Cameroon War

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Bamileke War
)

Cameroon War
Part of decolonisation of Africa
Date1955 (1955)–1964 (1964)
Location
Result
  • Cameroonian Independence through the establishment of a Pro-French Regime under Ahmadou Ahidjo[1]
  • Defeat of UPC insurgents
Belligerents

Independence War Phase (1955-1960)
 France (1955-1960)


Civil War Phase (1960-1964)
Federal Republic of Cameroon
 France
Union of the Peoples of Cameroon
Allied Militias
Commanders and leaders
France Pierre Messmer
France Max Briand
France Jean Lamberton
Ahmadou Ahidjo
Casualties and losses
61,300-76,300 Civilians killed

The Cameroon War

Cameroonian Armed Forces and French Army by 1964.[3] This war is often forgotten because it occurred at the height of France's biggest colonial independence struggle, the Algerian War
.

The war is believed to have produced some 61,300 to 76,300 civilian deaths, according to estimates from the British embassy assembled in 1964, with 80% of the dead being from the Bamileke Region. General Max Briand, the commander of all French military forces in Cameroon, gave an estimate of 20,000 people killed in the Bamileke Region in 1960 alone. Some modern estimates for deaths go into the hundreds of thousands or even millions, but are believed to not be reliable. Overall, estimating the number of deaths is difficult as the French administration did not keep meticulous records of the number of people killed.[3]

Causes of war

Cameroon's own movement began in the early 1950s, after the founding of the

Ruben Um Nyobe and his colleague, Felix-Roland Moumie
.

The burgeoning nationalist movement was met with the challenge of a colonial administration that wanted to neutralize it.

French colonial administration
's efforts to suppress UPC led to a brutal civil war.

Elites and the war

For many Cameroonian nationalists, embroiling oneself in the war was not an immediate inclination. In fact, many attempted to cooperate and participate democratically in the French colonial political system. Many of these were Cameroonians who had fully assimilated French law, language, and customs and were called Evolue. They admired the French lifestyle and denigrated local mores.[7] Yet, some of Cameroon's early revolutionaries would qualify as evolue.

Likewise, candidats administratifs were candidates that were favored by the colonial administrations.

Andre Fouda against popular anti-colonialist Douala Manga Bell. The colonial administration favored Fouda and worked to ensure his victory.[2]

Um Nyobe's leadership

Even members of the UPC tried to participate in the French political process at first. During legislative elections in June 1951,

Ruben Um Nyobe presented himself to electors. To hinder Um Nyobe's chances, the colonial administration waited until the last minute to accept Nyobe's candidacy. The administration also employed methods of voter suppression.[8] Regions in which Nyobe's popularity was high, had few voting offices. This forced Nyobe's supporters to travel long distances just to cast their votes. Nyobe ended up losing the election, winning only 3,100 votes.[9]

Frustrated by election results and other injustices plaguing the country, Nyobe took to the international stage. He defended three times (1952, 1953, and 1954) the cause of independent Cameroon before the

General Assembly of the United Nations.[10][11] In his speeches, Nyobe denounced French colonial rule and called for the unification of British and French Cameroon.[12]

The UPC's growing popularity became a threat for the French, and left latitude for other conflicts.

War chronology

On April 22, 1955, the UPC published the "Proclamation Commune," which at the time, was considered a unilateral independence manifesto.[13] However, the colonial administration viewed it as an unnecessary provocation.

Slowly, the French began to focus their energies on quelling the UPC movement, by stifling its leaders and their supporters. By May 1955, Um Nyobe and his peers went into hiding.[2]

On May 22, 1955, pro-independence riots broke out in Cameroon's major cities,

French Administration repressed these riots.[2]

On December 18, 1956, the UPC began boycotting legislative elections. They enacted a “zone de maintien de l’ordre” at Sanaga-Maritime to squash nationalist upheaval. This designation gave the French the authority to exert any military force on Cameroonians living in Sanaga-Maritime. In retaliation, the UPC established an armed branch of their party called Organizational National Committee (CNO).[15] From this moment, the war had officially begun.

As tensions heightened, the French quickly tried to retain order in the area. They brought in a lieutenant colonel, Jean Lamberton, from French Indochine to lead these efforts. From December 9, 1957, through 1958, Lamberton enacted what was known was the Cameroon Pacification Zone (ZoPac).[16] In this zone, locals were placed into camps and surveilled by the colonial army. The culmination of this pacification program was Um Nyobe's assassination in September 1958.[12]

From January 18, 1957, to May 25, 1959, French authorities installed a similar martial zone in western regions of Cameroon. This region of the country is home to two of the nation's largest ethnic groups, the Bamileke and the Bassa.[6] Localizing the conflict within the Bamileke region also served to quell the power of Bamileke elites.[17] However, Bamileke and Bassa forces continually challenged the French rule.

In January 1959, the

Cameroonian Liberation Army
began fighting for Cameroon to become an independent nation. From this moment, the Cameroonians and the French were engaged in a fully fledged war.

On January 1, 1960, Cameroon gained independence, and Ahmadou Ahidjo became the nation's first President.

War Crimes

Both the rebels, Cameroonian military and the French military committed war crimes during the conflict. The French Army "frequently burned or otherwise completely destroyed entire villages infested with terrorists, resulting in the killing of an unknown number of non-terrorist civilians".[18]

Related links

Notes

  1. ^ French: Guerre du Cameroun
  2. ^ French: Guerre cachée
  3. ^ French: Guerre d'indépendance camerounaise

References

  1. ^ "The Forgotten Cameroon War".
  2. ^ .
  3. ^ a b Teretta, Meredith. "Nation of Outlaws, State of Violence: Nationalism, Grassfields Tradition, and State Building in Cameroon". Athens OH: Ohio University Press. Page 178-179.
  4. ^ a b "Cameroon - Moving toward independence | history - geography". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  5. S2CID 144293950
    .
  6. ^ .
  7. .
  8. .
  9. .
  10. ^ "Ruben Um Nyobè (1913–1958) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed". www.blackpast.org. 22 February 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  11. ^ africanheritagevideo (11 October 2011), Ruben Um Nyobe's Speech at the United Nations / Discours de Ruben Um Nyobe aux Nations Unies - 1952, retrieved 7 December 2016
  12. ^ a b "Bonaberi.com : A la découverte de Ruben Um Nyobé". Bonaberi.com. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  13. ^ "Kamerun ! - Proclamation commune - 22 avril". calameo.com. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  14. ISSN 1021-545X
    .
  15. ^ "Union of the Populations of Cameroon". www.crwflags.com. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  16. .
  17. .
  18. ^ Teretta, Meredith. "Nation of Outlaws, State of Violence: Nationalism, Grassfields Tradition, and State Building in Cameroon". Athens OH: Ohio University Press. Page 178.