Introduction
How is the Military in Cameroon and how does it work to maintain Sucity and fight terrorism? In terms of Military and security forces, we have the Cameroon Armed Forces (Forces Armees Camerounaises, FAC): Army (L'Armee de Terre), Navy (Marine Nationale Republique, MNR, includes naval infantry or fusiliers marin), Air Force (Armee de l'Air du Cameroun, AAC), National Gendarmerie (Gendamerie Nationale, GN), National Firefighting Corps (Corps National de Sapeurs-Pompiers, CNSP), Presidential Guard (Garde Présidentielle du Cameroun, GP)
General Delegation for National Security (Délégation Générale à la Sûreté Nationale or DGSN): Cameroon Police (2024).
General Delegation for National Security (Délégation Générale à la Sûreté Nationale or DGSN): Cameroon Police (2024).
In Cameroon, the FAC ground forces (Army and the Rapid Intervention Battalion) are largely focused on internal security, particularly the threat from the terrorist groups Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa along its frontiers with Nigeria and Chad (Far North region) and, since 2016, an insurgency from armed Anglophone separatist groups in the North-West and South-West regions; in addition, the FAC often deploys ground units to the border region with the Central African Republic to counter intrusions from armed militias and bandits; the Navy’s missions include protecting Cameroon’s oil installations, combatting crime and piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, and patrolling the country’s lakes and rivers; the FAC's small Air Force supports both the ground and naval forces (2024)
Security and military information of Cameroon
| Military and security service personnel strengths | information varies; approximately 45-50,000 active-duty troops (30-35,000 ground forces, including the Rapid Intervention Battalion/BIR and Presidential Guard; 2,000 Navy; 1,000 Air Force; 10,000 Gendarmerie) (2023) |
|---|---|
| Military equipment inventories and acquisitions | the FAC inventory is comprised of mostly older or second-hand equipment, with a smaller mix of more modern weapons systems; suppliers have included China, Israel, Russia, South Africa, the US, and several Western European countries (2023) |
| Military service age and obligation | 18-23 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women; no conscription; high school graduation required; service obligation 4 years (2023). |
| Military deployments | 750 (plus about 350 police) Central African Republic (MINUSCA) (2024). note: Cameroon has committed approximately 2,000-2,500 troops to the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) against Boko Haram and other terrorist groups operating in the general area of the Lake Chad Basin and along Nigeria's northeast border; national MNJTF troop contingents are deployed within their own country territories, although cross‐border operations occur occasionally |
| Military expenditures | |
| Military Expenditures 2023 | 1% of GDP (2023 est.) |
| Military Expenditures 2022 | 1% of GDP (2022 est.) |
| Military Expenditures 2021 | 1% of GDP (2021 est.) |
| Military Expenditures 2020 | 1% of GDP (2020 est.) |
| Military Expenditures 2019 | 1.4% of GDP (2019 est.) |
Terrorism
In Cameroon, the different Terrorist group(s) inlcude: Boko Haram; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham – West Africa
All Important Facts about Cameroon
Want to know more about Cameroon? Check all different factbooks for Cameroon below.
