SILENT WARS

Since 2017, Cameroon's war, or “Anglophone Crisis”, has pitted the government against Anglophone separatists demanding independence for the North-West and South-West regions, which they call Ambazonia. This conflict erupted after years of marginalization of Anglophones by the French-speaking central power. Peaceful demonstrations in 2016 turned into armed insurrection, after violent repression.

Paul Biya's government responded by sending in the army, while the separatists waged a guerrilla war. The army cracked down severely, with executions, village burnings, arrests and torture. The separatists carry out kidnappings, attacks on law enforcement agencies and boycotts of institutions.

The conflict has caused over 6,000 deaths, displaced a million people and deprived thousands of children of an education. Civilians are caught in the crossfire, in a context of extreme violence. Attempts at mediation fail, and the international community remains silent. The war goes on, leaving deep scars on the population.

• Plan International France
• SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL

• 2024 Report, Human Rights Watch
• Cameroon: The War That Has No Name, Mediapart (2019)
• In Anglophone Cameroon, Passage Rights Are an Extra Burden, RFI (2025)
• In Anglophone Cameroon Where Civil War Rages, 'This AFCON Finds Us in Mourning', Le Monde (2022)
• CAMEROON, Anglophone Regions: Security Situation, CGRA (2025)