General No Pity

"General No Pity" is the nom du guerre of an Anglophone Cameroonian who was born in Bambalang.[6] He lived as a motorbiker in Buea before the outbreak of the Anglophone Crisis, a separatist rebellion in western Cameroon.[7] At some point before 2020, he became the leader of the Bambalang Marine Forces. His force originated and initially mainly operated in Ngo-Ketunjia. General No Pity gained prominence as one of the Ambazonian military leaders who are most "wanted" by the Cameroonian security forces.[3] Researcher Joseph Nkwain categorized his pseudonym as typical for the Ambazonian rebel commanders, as it was useful in evoking respect and fear.[8]

In March 2020, it was falsely reported that General No Pity had been killed in combat near Bamali.[3]

Ngo-Ketunjia

Bui

Boyo

Mezam

Manyu

Departments where forces loyal to General No Pity are known to have operated as of 2021.

In 2021, General No Pity expanded his reach and increased his attacks,[7] with his troops operating in Bambalang, Bui, Boyo, and Mezam.[9] Under his leadership, the militia carried out two successful raids into West Region throughout 2021.[10][11] He also became part of the Ambazonia Restoration Forces which are loyal to the Interim Government of Ambazonia,[12] one of the factions involved in the Ambazonian leadership crisis.[1] In September of that year, General No Pity and the Bambalang Marine Forces cooperated with the Jaguars of Bamessing to ambush a military convoy. The operation resulted in the death of 15 Cameroonian soldiers, the destruction of two armoured vehicles, and the capture of several guns by the rebels. General No Pity celebrated the success by filming himself and his fighters next to the burning vehicles.[13] This ambush received national attention in Cameroon, and led to the government intensifying their manhunt for him.[7] In the month following the Bamessing attack, he called on the United Nations to take notice of the Anglophone Crisis in an audio message. At the time, he was described as leader of the "Ambazonia Revolutionary Guards"[5] as well as chief commander of the Ambazonia Restoration Forces by the Cameroon Intelligence Report.[14]

Meanwhile, the Cameroonian military launched operations to hunt him down, resulting clashes which left several Bambalang Marine Forces members dead.[9][15] Security forces once again claimed to have killed General No Pity, only for him to resurface in Manyu.[15][lower-alpha 2] Eventually, Cameroonian security forces arrested Antoinette Kongnso, believed to be the pregnant girlfriend or ex-girlfriend of General No Pity.[17][18] The separatist militant reportedly responded by kidnapping Fon Yekum Kelvin of Bambalang, and demanding that Kongnso and several of his imprisoned followers be freed in exchange for Kelvin. Kongnso was released on bail in December 2021.[18]

As time went on, General No Pity made more and more incursions into Bui, where he forced several minor separatist factions to unify into the "Bui Unity Warriors". Cooperating with the Ambazonia Defence Forces (ADF), he was even able to convince elements of the Bui Warriors, another rebel group, to break off and join the Bui Unity Warriors. The new formation was officially founded in January 2022 and formally headed by General Mad Dog,[4][2] and considered part of the ADF, signifying General No Pity's realignment of loyalties.[2] At this point, he was no longer head of the Ambazonia Restoration Forces, a position instead held by Lekeaka Oliver.[1] The leader of the Bui Warriors, "Field Marshal" Insobu, regarded the formation of the Bui Unity Warriors as a threat to his own position, and he responded by attacking No Pity's forces.[19] In the following month, the intra-rebel conflicts further escalated, as the Interim Government of Ambazonia splintered and its former followers began to fight each other. General Mad Dog began attacking Lekeaka Oliver's followers in Kumbo,[1] while General No Pity led the Bui Unity Warriors into battle against the Bui Warriors. His fighters were able to kill Insobu on 8 April 2022.[4][19] This operation was received with approval by locals, as Insobu had become infamous for kidnapping and abusing civilians.[4]