Countermeasures for La Republique du Cameroun’s Scorched-Earth Military Policy on Ambazonia

Terror is the order of the day in Ambazonia as the old and the young in villages across the territory wake up every day to news of entire villages destroyed and set ablaze by soldiers from La Republique du Cameroun practicing a war strategy called “scorched-earth”.

A scorched-earth policy is a military strategy that aims to destroy anything that might be useful to the enemy while it is advancing through or withdrawing from a location. Any assets that could be used by the enemy may be targeted, for example food sources, water supplies, transportation, communications, industrial resources, and even the local people themselves.

This military strategy has been used several times in history and finally got banned under The Geneva Conventions of 1977 under article 54 which reads: “It is prohibited to attack, destroy, remove, or render useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population, such as foodstuffs, agricultural areas for the production of foodstuffs, crops, livestock, drinking water installations and supplies, and irrigation works, for the specific purpose of denying them for their sustenance value to the civilian population or to the adverse Party, whatever the motive, whether in order to starve out civilians, to cause them to move away, or for any other motive.”

So now we know this is the strategy of soldiers from La Republique du Cameroun as they fail to stop units of Ambazonia Restoration Forces. It was done in villages in Mamfe, and then the world has just witnessed the horrible case of KwaKwa village where a grandma was burnt alive. The practice is continuing in the northern zone of Ambazonia as I write. A village called Tadu has suffered massive destruction leaving its inhabitants helpless and without a source of livelihood. This will continue as the reckless soldiers in their fury and frustration plunder village after village. Villages and counties that have not yet been hit must be prepared in a way to minimize the impact.
Here below are tips from some war strategists on how to counter scorched-earth tactics. Let all counties be informed.

1. Stopping Reinforcements mechanisms: Usually the practice of scorched-earth tactics happens after the enemy has suffered a heavy blow. They then call in reinforcements who come in with the sole aim of destroying everything. So it is vital for every county to have a mechanism in place to hinder reinforcements. Such mechanisms include:

Felling big trees across the main entrance to the county.
Rolling boulders onto the main road
Digging trenches across the main road
Pulling up bridges
Ambushing and waylaying
Puncturing tires of enemy vehicles
These tips will help minimize the impact of a scorched-earth operation in any village.

2. Keep captured La Republique du Cameroun soldiers, administrators or citizens as hostages in special secret places in the villages and use them as bait or bargain chips.

3. Units of Ambazonia Restoration Forces should coordinate attacks in a way that they are spread out across several counties and even across the border to neighboring villages in La Republique du Cameroun. This will reduce the impact on villages, as the opponent’s resources will be stretched out.

4. County self-defense groups should educate the masses on preventive measures and how to minimize the loss of valuable items. Very valuable items like money, livestock, jewelry, can be moved to safe houses not likely to be destroyed like the chief’s palace.

5. Every county should have a civil defense siren, which is agreed on, and known to all its inhabitants. The siren should go off once destructive forces from La Republique du Cameroun are spotted in town. With the lack of sophisticated sirens technology use local methods. Examples include blowing whistles, horns, drumming and ululating to alert the entire village when the invaders are spotted.

Ambazonians should know that we are at war and all tactics are allowed as long as the end is victorious. Most Ambazonians are so peaceful that even at this time when a full-scale war has been declared on them, they are still tuned to the era of street demonstrations and rallies. Ambazonians are very unfamiliar with warfare and even the Restoration Forces need to be schooled on basic war tactics. All counties in Ambazonia should not wait until soldiers of La Republique du Cameroun have raided them before they react. They should preempt the raids.

Written by
Ndoh Emmanuel
For Bareta News