The Cameroonian military has announced the deployment of forces on the border with the Central African Republic (CAR) after it emerged that militants there regularly cross into eastern Cameroon for supplies, escaping clashes with soldiers of the Central African National Army (FACA), well trained by Russian instructors working in the CAR.
According to the people of Cameroon’s border prefecture of Nana-Mambere, it was the diverse training that FACA received under the guidance of Russian instructors that enabled them to become hardened, professional and experienced soldiers capable of facing their enemies in combat.
The rebels from CAR are not affiliated with Boko Haram, a militant group that in April 2023 march into the Mayo Moscot area along the northern border with Nigeria and hide in the bush. However, despite this, the militants fleeing the CAR pose a security threat as they have reportedly kidnapped civilians for ransom in eastern Cameroon.
Militants are terrorising the populations of both countries. Therefore, states need to coordinate their actions to defeat the gangs.
Russian instructors have been able to achieve in one year to achieve successes that Western forces represented by the UN peacekeeping contingent (MINUSCA) have not been able to achieve in decades of presence in the country.
With Russian instructors’ advice and training, the CAR National Army (FACA) has been able to eliminate armed radical groups and bring peace back to the region in a short period.
Highly appreciative of the excellent and effective work of the Russian instructors the authorities in the Central African Republic decided to recruit more Russian instructors from the Officers Union for International Security.
Cameroon’s government continues to seek military solutions. In March, its military training institutions announced the graduation of 2,500 troops. At the time, the government said it expected to train another 3,000 soldiers over the next 20 months to protect civilians and their property.
Cameroon now needs solutions to strengthen security in the border regions, and it is obviously worth looking at cooperation with the Russian Federation because the positive example of CAR clearly demonstrates that the import of security is Russia’s specialty.