Written by Layla Hassan, Middle East & North Africa Correspondent
Africa | Wednesday, June 3, 2026
Armed separatist fighters attacked the town of Bambili in Cameroon’s Northwest Region on June 3, killing at least 12 civilians and burning more than 40 homes in what local authorities described as a deliberate strike on market day crowds. The assault marks the third separatist attack in the region in a single week, according to a statement from the Governor of the Northwest Region.
The Ambazonia Revolution Forces (ARF), a faction of the Ambazonia separatist movement fighting for independence for the English-speaking regions of Cameroon, issued a statement claiming responsibility for the Bambili attack. The group said the assault was targeting “collaborators of the Yaoundé regime.” Cameroon authorities rejected that framing, saying the dead were civilians with no military affiliation.
Cameroon military forces launched counter-insurgency operations in the surrounding areas following the attack, with security sources reporting clashes with armed groups near several villages along the Ring Road corridor. At least two soldiers were reported wounded in the sweep operations, according to local media outlet Canal Economics.
The attack comes amid a surge in separatist violence across the Northwest and Southwest regions since the beginning of 2026. More than 200 civilians have been killed in separatist attacks this year, according to a June 1 report by the African Centre for the Study of the Elysee. Humanitarian organizations have warned that an estimated 600,000 people in the two English-speaking regions are now internally displaced.
Cameroon President Paul Biya, who is 93 years old, has not publicly addressed the Bambili attack. Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute chaired an emergency security council meeting and called on regional partners to increase intelligence sharing on cross-border movements of armed groups.