Ambazonia fighters overrun a gendarmerie as Biya's eighth term begins

Summary

Cameroon's Anglophone war flared as President Paul Biya began an eighth term. In June 2026 Ambazonian separatists overran the Belo Gendarmerie Brigade in the North-West Region, killing brigade commander Sahok Martial and gendarme Ambassa Djona and seizing rifles, ammunition and body armour — one of the deadliest assaults on government forces in months. It follows separate December 2025 and January 2026 attacks that killed 23, mostly women and children, in Wowo and Gidado. The 92-year-old Paul Biya, in power since 1982, was declared winner of the October 2025 election by the Constitutional Council; the disputed result and crackdown on supporters of runner-up Issa Tchiroma Bakary left at least 48 dead. Analysts say Biya enters the term with no strategy for the twin Anglophone-jihadist crises.

By the numbers

• 2 — gendarmes killed in the June 2026 Belo Brigade assault.
• 48+ — killed in protests after Biya's disputed October 2025 win.
• 23 — killed (mostly women and children) at Wowo and Gidado, Dec 2025-Jan 2026.
• 1982 — year Biya took power; he is now 92 and serving an eighth term.
• 0 — countries recognising Ambazonia's independence.

Why it matters

A separatist force capable of overrunning a gendarmerie and arming itself from the spoils shows the Anglophone insurgency intact eight years on. With Paul Biya re-installed under a contested vote, no succession plan, and 48 dead in the crackdown, Cameroon faces deepening instability on two fronts and a leadership vacuum at the top.

What to watch

• Whether separatist attacks on security posts escalate after Belo.
• Biya's succession and any VP appointment given his age.
• Fallout from the contested election and Tchiroma's opposition.
• Spillover with the Boko Haram threat in the Far North.