Thirteen individuals presented as separatist fighters, and one self-proclaimed ‘general’ have surrendered to the Cameroonian authorities in the Northwest region of the country.
The 14 former separatists on Wednesday, Oct. 6, in Commercial Avenue, Bamenda, the Northwest regional capital, publicly announced their decision to lay down their arms and quit the ranks of separatist fighters clamouring for an independent state of Ambazonia.
This happened during the visit by the Prime Minister and Head of Government, Dion Ngute to the region. The Prime Minister’s visit ended on Thursday after consultations with various stakeholders in the quest for peace in the beleaguered region including traditional rulers, religious authorities, civil society activists, politicians, and elected officials.
Led by ‘General Scatter’ who spoke on their behalf, the former combatants announced that they had decided to henceforth ally with the government in its search for peace in the Northwest and Southwest regions which have been rocked by an insurgency since 2016.
They revealed that they had already handed over their arms to the military.
“I am called General Scatter. I know some of you have heard of me. I was in Noni. After all that we have done, we have decided to come out of the bushes in order to construct our nation together. We discovered that all what we have been doing was not helping our country,” he declared.
The incident conjured memories of a similar surrender of several separatist fighters during the Big National Dialogue two years ago in Yaounde at which the fighters lauded the idea of a national dialogue.
Justifying their decision to take up arms, the former separatists said they were forced into rebellion because of the marginalisation and disdain of the national authorities and Francohones for their Anglophone compatriots.
Military sources in Bamenda say the former fighters would be integrated into the Bamenda Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Centre
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