On 16 September 2021, two Ambazonian separatist groups, namely the Bambalang Marine Forces and Jaguars of Bamessing, ambushed a military convoy near

Bamessing Bamessing village is one of four villages that make up Ndop central Central Sub Division, and one of thirteen villages of Ngoketunjia division of the North West region of Cameroon. Bamessing is located along the ring road from Bamenda, some 38 ...

Ngo-Ketunjia Ngo-Ketunjia is a department of Northwest Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of and as of 2005 had a total population of 187,348. The capital of the department lies at Ndop. Within the self-declared Federal Republic of Ambazonia ...

. The ambush was one of the deadliest single separatist attacks so far in the Anglophone Crisis, and led to the announcement of a "paradigm shift" by Cameroon's Defense Minister Joseph Beti Assomo six days later.MINDEF Admits Strategy Against Ambazonia Forces Has Failed
Cameroon News Agency, Sep 22, 2021. Accessed Sep 22, 2021.

Background

By September 2021, the separatists had acquired anti-tank rockets, probably imported from

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. These weapons were used in a series of attacks,Cameroon: Rebels Use Smuggled Anti-Tank Rockets to Kill 28 People
Voice of America, Sep 23, 2021. Accessed Sep 23, 2021. with the first taking place at Kumbo on 12 September.

The ambush

According to Agence Cameroun Presse, the ambush was jointly organized by two separatist militias, namely the Bambalang Marine Forces led by "

General No Pity Clement Mbashie, better known by his nom de guerre "General No Pity", is an Ambazonian separatist who commands several militant groups, most importantly the Bambalang Marine Forces and Bui Unity Warriors, in the Anglophone Crisis. Biography Ear ...

" and the Jaguars of Bamessing commanded by "General Sagard". The attack targeted a convoy of the 6th

Rapid Intervention Battalion The Rapid Intervention Battalion (''Bataillon d'Intervention Rapide'', or BIR) is an elite military force and an army combat unit of the Cameroonian Armed Forces. The unit is supported by the United States, reports directly to the president of Cam ...

which was on a reconnaissance mission. The rebels stopped the convoy using an

improvised explosive device An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mechan ...

next to a hill on a road from Bamessing to Sabga, whereupon they fired anti-tank rockets and destroyed two armored vehicles. The insurgents then targeted the government troops with heavy gunfire. Overall, 15 soldiers were killed in the ambush. Following the ambush, the separatist fighters including "General No Pity" filmed themselves celebrating next to the burning vehicles before taking off with captured weapons. Based on the footage, Agence Cameroun Presse journalist Ariane Foguem argued that rebels had also taken uniforms from the convoy. The insurgents went on to post videos on

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

which showed them posing with the naked corpses of the killed soldiers. Foguem also claimed that the rebels had captured some soldiers whom they subsequently tortured to death.

Aftermath

After the attack, Cameroonian forces went to search for the separatists in Babanki and killed at least two civilians.Facebook
Cameroon News Agency, Sep 17, 2021. Cameroon's United Socialist Democratic Party, an opposition party, called for a ceasefire between the government and the separatists in response to the ambush, with party president Prince Ekosso stating that the "whole country is bleeding". United People for Social Renovation secretary general Serge Espoir Matomba stated on Facebook that the ambush was a "shameful attack on Cameroon's democracy".

References

{{Reflist, 2 Conflicts in 2021 2021 in Cameroon Anglophone Crisis Military history of Cameroon Northwest Region (Cameroon) September 2021 events in Africa Ambushes in Africa