Incident Summary:

07/09/2018: Assailants opened fire targeting police forces in Muea, Buea, South-West, Cameroon. This was one of four related attacks in the area on this date. At least 12 people, including police officers, civilians, and 10 assailants, were killed while an unknown number of others were injured across the ensuing clashes. One police officer was also abducted, and the outcome of the abduction is unknown. No group claimed responsibility for the incident; however, sources attributed the attack to the Ambazonia Restoration Forces (ARF).

GTD ID:
201807090045

When:
2018-07-09

Country:
Cameroon

Region:
Sub-Saharan Africa

Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:

South-West

City:
Buea

Location Details:
The incident occurred in the Muea area of the city.

Attack Information
Type of Attack (more) Armed Assault
Successful Attack? (more) Yes
Target Information (more)
Target Type: Police
Name of Entity Gendarmerie Nationale
Specific Description Officers
Nationality of Target Cameroon
Additional Information
Hostages No
Ransom No
Property Damage No
Weapon Information
Type Sub-type
Firearms Unknown Gun Type
Additional Information
Suicide Attack?No
Part of Multiple Incident?Yes
Criterion 1 (more) Yes
Criterion 2 (more) Yes
Criterion 3 (more) Yes
Doubt Terrorism Proper (more) No
Additional Information Casualty numbers conflict across sources. Following GTD protocol, the majority reliable estimate is reported here. Casualty numbers reflect a division of the total number of those killed/wounded/kidnapped across incidents 201807090040, 201807090045, 201807090046, and 201807090047.
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name Claimed Responsibility
Ambazonia Restoration Forces (ARF) No
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators Unknown
Number of Captured Perpetrators 0
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties 3 Fatalities
Total Number of Fatalities 3
Number of U.S. Fatalities 0
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities 3
Total Number of Injured Unknown
Number of U.S. Injured 0
Number of Perpetrators Injured Unknown
Sources
"Police Killed In Flashpoint Cameroon City Of Buea," AFP (World Service), July 10, 2018.
"West Africa Roundup: Mali poll campaign starts amid terror threats," BBC Monitoring, July 12, 2018.
"Gunfire in anglophone Cameroon's restive Buea: witnesses," Modern Ghana, July 9, 2018.