Armed Forces: proximity assured, security reinforced

A series of Presidential decrees signed on August 15, 2015, overhaul the military territorial unit ensuring better coverage of the national territory.

The Head of State, Head of the armed forces in Cameroon, President Paul Biya, has reorganized the military in the country ensuring a better coverage of the national territory by security forces for the safety of its citizens and national heritage. A series of decrees signed on Friday August 15, 2014 overhaul the military taking it closer to the population for a reinforced security.

What Has Changed?

Before Friday, Cameroon was divided into three military regions. The decree has created four gendarmerie and four combined military regions. The first combined military region has as headquarters, Yaounde and covers the administrative units of the Centre, East and South Regions. The second military region is headquartered in Douala and covers the Littoral, North West, West and South West Regions.

Meanwhile, the third military region with headquarters in Garoua covers the Adamawa and North Regions excluding Mayo-Louti Division. The novelty is the creation of a new combined military region and a new gendarmerie region all with headquarters in Maroua, which cover the Mayo-Louti Division in the North Region and the entire Far North Region.

The four gendarmerie regions cover the four regions with the same borders. The military regions are further divided into ten military sectors with each corresponding to existing administrative regions. The same holds for the gendarmerie regions.

According to the Head of the Communication Division of the Ministry of Defence, Lieutenant-Colonel Didier Badjeck, another significant move contained in the presidential decree is the disappearance of the 32nd Motorized Military Infantry which is replaced by the 41st Motorized Military Infantry to be based in Kousseri.

There is also the mutation of the hitherto Infantry Military Sector that had as vocation to handle land military units to the Military Sector with objective to mutualise efforts and means of all military wings to ensure the security of the territory, goods and persons.

Another presidential decree also appoints commanders for the newly created military units and replaces others called up to other duties.

What Prospects?

The changes are not unrelated to the security threats in the country especially in the Far North region blamed on mutiny orchestrated by the Nigerian Islamic sect, Boko Haram, which has been wrecking untold havoc in the region of late.

The overhaul and most especially the appointment of young commanders is expected to ensure a better coverage of the hitherto vast national territory for an efficient, speedy and proactive military intervention.

According to Lieutenant-Colonel Didier Badjeck, the Head of State and Head of the Armed Forces wants to ensure that the army responds with efficacy and celerity to the security challenges that stare the country in the face.

“The army is there for territorial protection and the protection is supposed to be proportional to demography,” Lieutenant-Colonel Badjeck said. With the innovations, human and financial resources are needed to attain desired objectives.