The Forgotten Struggle for Ambazonia’s Independence
By: Vareva Harris, Co-Editor | vareva@thewoodrufftimes.com
In the lush, mountainous regions of Northwest and Southwest Cameroon, a silent war rages on. It is not silent in the sense of peace, but rather in the deafening absence of international attention. Known as the Anglophone Crisis or the Ambazonia War of Independence, this armed conflict has cost thousands of lives, displaced over a million people, and shattered any illusion of national unity in the central African nation of Cameroon. Yet the world barely blinks.
The roots of this crisis lie in a post-colonial bargain gone sour. When British Southern Cameroons joined French Cameroun in 1961 to form the Republic of Cameroon, promises of autonomy, cultural recognition, and shared governance were quietly swept aside by the Francophone-dominated government. For decades, the English-speaking minority endured marginalization in education, law, and politics. The boiling point came in 2016, when peaceful protests by Anglophone lawyers and teachers were met with military brutality. The calls for reform quickly turned into calls for independence—and from there, into war.
The self-declared state of Ambazonia, named after the Ambas Bay, now exists only in spirit and struggle. Its fighters—some former teachers, farmers, and students—have taken up arms against the Cameroonian military in a bid for sovereignty. The response from Yaoundé has been ruthless. Reports of arbitrary arrests, torture, extrajudicial killings, and the burning of entire villages have become tragically routine. In some regions, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are now commonplace, targeting military convoys and sometimes civilians.
And yet, who is watching?
While the U.S. Embassy in Yaoundé has occasionally acknowledged the crisis—most recently with Ambassador Christopher Lamora’s visit to the Southwest Region and his overtures to traditional leaders—the dominant focus remains on counter-terrorism and economic development. American involvement centers around port expansion, tech entrepreneurship in “Silicon Mountain,” and wildlife conservation efforts, all of which are vital—but none address the fundamental issue of political injustice fueling the war.
Even the travel advisories issued by foreign governments highlight the dangers: “Do not travel to Northwest and Southwest Regions due to armed violence, crime, and kidnapping.” But these warnings, though essential for travelers, gloss over the deeper narrative: a people fighting for recognition, identity, and freedom. The crisis has been largely framed as internal unrest or banditry, when in reality, it is a struggle for self-determination—a term that once animated global campaigns for liberation.
Major human rights organizations have documented abuses on both sides, yet no meaningful mediation has emerged. No U.N.-backed peace talks. No sustained global outrage. Only silence, or worse, indifference.
As global powers posture over strategic ports and trade routes, the people of Southern Cameroons continue to suffer under the weight of state violence and broken promises. Their quest is not merely separatist—it is historical. It is a demand for the return of a freedom they once knew under British trusteeship, a plea for the international community to remember the principle it once so boldly declared: that all peoples have the right to self-determination.The question now is not whether the people of Ambazonia care. They have made their position clear, even at the cost of their lives.
The real question is: Who else does?
Friends of Ambazonia who are committed to advocating for the plight of the people of Ambazonia to be heard in the United States of America.
Author: Tracy Sanders
