Cameroon and the United Kingdom have opened talks aimed at deepening military cooperation, with a particular focus on preparing Cameroonian forces for evolving threats including improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and drones.
On November 3, during a meeting with Brigadier General Anthony Harper, the UK’s defense adviser for West Africa, met Cameroon’s Army Chief of Staff in Yaounde, Major General Saly Mohamadou, Mohamadou outlined the principal security challenges facing Cameroon, especially in the Far North, North-West and South-West regions, and asked for expanded British assistance against terrorism, according to Actu Cameroun.
Harper praised the courage and performance of Cameroon’s defense forces, and said that Britain was working to mobilize additional support for the region, including training programmes for Cameroonian personnel on counter-IED measures and drone threats.
In the Far North, Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) remain active along the border with Nigeria, while the North-West and South-West have been affected by a separatist conflict since 2016.
A Cameroon joint monitoring report recorded 1,108 security incidents and 392 deaths in the North-West and South-West between April and June 2026, up sharply from the previous quarter; the Far North recorded 295 incidents and 178 deaths over the same period.
The proposed training on IEDs and drones addresses tactics increasingly associated with armed groups in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin. The US State Department currently warns of terrorism, kidnapping and IED risks in Cameroon’s Far North, North-West and South-West regions.
Humanitarian reporting also documented at least 11 IED incidents in the North-West and South-West between July and September 2026, underscoring the danger such devices pose to both security forces and civilians.
