By Ndi Eugene Ndi
The body of the separatist leader was displayed at the hospital roundabout with this board
The military has announced the killing of an Ambazonia kingpin who is said to have been wreaking havoc in Mezam and Bui divisions in the North West region.
Self-proclaimed General Cross and Die crossed to the world beyond when defence and security forces descended on him in the locality of Ntamafe in Mankon, Bamenda II sub division.
Cross and Die who in several videos circulated online threatened to deal with the military should they attempt to dislodge his camp at the Ntanka neighborhood was amongst eight separatist fighters killed in different operations carried out by the military between October 29 and October 30, the commander of the 5th Military Region, Brigadier General Nka Valere said.
Reports say the notorious armed separatist fighter was a known rapist and at the centre of several kidnappings for ransom. He is reported to have masterminded the recent kidnap of a church elder in Bamenda recently.
Kidnapped and whisked to an unknown destination on Sunday, October 24, 2021, Elder Nana Anastasia, 77, congregational chairperson of Presbyterian Church Ntamulung and Mezam Presbytery Chairperson regained her freedom after a night in the hands of the armed men who were believed to taking orders from ‘General Cross and Die.
“ADF confirms killing
Capo Daniel, Deputy Defense Chief of the Ambazonian Defense Forces (ADF) in a footage on the social media confirmed the killing of the armed fighter calling for a lockdown on the town in memory of the killed fighter—a call the population largely ignored as many people went about their businesses unperturbed.
The military has not given much details about the operation leading to the killing of the notorious armed fighter but reports say he was killed as he attended the funeral ceremony of one of his relatives in Ntamafe.
Capo Daniel in his video release said he was ambushed by security officials in two unmarked civilian vehicles after attending a funeral service. His bodyguards, he continued, were unable to protect him. He also announced that his second in command will take over control of the separatist camp in Ntankah known as New Jerusalem.
The corpse of the killed self-styled General was dropped at the Bamenda Hospital roundabout where the population turned out massively to see as a sign of confirmation of the killing of one of the dreaded of the fighters in the area. General Nka Valere told reporters that the military has been hunting for ‘General’ Cross and Die for the past two years.
Other fighters killed
Citing military sources, state broadcaster, the Cameroon Radio Television media reported the military also killed another self-styled General known as Princewill alongside five others in another operation at Mile 87 in Bali. While another operation at the Behind Travellers in Bamenda led to the killing of another ‘General’ known as Tiger.
Separatist fighters attempted to stop traffic in Akum, a regular practice to extort money from passengers. Unfortunately, they met a stiff resistance from the army that pushed them down the slopes.
The ADF has confirmed the death of its fighters, adding that a civilian lady was injured in the shootout.More operationsGeneral Nka Valere announced that more of such operations are ongoing in various parts of the region to neutralise those he says have been rendering terro on the people.
The English-speaking North West and South West regions have remained volatile since an industrial strike by lawyers and teachers over marginalisation morphed into an armed conflict in 2017.
Separatist groups have since engaged the state in a bloody conflict. The groups want English speakers to secede from the majority French-speaking country and have declared the independence of a new country they call Ambazonia.
More than 3,500 people have been killed, according to humanitarian organisations, and over 712,000 have fled their homes as a result of the conflict.
Last September, the army announced a “paradigm shift” in efforts to crush armed separatists in the conflict-plagued regions after 15 soldiers and several civilians were killed and three armoured vehicles destroyed by the armed separatist fighters in two separate attacks in a week in the North West.
