Cameroon’s Anglophone crisis: violence against women in the North-West and South-West, 2021–2026

Nearly ten years into the armed conflict in Cameroon’s North-West and South-West regions, women and girls are still killed, raped and abducted by both sides. About 1.1 million people in the two regions need humanitarian aid and nearly 335,000 are internally displaced [23]. The UN refugee agency counted 175 cases of gender-based violence in the two regions between January and September 2025 alone, and rape made up 29% of all cases it recorded in that period [21]. In January 2026, an attack on the village of Gidado killed six women and seven children [18]. In February 2026, a military court gave soldiers 5 to 10 years for the 2020 Ngarbuh massacre, and refused reparations to the families [1].

Content note: this article describes killings, rape and abductions of women and children.

Context

The crisis began in 2016 with protests by lawyers and teachers in the two English-speaking regions. It became an armed conflict in late 2017, when separatist groups declared a state they call “Ambazonia” [10]. Since then, government forces and armed separatists have both been accused of serious abuses [5]. The International Crisis Group now estimates more than 7,000 deaths and about one million people displaced, according to a 2026 review by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada [21].

Women carry a specific burden. Separatist fighters punish women they suspect of helping the army, abduct women for ransom and attack schools. Soldiers have raped women during operations and killed women and girls in reprisal raids. Displaced women in towns such as Douala and Yaoundé have been pushed into survival sex, the UN reported in 2024 [21]. Few cases reach a court.

Data on this conflict is partial. Many survivors never report, because of fear, stigma or because no service exists near them [4]. The cases below come from Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, UN agencies and the press. They are a sample of what was documented, not a full count.

Cases and events, 2021 to 2026

2021

• 10 January, Mautu (South-West). Soldiers of the 21st Motorized Infantry Battalion raided the village and killed at least nine civilians, including a 50-year-old woman and a 6-year-old girl. Video showed two injured women. The army denied killing civilians and called the images fabricated. No prosecution was reported [2].
• 12 January, Bamenda (North-West). Separatist fighters shot and injured a female public-school teacher [3].
• Early 2021, both regions. UN data shared with Al Jazeera recorded nearly 500 cases of rape and sexual or physical assault between January and March 2021, plus over 500 other cases of gender-based violence [4].
• 8 June, Gom (North-West). Two soldiers shot dead Nwang Lydia, aged 60, after she did not give them information on a separatist fighter [3].
• 9 June, Mbuluf (North-West). Soldiers from the regular army and the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) raped a 53-year-old woman during a security operation [3].
• 29–31 July, Yaoundé. More than 1,000 women from all ten regions attended the first National Women’s Convention for Peace and adopted a “Women’s Call for Peace” [6]. (See the peace section below.)
• 3 September, Bui division (North-West). A survivor told Amnesty International that soldiers raped her in her home, burned the house and took her and her daughter to a military base. She said seven women were held there for “two months and two weeks” and raped every day. The youngest was 12 [5].
• 14 October, Buea (South-West). A gendarme shot dead a 4-year-old girl on her way to school [3].

2022

• 12 January, Buea. Separatists stopped 11 students on their way to school, including at least four girls aged 14 to 18. They beat them, forced them to undress and shot one in the leg. (Human Rights Watch’s June 2022 report gives 12 January; its World Report 2023 gives 12 June [7][8].)
• 13 January, Tiko (South-West). Separatists abducted nine plantation workers, six of them women. All were freed on 25 January after a ransom was paid [7].
• 19 January, Weh (North-West). Fighters abducted five teachers, including two women, from a government high school [7].
• 11 February, Okoyong (South-West). Separatists set fire to three dormitories at an all-girls boarding school. About 120 girls were inside; some had light injuries [7].
• 26 February, Mile 90 (North-West). Fighters fired on a health service vehicle, killing nurse Jenette Sweyah Shey, 46, and injuring another female nurse. The Ambazonia Defense Forces (ADF) called it “mistaken identity” [7].
• 28 March, Mbokop-Tanyi (North-West). Separatists attacked a Mbororo Fulani compound, shot a woman and burned her body with her two children, aged seven years and six months [5].
• Early April, Oku and Elak (North-West). After women protested against separatist abuses, fighters abducted protesters. The army said 14 women were taken in Elak and four in Mbalangi (South-West). A video showed 11 women forced to “confess” they were paid to protest [9].
• 30 April, Bamenda. ADF fighters kidnapped Senator Regina Mundi. Soldiers freed her on 30 May [7].
• 16 May, Idenau (South-West). Fighters abducted 30 people, including five women, in a raid. A fighter raped a girl in her early teens [7].
• 1 June, Missong (North-West). Soldiers killed nine people in a reprisal operation, including four women and an 18-month-old girl. The army admitted responsibility and arrested four soldiers. By September, no progress was reported [8].
• 8 June, Chomba (North-West). Soldiers held a woman and her 11-year-old foster child for 24 days at the BIR base in Bafut [8].

