The Armada That Keeps Paul Biya In Power [Figures and numbers]

Insufficient material, acts of indiscipline, corruption...In recent years, the situation is deteriorating within the Cameroonian army.

Men and equipment seem on a slippery slope. Admittedly, most of the equipment of the Army (about fifty AML-90 armored wheelchairs of French manufacture, about twenty troop carriers V-150 and a dozen light armored vehicles RAM) keep a certain value, in spite of their advanced age.

Robust, they are easier to maintain and more mobile than tracked armored vehicles. But their operational availability, like that of a part of the artillery pieces, is globally mediocre: lack of spare parts, maintenance ...

The Armada That Keeps Paul Biya In Power [Figures and numbers]

The Air Force is not spared, it has only a dozen Alpha Jet and MB-326K Impala, some Mi-24 combat helicopters (only two seem operational on the three acquired) and seven transport and assault helicopters. Transport aviation is a little better off, with three C-130 Hercules and a recently purchased CN-235, valuable devices for the rapid deployment of troops.

The navy has a dozen patrol boats, which is far from enough. Efforts are still ongoing, with the acquisition of Israeli Zibar Mk2 tactical light vehicles or Mi-17 assault helicopters from Russia in late August.

A two-speed army

Remain the men, 40 000 in total. Military cadres have the reputation of being properly trained, especially in French military schools; the troop is considered well trained. And many are the military to wish their army is more professional.

However, acts of indiscipline multiply, including within the elite units (Rapid Intervention Battalion, Presidential Guard), for unpaid bonus issues.

The idea of ​​a two-speed army has also been installed. On the one hand, elite units, better equipped, better trained; on the other, regular units accused of brutality and corruption.

The proliferation of training and equipment programs (United States, China, Israel, France, etc.) has also resulted in the superposition of different doctrines, the incompatibility of the material of transmission and the birth of rivalries between the corpses. .

This situation is worrying as the threat grows. In front of porous borders, the reactivity of the army is criticized. Lastly, leaks from security sources during the French hostage affair between February and April 2013 show that there are deficiencies in respect of secrecy, a crucial element in the field of defense.

Source - The armada that keeps Paul Biya in power [Figures and numbers]