Monthly Archives: February 2018

20, February 2018

Understanding the Southern Cameroons Struggle ⁰

Separatists in Cameroon’s restive English-speaking regions have faced a violent crackdown since declaring the creation of “Ambazonia”, a self-proclaimed republic independent from the majority French-speaking country.

The violence has helped fuel support for a growing separatist movement, including armed groups, who in turn have carried out a string of attacks on police and the military. Dozens on both sides have died, and tens of thousands have fled into neighbouring Nigeria.

ENGLISH

The political drive for the separatist cause began in 2016 after police broke up demonstrations by English-speaking lawyers and teachers who protested against working in French.

The Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium (CACSC), locally known as “the Consortium”, was formed to campaign against what they viewed as discrimination and marginalisation by the francophone majority.

Although it campaigned for federal ties — not secessionism — the campaign met with unyielding opposition from octogenarian President Paul Biya.

The Consortium was dissolved in January 2017, two of its leaders were arrested, and within the anglophone protest movement, the pendulum began to swing in favour of independence.

On October 1, prominent leader Sisiku Ayuk Tabe declared the self-proclaimed republic of “Ambazonia”, named after Ambas Bay on the Atlantic Ocean. The state has not been recognised internationally.

Biya countered with a crackdown and enlisted the help of neighbouring Nigeria in denying a haven to the “terrorists”.

ASYLUM

In January, Ayuk Tabe and 46 of his supporters were extradited by Nigeria to Cameroon despite claims that many of them had lodged asylum applications.

In this climate of spiralling mistrust and revenge, calls for separatism, rather than federalism, are dominant.

The loudest calls have come from the Southern Cameroons Ambazonia Consortium United Front (SCACUF), headed by Ayuk Tabe, which advocates peaceful means to advance independence.

Many of its members are activists with a background in teaching, law or farming, but it also counts former leaders of the outlawed Southern Cameroon National Council (SCNC), which began the campaign for independence back in 1995.

“Negotiations are our best weapon,” said Millan Atam, a SCACUF leader.

But since the crackdown and the roundup of Ayuk Tabe, the peaceful stance is being outflanked by radicals, some of whom advocate taking up arms against “the colonialist occupying forces”.

KIDNAPPING

The International Crisis Group (ICG) estimates that there are likely to be several hundred fighters.

On February 11, these groups and some other separatist movements gathered in an umbrella organisation called the Ambazonia Recognition Collaboration Council (ARCC).

Its most prominent member is a firebrand former student trade unionist, Lucas Cho Ayaba, who heads an armed group that calls itself the Ambazonia Defence Forces (ADF).

The ADF claimed responsibility for kidnapping a government official on Sunday in Batibo, a town near the Nigerian border.

It says it has “thousands of fighters,” although commentators say the figure more likely to be around a hundred or so.

“We have a bloc defence strategy — every village, every group of young people can fight for Ambazonia, and we are ready to help them,” he told AFP.

FORCE

Another armed group is Southern Cameroons Defence Forces (SOCADEF), led by Ebenezer Akwanga, like Cho Ayaba an ex-student trade unionist.

In the late 1990s, the two were allies in challenging the moderate strand of separatism, taking their slogan about “the force of argument” and reversing it, to “the argument of force.”

The ADF and SOCADEF have claimed responsibility for most of the attacks in the anglophone areas. Other smaller, armed factions are also engaged in the conflict, such as the Tigers of Ambazonia, Vipers and the Ambaland Forces, but their impact is unclear.

Attempts have been made to unite the various independence groups, with at least four “conclaves” in Nigeria. The groups have so far failed to unite behind a single leader or structure.

“Today, we are divided, it can not work like this,” a leader said via the WhatsApp messenger service.

Source: AFP

20, February 2018

Boko Haram attacks village in Nigeria, fails to abduct girls ⁰

Takfiri Boko Haram militants have attacked a village in northeast Nigeria, unsuccessfully attempting to kidnap girls at a boarding school there.

