Cameroon

Republic of Cameroon

The country today known as the Republic of Cameroon (République du Cameroun) gave rise to the Sao culture around the 6th century CE, and was later incorporated into the Kanem and Bornu Empires. As with many other West African nations, European explorers and merchants regularized trade along the coasts of what is now Cameroon from the 15th century onwards. The region was claimed by the German Empire in 1884 as the colony of Kamerun, which began a steady push inland for greater control over land and resources. Following the First World War, a League of Nations mandate split the territory in two, dividing administration between France and Great Britain in 1919. By the late 1940s, the question of independence emerged in both territories, with the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC) party being outlawed by the French. A colonial war subsequently ensued, ending with France granting self-rule in 1956, and full indepencence on 1 January, 1960. On 1 October 1961, the British Cameroons were united with the new nation to create the Federal Republic of Cameroon. Nevertheless, an ongoing war with the UPC continued into the 1970s. During the late 1980s & early 1990s, Cameroon suffered a severe economic crisis, in part due to years of corruption and mismanagement in government. With the reintroduction of multi-party politics in December 1990, the former British Cameroons pressure groups called for greater autonomy, with some advocating complete secession as the Republic of Ambazonia. In February 2008, Cameroon experienced its worst violence in 15 years when a transport union strike in Douala escalated into violent protests in 31 municipal areas.

The Forces Armees Camerounaises (FAC) are the armed forces of Cameroon, consisting of the Army, Air Force, Navy, and the National Gendarmerie.

Camouflage Patterns of Cameroon

• Cameroonian forces have worn versions of the French tenue de leópard or lizard pattern since at least the 1980s, and probably much earlier. Several variations have been documented, although it appears most of these have been phased out by the armed forces itself. Use of lizard camouflage has continued with the Ministère des Forêts et de la Faune (MINFOF) or Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife into the present period.

• In the present era, the standard camouflage pattern of the Cameroon Armed Forces is a crude, Chinese-made copy of the "lizard" camouflage pattern.

• Some members of the armed forces also wear a copy of the US m81 woodland camouflage pattern, particularly the Bataillon des Fusiliers Marins or BAFUMAR and the Bataillon Special Amphibie (BSA) of the Navy, and elements of the Army's special operations forces such as the Anti-Terrorist Unit.

• The Army's Bataillon d’Intervention Rapide (BIR) was created in 2001 as an elite, light infantry/commando-type unit of approximately 5,000 personnel. The unit is considered one of the most highly trained formations in the Armed Forces. Members of the BIR wear a variation of the woodland pattern with dark brown, black, and dark green shapes on a pale green background.

• Copies of US woodland camouflage have continued to be fielded by various elements of the FAC and in various uniform styles well into the present era. In recent years, some units have incorporated an embroidered title over the pocket of their uniform, an abbreviation of the letters of the unit's name. This practice appears to strictly done by the Armee de Terre (Land Forces) and is by no means universal.

• A copy of the US tricolor desert pattern is now being used by members of the Marine Nationale, including special operations elements such as the Fusiliers Marins and the Compagnie des Palmeurs de Combat. However, regular Navy personnel have also been observed wearing uniforms in this pattern.

• As part of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), Cameroon has deployed personnel from its armed forces since 2015. Troops serving with the Cameroonian continent have worn uniforms in the same pattern adopted by Benin's Ministry of Environment and Natural Resource Protection, having black images of wildlife and animal spoor printed over a three-color background. Use of this pattern dates to 2018, possibly earlier.

• Several photographs from May 2016 show military personnel from several branches of the armed forces wearing a copy of US chocolate chip desert camouflage. As no additional photographs have emerged showing this pattern in use with Cameroon military personnel, we are led to conclude the uniforms may have been provided by a host nation during a training exercise/military exchange, or perhaps were procured for a specific mission.

• First appearing circa 2019, some personnel of the Marine Nationale (Cameroon Navy) wear a French-style uniform in a hybrid design incorporating features of both the traditional leaf and woodland patterns. This hybrid-leaf camouflage has smaller black shapes printed over larger sections of brown and olive green on a khaki background.