2023

• 5 February. Separatists abducted opposition MP Honourine Wainachi Nentoh, allegedly for ransom. She was freed days later [11].
• About 20 May, Kedjom Keku (North-West). Separatists abducted more than 30 women, described as elderly, the day after they marched against armed-group abuses. Local officials said they were “severely tortured” [10]. Human Rights Watch reported the protest was against illegal taxes imposed by armed groups [11]. Their fate was unknown when the press reported the case [10].
• 4 July. Amnesty International published evidence of killings, rape and village burnings by soldiers, separatists and militias in the North-West [5].
• 4 October, Guzang (North-West). ADF fighters filmed the killing of two men accused of spying. The group said it held three more “spies,” one of them a woman [13].
• 6 November, Egbekaw, Mamfe (South-West). A dawn raid on sleeping families killed at least 20 people, including women and children. About 15 houses were burned. Officials blamed separatists; no group claimed it [12].

2024

• 11 February, Nkambe (North-West). A bomb exploded during Youth Day events, killing a 15-year-old girl and injuring more than 70 people, according to the US State Department; Amnesty counted over 100 injured [14][15]. ADF leader Lucas Ayaba Cho claimed it. Norway arrested him in September 2024 for “incitement to crimes against humanity” [14][15].
• 26 May, Bamenda. A grenade attack on a bar killed two people and injured 41 [15].
• Throughout 2024. A UN human rights report, published in January 2026, found that security forces committed rape “around their positions” and in towns, while armed groups committed rape and forced or early marriage, mostly in rural areas [21].

Public, dated reports of individual cases against women in 2024 are thin. This reflects reduced reporting, not reduced violence.

2025

• 8 January, Bamenda. The South West/North West Women’s Task Force launched a Women’s Peacebuilding Manual [31].
• January–September, both regions. UNHCR recorded 175 of its 430 national gender-based violence cases in the North-West and South-West. Physical assault (30%) and rape (29%) led the list [21].
• May, Malende (South-West). Residents protested alleged military abuse, including sexual abuse [21].
• June. OCHA reported many separatist attacks on teachers, students and parents to stop exams [16].
• Over the year. OCHA recorded at least 131 incidents with improvised explosive devices, 81 attacks on education and 20 on health care [20].
• 12 December, Wowo (North-West). Separatists killed three Mbororo herders, one a 12-year-old child. Reprisal killings of three local residents followed [19].

2026 (to October)

• 14 January, Gidado, Ndu (North-West). Attackers killed at least 14 Mbororo civilians: one man, six women and seven children aged 2 to 11. Mbororo leaders and the SDF party blamed separatist fighters [17][18]. The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect counts at least 23 people killed in Wowo and Gidado, “most of them women and children” [20].
• 15 January and 20 February, Yaoundé. The military court convicted three soldiers and a vigilante (in absentia) for the 2020 Ngarbuh killings of 21 civilians, including 13 children and a pregnant woman. Sentences ranged from 5 to 10 years. One soldier was convicted of “violence against a pregnant woman.” The court rejected the families’ compensation claim [1].
• January–March. OCHA recorded more than 1,700 protection violations in the two regions [22].
• 15 April, Bamenda. Ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s visit, the Women’s Task Force asked for ceasefire commitments and women’s seats in peace talks [32].
• 24 June. Human Rights Watch reported that Cameroon has not met its commitments to reduce violence against women nationwide [29].
• 25 June, Bamenda. North-West lawyers and civil society groups denounced a rise in rape cases and asked for maximum penalties and an end to interference in trials [30].

What the data shows

Displacement figures differ by source and by year. OCHA counts people displaced inside the two regions; other estimates include people who moved to French-speaking cities. GBV case numbers depend on where services exist, so they understate the problem.

Access to services. In 2021, UNICEF said about 40% of health facilities in the South-West were not working [4]. In January 2026, UNFPA’s partners ran 7,400 reproductive health consultations in 24 facilities and gave psychosocial support to 560 women and girls in safe spaces. In the same month, the Darak health centre was destroyed and looted [25]. Gender-based violence partners reached 18,080 people in the first quarter of 2026, mostly through prevention sessions [22]. Funding is falling: the humanitarian response reached 48% of its targets in 2025, down from 76% in 2024 [23].