Eyewitnesses said on Monday that a convoy of pickup trucks belonging to Boko Haram militants descended on Dapchi Village in the Bursari area of Yobe State around 6 pm (1700 GMT).

“When they stormed the village, they began shooting and setting off explosives,” said resident Sheriff Aisami. “This drew the attention of the girls in the Girls Science Secondary School, so the girls and the teachers were able to escape before the attackers got into the school.”

Unable to kidnap the girls, the Boko Haram fighters looted the school before fleeing.

It was not clear whether the violence caused any casualties.

“Obviously, the attack was meant to abduct school girls, but luckily they found none of the girls as they were taken away by teachers before they (the militants) arrived,” said a member of a local civilian militia battling the extremists.

Boko Haram notoriously kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok in April 2014.

This video grab, made on January 15, 2018 from a video released the same day by the Boko Haram militant group, shows at least 14 of the schoolgirls abducted from the northeast Nigerian town of Chibok in April 2014. (Via AFP)

Separately, Nigeria’s Justice Ministry announced on Monday that more than 200 people have been convicted in Nigeria on charges related involvement with Boko Haram.

The convictions of 205 people in mass trials marked the conclusion of the second stage of the country’s biggest legal action against Boko Haram, which began a militancy in 2009 aimed at toppling the government.

“Most of them were convicted for professing to belong to the terrorist group, (or) concealing information about the group which they knew or [were] believe[d] to be of material assistance that could lead to the arrest, prosecution or conviction of Boko Haram members,” the Justice Ministry said in a statement.

Jail terms ranged from three to 60 years, said the ministry.

It also said a total of 526 people allegedly affiliated with Boko Haram had been released for rehabilitation during the second stage, and said 73 cases had been adjourned.

Since 2009, the Boko Haram militancy has left at least 20,000 dead and made over 2.6 million others homeless.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, a former general, came to power in 2015 on a platform of stamping out the Boko Haram militancy. But despite retaking swathes of territory from the group, it continues to stage attacks targeting both civilians and military targets.

Source: Presstv

20, February 2018

Ambazonia Crisis: Medical Doctor shot in Bamenda ⁰

A Southern Cameroons physician in Bamenda the chief city in the North of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, Dr Veh Dinga-Nyoh of PMI Nkwen , was shot on the back this morning on her way to work by troops loyal to the Biya regime. Giving an account of the incident to our London editorial office, CIR’s Sama Ernest reported that she has been transferred to the regional hospital for urgent surgical intervention.

Dr Veh Dinga-Nyoh was shot on the lower part of the back on the right side. We understand she was in a taxi heading to work this morning when a gendarme opened fire. Dr Veh was alone in the taxi with the driver who was not hurt.

Urgent surgical intervention is to be carried out to remove the bullet and to verify if any damages have been caused in her internal organs especially as the bullet hole is so close to the kidney.

20, February 2018

Southern Cameroons Crisis: The Akwaya Situation Report ⁰

A slow-moving ground offensive, the assault on Akwaya by French Cameroun government forces threatens to become a protracted standoff, deepening an already dire humanitarian situation. It could also prove costly for the Biya regime, diplomatically and militarily. So far, nearly 250 civilians in Akwaya, according to a sister publication Cameroon Intelligence Report have been killed. Seven children were killed in rocket attacks launched from Egbekaw on the Manyu River on the 10^th of February 2018.

Chief Alana Valentine, Chief Odape Hans of Kajinga, Chief Dan and Chief Adejua Ndumbe of Meyerim villages in the Akwaya sub constituency have all escaped the fighting and are currently seeking refuge at the premises of the Divisional officer in Akwaya town. Cameroon Concord News gathered that the traditional rulers are wanted by the Amba Tigers for actions against the Ambazonia struggle.

