Reporting from Yaoundé, Richard Onanena

On 1 October 1961, the former French colony and Southern Cameroons, then under British administration, came together to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. That anniversary is now a flashpoint: anglophone separatists reject the reunification narrative and, on the same date in 2017, unilaterally declared independence for the North-West and South-West regions.

This year, separatists called a ‘ghost town’ operation across several towns in the North-West and South-West (NOSO). Fearing unrest, Cameroonian authorities rolled out a heavy security grid. By midday, no major incidents had been reported, but daily life had slowed to a crawl in the main cities as residents chose to stay indoors on this symbolic date.

What does a decade of conflict look like on the ground?

In Bamenda, the North-West regional capital, one resident described venturing out for exercise in nearly empty streets before returning home for the rest of the day. At intersections, armoured vehicles and numerous military patrols were visible — a presence some locals described as a dissuasion tactic. The mood was similar in Buea, the main city of the South-West, and in neighbouring towns, where people also remained at home.

On social media platforms such as TikTok, several panels featuring the blue and white colours claimed by separatists hosted discussions about the ten years of crisis that have gripped the two anglophone regions.

Reflections on loss and displacement

In a message shared on 1 October, Khongor Félix Agbor, a lawyer and former detainee linked to the anglophone crisis, remembered ‘the families who have buried their loved ones, the displaced, the children whose schooling has been interrupted, all those who live in fear and the detainees of the anglophone crisis’.

According to several NGOs, the anglophone crisis has left more than 6,000 people dead and hundreds of thousands displaced over the past decade.