Accountability: few trials, little redress

The Ngarbuh case is the only major military massacre in the Anglophone regions that has led to convictions. The trial lasted more than five years in a court about 450 km from the village. Only three relatives and one witness testified. Senior officers were never charged, and 17 accused militiamen remain at large. Human Rights Watch said the trial “delivered neither full accountability nor meaningful redress” [1].

Other cases have stalled. The army denied the Mautu killings [2]. Four soldiers were arrested over Missong, with no reported trial [8]. Human Rights Watch reported no arrests for the Chomba, Tiko, Okoyong or Buea cases [8]. A UN human rights report found that very few state agents are held to account for sexual violence, that suspects are often transferred before trial, and that survivors almost never receive compensation [21]. On the separatist side, the main step is the arrest of Lucas Ayaba Cho in Norway in 2024 [14].

Women building peace

Women’s groups have pushed for peace since the start. The South West/North West Women’s Task Force (SNWOT) was formed in May 2019. It intercepted Prime Minister Dion Ngute during his 2019 visit and influenced the Major National Dialogue that year [31]. In January 2025, it launched a Women’s Peacebuilding Manual developed over four years; 1,000 copies went to families and communities [31]. In April 2026, it called for inclusive dialogue, faith-based mediation, a ceasefire and formal recognition of local peace work [32].

The National Women’s Convention for Peace (Yaoundé, 29–31 July 2021) was organised by 38 civil society groups. Its Call for Peace demanded an end to hostilities, dialogue, equal participation of women, trauma healing and disarmament programmes [6]. Women remain largely absent from formal peace processes [32].

What the law says, and the gaps

Cameroon signed the Maputo Protocol in 2006 and ratified it in 2012 [33]. Its Penal Code (Law No. 2016/007 of 12 July 2016) made progress:

• Rape (section 296) is punished by 5 to 10 years in prison. A later marriage between offender and victim no longer stops prosecution (section 297) [27][33].
• Sexual harassment (section 302-1), female genital mutilation, breast ironing and expulsion from the marital home are crimes [27][33].

The gaps are serious:

• Narrow rape definition. Rape requires “force or moral ascendancy” and covers only penile penetration. Many forms of sexual assault are not expressly crimes [28].
• No dedicated law on violence against women or domestic violence. The women’s ministry started drafting a GBV bill in November 2023 [27]. We found no evidence it has been adopted.
• Soldiers judged by military courts, far from victims, with weak victim participation and no reparations in practice [1].
• Few services. Survivors depend on underfunded humanitarian programmes [25][26].

Nationally, the government counted 77 women killed by partners in 2024. Human Rights Watch says the real number is likely higher [29].

What RFLD asks for

1. Stop attacks on civilians now. All armed separatist groups and the defence forces must stop killing, abducting and raping women and girls, and respect schools and health centres.
2. Investigate every documented case, including Mautu, Missong, Kedjom Keku, Egbekaw and Gidado, and publish the results.
3. Try sexual violence by soldiers in civilian courts, with victim participation and protection, and pay reparations, starting with the Ngarbuh families.
4. Adopt a comprehensive law on violence against women, with a broad, consent-based definition of rape and clear protection orders, in line with Article 4 of the Maputo Protocol.
5. Fund survivor services in both regions: clinical care for rape within 72 hours, safe spaces, legal aid and psychosocial support, including for displaced women in Douala and Yaoundé.
6. Put women at the peace table, with SNWOT and convention networks given formal seats in any dialogue or mediation, as UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and Article 10 of the Maputo Protocol require.
7. Publish data. Release sex-disaggregated data on killings, abductions and GBV cases in the two regions every year.

RFLD tools you can use today

• Women’s Rights Laws: Cameroon, a summary of the laws that protect women in Cameroon.
• Sexual violence in Africa: rights, justice and support, for survivors and those who help them.
• Survivor Support Toolkit, practical steps for first responders and community groups.
• Peace & Security, RFLD’s work on women, peace and security.
• Maputo Barometer 2026, to track how Cameroon applies the Protocol.
• Decisions and enforcement, on how courts rule on women’s rights in Africa.
• CEDAW and UPR review calendar, to plan shadow reports on Cameroon.
• Women in Leadership Tracker: Cameroon, on women’s place in decision-making.
• Maputo Protocol Training Manual and the free courses of the RFLD Academy.
• 16 Days of Activism 2026 and Get Support.