We understand Chief Adejua Ndumbe of Meyerim village on the 10th of February escaped beatings and his palace was burnt down. For his part, Chief Odape Hans of Kajinga village who is the current Section President of the ruling CPDM party has been told to stay away from the village.

On the 11^th of February, Ambazonia fighters were able to attacked the grand stand leaving one element of the Rapid Intervention Battalion and the principal of GTHS Akwaya with life threatening injuries. Civil servants in Akwaya have been asking for long term leave as the area has become ungovernable.

Akwaya Sub division is the biggest and oldest in Cameroon. It is made up of 99 villages and a majority of its citizens are now refugees in the Federal Republic of Nigeria as a result of the current socio- political crisis in Southern Cameroons.

By Judith Fon in Mamfe

20, February 2018

17 killed in garbage dump collapse in Mozambique ⁰

At least 17 people have been killed and several others injured in Mozambique’s capital when a 15-meter pile of garbage collapsed due to heavy rain and buried seven houses, officials say.

The collapse happened at around 3 a.m. (0100 GMT) in the impoverished Hulene neighborhood, which is around 10 kilometers from the center of Maputo. The houses were built illegally and authorities had previously asked the residents to leave, officials said.

Torrential rain is thought to have caused the loose waste to shift and crash down on the shacks, trapping the occupants who were sleeping at the time of the incident on Sunday night.

Mozambique’s emergency service warned there could be more victims, trapped under the vast waste pile in Hulene.

“The information we received from local authorities is that the number of people living in those houses exceeds the number of deaths recorded, so work is still ongoing to see if there are any other deaths,” said spokesman Leonilde Pelembe.

The rubbish mound destroyed five homes and rescue teams were still searching through the wreckage to find survivors, he added.

“I live in this neighborhood because I have nowhere to go. Had the government told me to go to another place to live, I would have left here,” said local resident Maria Huo.

Her family home was partially destroyed and her son injured in the landslide, she said.

“It’s been more than 10 years that the dump should have been closed because it’s full — but they still continue to pile trash on the trash. The consequence is this,” said Teresa Mangue, a neighborhood leader.

Heavy rain has been falling on Maputo since Sunday, causing flooding, damaging homes and deluging roads and schools.

(Source: Agencies)

19, February 2018

Southern Cameroons crisis: Gendarmerie officer killed in Nguti ⁰

A twenty years old gendarmerie officer was killed on Sunday at the Nguti sub constituency in the South West region in an attack linked to the Amba Tigers.

In two weeks, at least six gendarmes have been killed in anti government operations attributed to the Southern Cameroons crisis. This new murder brings to 26, the number of Cameroonian gendarmes killed by the Southern Cameroons militants.

The Francophone authorities of the North-West and South-West decided to introduce the curfew, and prolonged it for a week after the 11^th of February. During the curfew, travel is limited or prohibited between 20h (19h GMT) to 6h (5h GMT).

Rita Akana

19, February 2018

Ambazonia Crisis: Chief Mukete knocks Biya, Says Head of State is inaccessible ⁰

The supreme leader of the Bafaws in the Meme constituency in Southern Cameroons has openly criticized President Biya over his poor handling of the crisis in Southern Cameroons. NFon Victor Mukete, the oldest member of the so-called Upper House of assembly and a long standing father of the reunification of French and British Southern Cameroons said in an interview in the French capital, Paris that the Biya regime has failed woefully in its management of the Anglophone crisis.

Chief Mukete who will be a 100 years old this 2018, told the French media that Biya is “inaccessible”. He acknowledged that Southern Cameroonians were being marginalized and observed that Anglophones have barely 10 ministers out of 60 in the government. The patriarch of Southern Cameroons reunification politics further pointed out that the creation of the commission for the promotion of bilingualism and multiculturalism was too little too late.

