Cameroon: Rebels Beef Up Tactics To Block Regional Elections

English-speaking separatists have been trying to stop elections from taking place in Cameroon's Anglophone regions next month.

Armed separatist rebels in Cameroon burned down an electoral office earlier this month in an attempt to thwart elections scheduled to take place on February 9. They also kidnapped and attacked candidates, and announced a lockdown during the campaign period.

The English-speaking separatists — who say they are treated as second-class citizens by the French-speaking majority in the former French and British colony — have been waging an insurrection to carve out an independent state they call Ambazonia.

Cameroon: Rebels Beef Up Tactics To Block Regional Elections

The self-proclaimed Ambazonia Governing Council, which represents some separatist groups in the West African nation, in late December outlawed people discussing the election and candidates campaigning for votes.

The council also threatened to impose a total lockdown in Cameroon's conflict-ridden Anglophone southwest and northwest regions during the vote.

Increased attacks

The Ambazonia Defence Force (ADF), often considered the military arm of the governing council, said it would restrict people's movement between February 7-12.

"On these days, anyone seen anywhere outside in our towns and villages will be considered an enemy and treated as such," the news portal Journal du Cameroun reported, citing an ADF communique. "The information is released at this point to enable the civilian population to take appropriate measures to stay safe."

The communique restated that the 2020 municipal and legislative elections would not take place in the two English-speaking regions, the online portal reported.

Attacking political candidates

Rebels kidnapped some 40 parliamentary and municipal candidates in the northwest region in December. They said the hostages would remain in their keeping until after February's election.

On top of this, there have been reports of increased attacks on those who express an interest in taking part in the upcoming elections, according to the UN's refugee agency (UNHCR).

Fighters, thought to be separatists, also burned down an election office in the northwest region on January 7.

The separatists' scare tactics have caused several candidates in the conflict regions, mostly from the opposition Social Democratic Front (SDF), to withdraw their candidacies, reported the Journal du Cameroon - www.dw.com