Battle of Batibo

The Battle of Batibo occurred on March 3, 2018, when Ambazonian separatists attacked Cameroonian troops on the Bamenda-Batibo Highway, Batibo Subdivision. At the time, it was reportedly the deadliest clash between Cameroonian and Ambazonian forces to date.[1]

Battle of Batibo
Part of the Anglophone Crisis

View of the village of Batibo
DateMarch 3, 2018[1]
Location
Batibo, Northwest Region
Result Indecisive
Belligerents
 Cameroon  Ambazonia
Casualties and losses
Unknown (~70 according to uncomfirmed information)[1] Unknown ("hundreds" according to uncomfirmed information)[1]

Battle

While circumstances of the battle remain unclear, reports claimed that separatist forces ambushed Cameroonian soldiers who were celebrating the recent recapture of most villages in the Batibo Subdivision.[2] While the number of casualties on both sides remained unclear, information circulating on social media claimed that 70 Cameroonian soldiers and "hundreds" of separatists died in the battle.[1]

These casualty figures far eclipse the official figures at the time. Two months after the battle, Cameroon admitted to having lost at least 44 soldiers and policemen since the start of the armed conflict,[3] of whom at least 22 had died between February and May.[4]

Aftermath

The Mayor of Batibo, Frederick Tanjoh, stated that while casualties were high - people on the ground claimed to have seen a military truck transporting a truckload of corpses - no information had been issued by the authorities.[2]

Following the battle, mass arrests took place in villages across the Batibo Subdivision.[2] The villages of Gurissen and Kwana in Upper Bafang, Tingto were burned down by unknown perpetrators, while the villages of Korgwe, Effa, Koroko, Ambo and Angie were completely abandoned. In total, over 4,000 people fled their homes following the battle, including Fons who abandoned their palaces.[1]

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References
  1. 4000 persons in Batibo displaced after deadly clashes between gunmen and security forces, Journal du Cameroun, Mar 8, 2018. Accessed Aug 25, 2018.
  2. 3 Villages Razed In Batibo, 4 Deserted After Bloody Attack *Collateral Casualties Overwhelmed Local Administrators, Cameroon Postline, Mar 9, 2018. Accessed Sep 1, 2018.
  3. Cameroon-unfolding catastrophe’ evidence of human rights violations and crimes against humanity, Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa (CHRDA), Jun 3, 2019.
  4. 'We are in a war': Cameroon unrest confronted by army offensive, Eyewitness News, Feb 8, 2018. Accessed Jul 23, 2019.
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