Soldiers have since been battling armed men fighting for the independence of a country they call Ambazonia - a geographical allusion to Cameroon's North West and South West Regions.

In October 2016, Common Law Lawyers went on strike to denounce what they said were attempts by government to suffocate Common Law and replace it with civil law.

Teachers joined the strike on November 21, 2016 to protect the Anglo-Saxon educational system they feared was being overwhelmed by the Francophone system of education. Days of school boycott and civil disobedience have since morphed into a full blown armed conflict.

Human rights groups have accused the defense forces of excesses in the fight against the armed separatists but Brigadier General Agha says they are doing their best.

“I’m telling you again, that we might not be saints, we are not, but we do our best. So the population understands that. We are with them and we’ve come here not only to defend them, but also to encourage them to develop themselves," africanews quotes Brigadier General Agha as saying.

Allegations of threat, arbitrary arrests, torture, incommunicado detentions, intimidation and extrajudicial killings have since flooded the media space, claims human rights groups blame both sides for.

Hospitals, villages, houses and public and private structures have been burnt. But both the Cameroonian army and separatists deny the claim and blame the other party.

The English-speaking region claims to be sidelined by the country’s French speaking majority. Hundreds have been killed and the separatists have vowed to destabilise the regions.

Recently, Switzerland said it will mediate the crisis in Cameroon at the request of both parties. It is not known if both parties have met in talks.