[6]
Throughout September, seven schools were burned.^[7]

October

On October 1, Ambazonia unilaterally declared its independence, and the Cameroonian Army moved into the region in force to fight the separatists.^[8] Tens of thousands of people protested in the streets in favor of independence.^[9] At least eight people died in clashes between police and demonstrators in Buea and Bamenda. In total, 20 demonstrators were killed by security forces that day.^[10] The separatists strategically choose this date for mass demonstrations, as it is the anniversary for the unification of Cameroon and Southern Cameroons.^[11]
On October 2, a mentally disabled man was beaten to unconsciousness by soldiers in Kumbo.^[7]
On October 9, the Cameroonian military claimed to have stopped "hundreds of Nigerian fighters" from entering Southern Cameroons to join the struggle.^[12]
On October 17, hundreds of young people set fire to the Catholic Primary School in Menji, Lebialem.^[7]

November

December

On December 1, ahead of a planned Cameroonian offensive, authorities in the Manyu Department ordered people from 16 villages to evacuate, saying that anyone defying those orders will be treated as separatists.^[21]
On December 4, the Cameroonian government officially declared war on "these terrorists who seek secession", referring to the ADF.^[19]
On December 7, Cameroonian forces retook the villages of Bafia and Muyenge.^[22]
On December 9, an attack on a military post near Mamfe left six separatists and one Cameroonian police officer dead. The Cameroonian government claimed that 200 guerillas took part in the attack, using guns, spears and machetes.^[23]
On December 13, 23 people, including minors, were arrested by security forces in Dadi and subsequently subjected to severe torture. One of those arrested would later die in jail.^[10]
On December 14, an elite army unit started an operation to retake villages that were controlled by the separatists.^[24] In the village of Bodam, soldiers fired indiscriminately at fleeing civilians, and executed one elderly man who tried to defend himself with a cane. Several houses were burned during the attack. Most of the villagers fled to Nigeria.^[7]
On December 15, days of heavy fighting in Mamfe came to an end. Both sides claimed victory, with the Cameroonian Army claiming to have retaken Mamfe from the ADF, while the ADF claimed it had never occupied Mamfe to begin with.^[25]
On December 18, four gendarmes were killed by separatists in Kembong.^[26]
On December 20, Nigerian sources claimed Cameroonian soldiers crossed the border into Nigeria in pursuit of separatist fighters. While the governments of both Nigeria and Cameroon denied that any such incidents had taken place, Cameroonian military officials had previously accused Nigeria of sheltering separatists.^[26]
Between December 18–23, Cameroonian troops destroyed dozens of houses and killed, beat and arrested several civilians in Kembong and Babong, Manyu Department, in retaliation for the killing of security forces.^[24]
On December 25, two gendarmes and a Brigade Commander were wounded in Toko, Ndian Division. The residence of the Civil Administrator of Toko was also burned down.^[27]
At some point in December, soldiers from the Rapid Intervention Battalion allegedly fired indiscriminately at villagers in Kajifu, killing at least three people.^[7]

Timeline of the Anglophone Crisis (2017)

October

November

December

References

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