Ambazonia War

The Ambazonia War was an armed conflict that took place in the modern partially recognized nation, known as the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, from October 1, 2017 to Decemebr 9, 2030. The conflict was a combination of a war for independence (from October 1, 2017 to October 9, 2027) and a civil war between multiple factions (October of 2027 to November 9, 2030). Although the main conflict took place between various Ambazonian separatist groups and the Cameroonian government, many more armed actors fought in the conflict, namely Nigeria and Biafran separatist groups, such as the Indigenous People of Biafra.

The roots of the conflict go all the way back to the unification of the French-speaking (or Francophone) territory of French Cameroon, and the English-speaking (or Anglophone) territory of Southern Cameroons, in 1960. A federal system, in which both territories would have greater representation in the government, was abolished by a now-disputed referendum in 1972. Demands for greater representation sparked the 2016-17 Cameroonian protests; the brutal suppression of the protests sparked the beginning of an armed struggle. The Ambazonia Governing Council (AGovC) announced the deployment of the Ambazonia Defense Forces (ADF) in September of 2017, with clashes between the ADF and Cameroonian forces. Guerilla attacks spread following the October 1 declaration of independence by another Ambazonian separatist group, the Southern Cameroons Ambazonia Consortium United Front, which later transformed into the Interim Government of Ambazonia, established later that month. The autonomous and fractured nature of the groups, due to both a leadership dispute and disputes between separatists and federalists (i.e. those who favored a return to the federalist system), prevented Ambazonian forces from gaining much territory.

In 2023, a new group, the Southern Cameroon Legal Council (SoCaLeC), formed as an umbrella organization meant to "unite all the peoples of Southern Cameroons... and let them make their own decisions". Most Ambazonian separatist and federalist armed groups united under the SoCaLeC, which subsequently made rapid gains against the Cameroonian government, shifting from guerilla warfare to more conventional warfare by 2025, capturing most major cities by 2026, and the entirety of Ambazonia by October 9, 2027. The SoCaLeC sought to have political discussions within the armed groups to decide on whether Ambazonia should separate from Cameroon or remain in Cameroon as an autonomous region. However, armed violence between the separatists and federalists commenced in October of 2027 before those political discussions took place. The violence between the two sides continued for 3 more years, further complicated by rebellions by indigenous groups, until November 9, 2030, when the Buea Peace Accords (chosen to be in Buea, as the city was divided between separatists and federalists, and no force had dominance over the city) stated that a referendum was to take place to decide. The referendum, held on December 9, had 68% of Ambazonians vote for independence, which went into effect that day.

The war had a significant humanitarian toll in the region, as over 24,000 civilians died. The death toll was put at 39,000 overall. Since the end of the war, only one fully recognized nation, Ethiopia, recognized Ambazonia as sovereign, while one partially recognized nation, Somaliland, recognized Ambazonia as sovereign. The rest of the world views Ambazonia as an autonomous region of Cameroon (officially deemed the Autonomous Regions of Southern Cameroon). The Cameroonian governments failure caused approval of the government to plummet, which would later culminate in the 2029 Yaounde Crisis, in which thousands of opposition soldiers mutinied in Yaounde and attempted to take over the government- when the attempted coup failed, they settled in for defensive positions for 3 months until a peace deal (mediated by Ardhiziwa) reintroduced democracy in Cameroon.