Political entity proclaimed by Cameroon's Anglophone separatists
Not to be confused with Amazonia.
The flag of Ambazonia, used by separatists since 1999Territory within Cameroon claimed by separatists, corresponding to the country's Northwest Region and Southwest Region
Ambazonia, alternatively the Federal Republic of Ambazonia or State of Ambazonia,[1] is a political entity[2] proclaimed by Anglophone separatists who are seeking independence from Cameroon. The separatists claim that Ambazonia should consist of the Northwest Region and Southwest Region of Cameroon. Since 2017, Ambazonian rebels have engaged in armed conflict with the Cameroonian military, in what is known as the Anglophone Crisis, attempted to set up a Government-in-exile and supportive militias have exerted control over some remote regions of the claimed territory. No country has recognized Ambazonia's existence as of 2024.
Until 1961, the territory of these regions was the southern part of a British trust territory, British Cameroon while the rest of Cameroon was a French trust territory, French Cameroon. At independence, a plebiscite was held, and voters in Southern Cameroons opted to join Cameroon as a constituent state of a federal republic.[3] Over time, the power of the central government, dominated by Francophones, expanded at the expense of the region's autonomy. Many inhabitants identify as Anglophones and resent what they perceive as discrimination and efforts to eliminate Anglophone legal, administrative, educational, and cultural institutions by the Cameroonian government.[4][5]
In 2016 and 2017, a widespread protest movement was met with a violent government crackdown, which led to rioting and violence against security forces and, in 2017, a unilateral declaration of independence by Ambazonian leaders.[6] The violence developed into a guerrilla war, and as of 2023[update],[7] clashes continue, with population centers and strategic locations largely controlled by the government engaged in counterinsurgency actions, with swathes of more remote, rural areas controlled by separatist militias and used to launch guerrilla attacks.[8] Ambazonian forces have struggled to form a united front, and internecine conflicts have hampered efforts to negotiate with Cameroon or establish control over the various militia groups engaged in the fighting.[9] Ongoing violence has led to widely reported human rights abuses by both sides, including indiscriminate killing of civilians, torture, rape and other gender-based crimes, unjustified detentions, and kidnappings.[10]
^Nkwain 2022, p. 245.
^""Cameroon Military Executing, Abusing" - HRW". Voice of America. Agence France-Presse. 11 August 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2023. In 2017, resentment at perceived discrimination snowballed into the declaration of an independent state -- the 'Federal Republic of Ambazonia,' an entity that is not recognised internationally.
^Nohlen, D, Krennerich, M & Thibaut, B (1999) Elections in Africa: A data handbook, p177 ISBN 978-0-19-829645-4
^Rogers Orock (11 August 2022). "Cameroon: how language plunged a country into deadly conflict with no end in sight". The Conversation. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
^Nancy-Wangue Moussissa (2 August 2022). "Cameroon: Crisis grinds on due to anglophone divisions, Yaoundé's unwillingness to negotiate". The Africa Report. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
^"Who are Cameroon's self-named Ambazonia secessionists?". DW. 30 September 2019. Retrieved 2020-01-07.
^Kindzeka, Moki (2 January 2023). "Cameroon Separatists Enforce Curfew After President Says Troops Crushing Rebellion". Voice of America. VOA. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
^Cameroon's Anglophone Crisis: How to Get to Talks?, Crisis Group, 2 May 2019. Accessed 2 May 2019.
^Briefing: Cameroon's intensifying conflict and what it means for civilians, The New Humanitarian, 6 February 2020. Accessed 18 August 2021.
^"Cameroon: Events of 2019". HRW World Report 2020: Rights Trends in Cameroon. Human Rights Watch. 10 December 2019. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
Ambazonia, alternatively the Federal Republic of Ambazonia or State of Ambazonia, is a political entity proclaimed by Anglophone separatists who are seeking...
The Anglophone Crisis (French: Crise anglophone), also known as the Ambazonia War or the Cameroonian Civil War, is an ongoing armed conflict in Cameroon's...
The Interim Government of Ambazonia is an Ambazonian independence movement, and claims to be the provisional government in exile of the internationally...
The flag of Ambazonia is a flag used by Ambazonian separatists and the national of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, an unrecognised breakaway state in...
The Ambazonia national football team represents Ambazonia, a political entity in the former Southern Cameroons. They are not affiliated with FIFA and...
activist who served as member of the Ambazonia Governing Council (AGovC) and deputy commander of the Ambazonia Defence Forces (ADF) until 2023. Following...
The Ambazonia Governing Council (AGovC) is an Ambazonian independence movement. The movement has been known as "hardline" compared to other major Ambazonian...
The president of Ambazonia is the head of state of the unrecognised breakaway state of Ambazonia, which claims the Northwest Region and Southwest Region...
insurgency. For comparison, a single meeting of the Ambazonia Self-Defence Council (also known as " Ambazonia Restoration Forces"), one of several rebel factions...
The Ambazonia Defence Forces (ADF) are a military organization that fights for the independence of Ambazonia, a self-declared independent state in the...
The Tigers of Ambazonia (TTA), also known as Manyu Tigers or Tigers of Manyu, are an Ambazonian separatist militia. According to its official website...
part of the Ambazonia Restoration Forces (formerly the Ambazonia Self-Defence Council) which are loyal to the Interim Government of Ambazonia, one of the...
Republic of Ambazonia Advocacy group: Interim Government of Ambazonia, Ambazonia Governing Council and others Militant groups: Ambazonia Self-Defence...
The Ambazonia Restoration Army (ARA) is an Ambazonian separatist militia. It is affiliated with the Interim Government of Ambazonia, and is part of the...
the disputed first president of the unrecognized Federal Republic of Ambazonia. In January 2018 he was extradited from Nigeria to Cameroon, where he...
the Southern Cameroons Youth League (SCYL) and is the current leader of Ambazonia Governing Council, a separatist organization in Southern Cameroons. Ayaba...
the internationally unrecognized proto-state of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia. He was elected president of the Interim Government a month after Sisiku...
On 6 November 2023, the Tigers of Ambazonia (also called "Tigers of Manyu") carried out a massacre in Egbekaw, Mamfe, Southwest Region, Cameroon. Over...
Following is a list of militant groups fighting for the independence of Ambazonia, commonly referred to locally as "Amba Boys", in the Anglophone Crisis...
name 'Ambazonia'". Mimi Mefo Info. October 2, 2019. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2020. "Republic of Ambazonia". ambazonia...
Interim Government of Ambazonia (IG). The crisis started on 2 May 2019, when a document signed by the first president of Ambazonia, Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe...
the primary movers of the October 2017 Declaration of Independence of Ambazonia. The government of Cameroon has attempted to eliminate Akwanga on several...
Anglophone separatists who are trying to establish a new state called "Ambazonia", broke out due to grievances which built up within Cameroon at large...
is part of the loosely-structured Ambazonia Self-Defence Council, and is loyal to the Interim Government of Ambazonia. The Red Dragon is mainly active...
them out. The rebel groups in the area included the Ambazonia Defence Forces (ADF), the Ambazonia Intelligence Forces, and the Black Shoes of Oku. Bui's...
Global Information
