CPDM Shakeup, Diaspora Tensions, and Armed Conflicts Rock Cameroon Pre-2025 Elections

These developments come as Biya, 92, is widely expected to seek re-election in the upcoming October 2025 presidential polls.

CPDM Reshuffle Signals Biya’s Electoral Intentions

On March 27, Biya appointed 28 new members to the CPDM central committee and deployed party emissaries to four of Cameroon’s ten regions. The move is seen as a strategic prelude to the party’s formal endorsement of Biya’s candidacy. The president, in power since 1982, faces internal contestation as a CPDM militant filed a legal challenge to question his eligibility to stand again.

Meanwhile, the government condemned incidents in Brussels on March 3, where Cameroonian diaspora activists from the Brigade Anti-Sardinards (BAS) attempted to disrupt Youth Minister Mounouna Foutsou’s visit. Labeling the group as “frenzied terrorists,” the Biya administration has accused them of staging foreign-based provocations to undermine national institutions.

Parliamentary leaders on March 14 issued stark warnings regarding rising interethnic and political tensions as the election approaches. In a televised address, Cameroon Renaissance Movement (CRM) leader Maurice Kamto accused the regime of plotting to sabotage his candidacy, cautioning that disqualifying him could trigger “grave consequences.”

Anglophone Conflict Escalates, Spreads Beyond Strongholds

The separatist insurgency in the North West and South West regions continued to claim lives. Between March 1 and 15, armed groups attacked military patrols in at least three locations in the North West, culminating in a March 9 ambush on a military post in Meluf that reportedly left four soldiers dead.

In a rare expansion of hostilities, separatist fighters carried out a deadly March 19 attack in Magba, West Region — a predominantly francophone area — killing two soldiers and signaling a potential geographic broadening of the conflict.

In another development, one of two government officials kidnapped in October 2024 by Nigerian gunmen in the Bakassi peninsula was released on March 17 after a ransom was reportedly paid.

Boko Haram Resurges with Lethal Force

Cameroon’s military also sustained significant losses in the Far North region as jihadist group Boko Haram launched renewed attacks. The most severe came overnight March 23-24, when militants attacked the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) base in Wulgo, Nigeria, killing at least 20 Cameroonian soldiers. Sources say the attack may have involved explosive-laden drones — marking a concerning escalation in tactics.

Other incidents included a deadly roadside bomb in Vreket on March 17, which killed two soldiers, and the lynching of two university researchers by a mob in Soulede-Roua on March 2, after they were mistaken for insurgents.

A Nation on the Brink

With political instability intensifying ahead of elections and the state grappling with escalating security crises in both the Anglophone and Far North regions, Cameroon’s prospects for peace and democratic transition remain uncertain.

Despite widespread calls for dialogue and reform, Biya’s continued grip on power, combined with persistent insurgent violence, paints a troubling picture for the country’s future.

Reporting by Cameroon Concord Newsroom
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