Eight years of war in the English-speaking regions
In 2016, lawyers and teachers in Cameroon's English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions began peaceful protests against the marginalization of Anglophones in a predominantly French-speaking country. The government responded with force. What started as protests became an armed separatist insurgency. Eight years later, the war continues with no end in sight.
The official death toll is believed to be a significant undercount. Independent estimates place military casualties alone at approximately 3,500 soldiers killed—nearly double the official figure of 1,802.
The violence has not stopped. Between November 3 and December 17, 2025, at least 20 identified soldiers were killed in the Anglophone regions. Most were young.
On December 5, 2025, armed soldiers stormed a small breakfast shop in Bafut, Mezam County, and executed five civilians, including a 71-year-old elder. No provocation. No warning.
Earlier in December, an attack near Bamenda targeted a military convoy at the GPIGN fortified camp. Three bodyguards, including Gendarmerie Colonel Lansana, were killed in an explosive attack claimed by Ambazonian liberation forces.
Separatist groups seek independence for an English-speaking state they call Ambazonia, named after Ambas Bay. The territory was a British mandate until 1961, when it joined French-speaking Cameroon in a federation. The federation was dissolved in 1972, and Anglophones have faced systematic marginalization ever since—in courts, schools, and government.
On October 12, 2025, Cameroon held presidential elections. President Paul Biya, 91 years old and in power since 1982, was declared winner with 53.66% of the vote. It was his eighth term.
In the Anglophone regions, voting was impossible in many areas. Separatist groups enforced "ghost town" lockdowns. Opposition parties rejected the results, citing systemic marginalization and ongoing violence.
Between November 5-30, after the election, separatists killed at least a dozen law enforcement officers in the Northwest and Southwest regions. The pre-election pattern of violence simply resumed.
In May 2025, former South African President Thabo Mbeki revealed that President Biya had rejected a mediation attempt by former African presidents to resolve the crisis.
"President Biya rejected a mediation attempt by former African presidents aimed at resolving the crisis in the Anglophone regions."
Peace talks have repeatedly failed. The government insists on territorial integrity. Separatist factions are divided among themselves. Civilians remain caught between military operations and rebel attacks.
The Cameroon conflict doesn't fit easy narratives. It's not a religious war. It's not a resource war (though oil exists in the region). It's a colonial linguistic inheritance turned violent—English speakers in a French-dominated state, asking first for federalism, then for independence when federalism was denied.
The international response has been minimal. No Security Council resolutions. No peacekeeping missions. The African Union has expressed "concern." France, the former colonial power, maintains close ties with the Biya government. The war continues.
3.3 million people need humanitarian aid. 500,000 have fled their homes. Schools in the Anglophone regions have been closed for years. An entire generation is growing up without education, caught in a war that most of the world doesn't know exists.
Wikipedia: Timeline of the Anglophone Crisis (2025)
Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
International Crisis Group: Cameroon
Cameroon Concord: A Death Count the State Won't Admit
Rotman School: Cameroon Database of Atrocities
Created December 23, 2025 · Entry 1116