Closing

The women of the North-West and South-West have been targeted for what soldiers or fighters think they know, for protesting, and for being easy to seize. They have also organised, marched, mediated and written their own peace manual. The Ngarbuh verdict shows that trials are possible, but also how little they deliver when they come late, far away and without reparations. Cameroon has the Maputo Protocol and a 2016 Penal Code to build on. What is missing is the political will to protect women now, to hold every armed actor to account, and to give women a real seat at the peace table.

References

1. Human Rights Watch, “Cameroon: Massacre Trial Short on Justice,” 24 February 2026. hrw.org
2. Human Rights Watch, “Cameroon: Nine Killed in Army Attack,” 4 February 2021. hrw.org
3. Human Rights Watch, “World Report 2022: Cameroon,” January 2022. hrw.org
4. Al Jazeera (republished by Arise News), “Sexual violence pervasive in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions,” 29–30 April 2021. arise.tv
5. Amnesty International, “Cameroon: Rampant atrocities amid Anglophone regions must be stopped and investigated,” 4 July 2023. amnesty.org
6. ICAN, “Cameroon’s First Women’s National Peace Convention,” August 2021. icanpeacework.org
7. Human Rights Watch (via ecoi.net), “Cameroon: Separatist Abuses in Anglophone Regions,” 27 June 2022. ecoi.net
8. Human Rights Watch, “World Report 2023: Cameroon,” January 2023. hrw.org
9. VOA, “Cameroon Says Separatists Abduct Women Protesting Fighters’ Abuses,” 8 April 2022. voanews.com
10. The Defense Post / AFP, “Separatists Kidnap 30 Women in Cameroon,” 24 May 2023. thedefensepost.com
11. Human Rights Watch (via ecoi.net), “World Report 2024: Cameroon,” January 2024. ecoi.net
12. Al Jazeera, “Separatist gunmen kill at least 20 in Cameroon,” 6 November 2023. aljazeera.com
13. Human Rights Watch, “Cameroon: Video Shows Killing by Armed Separatists,” 13 October 2023. hrw.org
14. US Department of State (via ecoi.net), “2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Cameroon,” 2025. ecoi.net
15. Amnesty International (via ecoi.net), “The State of the World’s Human Rights: Cameroon 2024,” 29 April 2025. ecoi.net
16. Amnesty International (via ecoi.net), “The State of the World’s Human Rights: Cameroon 2025,” 21 April 2026. ecoi.net
17. Tchadinfos, “Cameroun : une attaque des séparatistes fait une dizaine de morts dans la région du Nord-Ouest,” 14 January 2026. tchadinfos.com
18. Investir au Cameroun, “Cameroon Faces Calls for Justice After Deadly Attack in Northwest,” January 2026. investiraucameroun.com
19. Alwihda Info, “Crise anglophone au Cameroun : trois civils Mbororos tués par les séparatistes à Wowo,” 14 December 2025. alwihdainfo.com
20. Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, “Cameroon,” updated March 2026. globalr2p.org
21. Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (via ecoi.net), “Cameroon: The situation and treatment of Anglophones… including Anglophone women (2024–May 2026),” 4 June 2026 (cites UNHCR, OHCHR, OCHA, Crisis Group, Mimi Mefo Info). ecoi.net
22. UN OCHA, “Cameroon: North-West and South-West Situation Report No. 85, 1 January – 31 March 2026,” 2026. reliefweb.int
23. UN OCHA, “Cameroon: Humanitarian Dashboard (31 December 2025),” 2026. reliefweb.int
24. UN OCHA, “Cameroon: Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan 2026,” 2026. reliefweb.int
25. UNFPA, “UNFPA Cameroon Situation Report, 1–31 January 2026,” 2026. reliefweb.int
26. UNFPA, “Situation Report: Crisis in Cameroon, May 2026,” June 2026. unfpa.org
27. EUAA, “COI Query Response Q65: Cameroon, SGBV against women,” November 2023 (cites Law No. 2016/007). ecoi.net
28. Human Dignity Trust, “Changing Laws, Changing Lives: Cameroon,” undated. humandignitytrust.org
29. Africanews / AFP, “HRW says Cameroon not doing enough to combat violence against women,” 24 June 2026. africanews.com
30. Hilltop Voices, “North West Rights Groups demand tougher action as rape cases rise in Cameroon,” 28 June 2026. hilltopvoices.com
31. Hilltop Voices, “SNWOT unveils peace roadmap, launches game-changing Peacebuilding Manual in Bamenda,” 8 January 2025. hilltopvoices.com
32. Hilltop Voices, “Women battle way into peace talks as Pope visit nears,” 16 April 2026. hilltopvoices.com
33. SOAWR, “Protocol Watch: Cameroon,” undated. soawr.org