The Cameroonian army recently dismantled the camp of a separatist militia in the Southwest.  Located in the 'Besali' forest (Lebialem), the camp occupied by the militia known as “Gorillas Fighters” was raided by the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR), according to a release published on October 13, 2020, by the army.

According to the release, the raid was planned in collaboration with all the defense and security forces under the coordination of the 2^nd military region.  During the raid, many separatist fighters were arrested including their leader  “Ayekeh” a.k.a “Man pass Gun, Chief of Forest.” The regular army also recovered Ayeleh’s Kalashnikov, his shotgun, and many ammunitions.  

A deserter

Aged 33, Ayekeh Lestico deserted the Cameroonian army before joining "Red Dragon," a separatist militia led by Oliver Lekeaka alias "Field Marshall," who is actively sought after by the police. Due to leadership disputes that arose over loot and ransom distribution, Ayekeh left the “Red Dragon” to create his militia (which is believed to have killed, kidnapped, raped, and organized many attacks against the regular army).  

"Besali is a cocoa producing area. Every cocoa merchant had to pay XAF500,000 to these terrorists per coca season to continue operations in the region,” explained Chamberlin Ntou'ou Ndong ( prefect of La Meme) after the exposure of the remains of Ayeleh (shot dead in Kumba). The administrative authority took this opportunity to urge the rebels hiding in the forests to surrender and be rehabilitated.

Ten hostages freed

Ten hostages (including babies and young girls used as "sex objects" by the separatists) were freed at the end of the raid. Several military equipment (including boots, bullet-proof vests…etc) as well as two satellite phones whose origin remains to be determined, were also recovered in this hiding place.

Let’s note that one soldier was injured during the raid because of the grenades thrown at them during the assault.  

In recent years, the Cameroonian defense forces are regularly attacked by armed gangs in the English-speaking northwest and southwest regions. These militias loot, kidnap, rape, and murder the population under the pretext of the Anglophone region’s secession.  

Baudouin Enama