The paramount leader dismissed the politics of a one and indivisible Cameroon stating that only a ten state federal structure can solve the current Anglophone crisis that has shaken the country for more than a year. Chief Mukete’s influence goes beyond the Southern Cameroons minority as he is a member of the Senate, the Economic and Social Council, the Chamber of Commerce and Chairman of the Board of Camtel.

By Sama Ernest

19, February 2018

US: Democratic lawmakers seek platform to Trump’s sex abuse accusers ⁰

Democratic lawmakers in the US House of Representatives are attempting to give a national platform to President Donald Trump’s sexual harassment accusers if they win back the lower chamber of Congress in November’s midterm elections.

As the snowballing sexual harassment allegations sweep the US, toppling powerful men in business, entertainment, the media and a handful of lawmakers in Congress, a growing number of Democrats think Congress should lend a voice to Trump’s accusers if their political party controls the House next year.

“I think it would be most appropriate,” said Representative Steve Cohen, a Democrat from Tennessee who is among the handful of Democrats pushing to impeach Trump.

“I mean, this is the most unusual circumstance that you have a president with over a dozen accusers of sexual harassment occupying the most prestigious position in the country.”

Several Democratic lawmakers in the upper chamber of Congress have called for congressional hearings for Trump’s accusers, who number at least 19.

“The President has shown through words and actions that he doesn’t value women. It’s not surprising that he doesn’t believe survivors or understand the national conversation that is happening,” said Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat from New York.

“If he wants due process for the over dozen sexual assault allegations against him, let’s have Congressional hearings tomorrow,” she tweeted. “I would support that and my colleagues should too.”

Sexual harassment accusations have swirled around Trump long before he was elected president in November 2016.

Nearly 20 women have accused Trump of sexual misconduct dating back decades, ranging from unwanted touching to groping to assault. Trump has denied any wrongdoing. The White House has called his accusers liars.

Source: Presstv

19, February 2018

Fako mourns as Chief Molinge of Muea joins ancestors ⁰

The paramount ruler of Upper Muea HRH IKOME DAVID MOLINGE has disappeared. Cameroon Concord News has gotten information that Chief Molinge traveled to the land of his ancestors this morning. His daughter, Princess Joan Molinge recently observed that her dad’s health had deteriorated and the late chief had been receiving medical attention in and out of the country.

An aide to the Muea traditional leadership who spoke to us but sued for anonymity lamented that the death of Chief Molinge is a huge loss to the Molinge family and the Fako people in general. Speaking to our reporter, Chief Maliva Ndive Samuel said he received the news of his colleagues’ demise with great shock. He described Chief Molinge as a brave and fearless leader who always stood up and fought for the interest of the Bakweri people.

Late Chief Ikome David Molinge before his death today Monday 19th February 2018, worked with Guinness Cameroun as a Regional Sales Manager in the Northern regions. He later went into private business and opened the famous king David Square hotel in Muea.

By Tina Ņganda

19, February 2018

Ambazonia War: The Killing continues ⁰

The killings in the English-speaking part of Cameroon have continued unabated despite the arrest and extradition of Southern Cameroons leaders to Cameroon. It was reported yesterday that a young gendarme officer, Jean Claude Degoume,had been killed in Talangaye in Manyu Division, a small town located some 50 km from Mamfe town, the Manyu Divisional headquarters.

Members of the Amba Tigers who carried out the killing informed our Dublin office that their main target in Mamfe was Joseph Oum II, the Manyu Senior Divisional Officer, who had asked the people of Manyu to pack out of their towns to unknown destinations in a press release he issued late last year. The young fighters, who elected anonymity, said taking down Mr. Oum II “would be a great pleasure,asthe deletion of such a personality from the face of the earth would bring more credibility to our organization.”

They added that “even the South West Governor, Okala Bilal, is a fair target. He has insulted out people and he should not be allowed to get away with that. We have a price on his head and anybody who takes him down will take that price. Our sponsors in the Diaspora are doing a great job raising money for us and that is what is helping us to send strong messages to the government.”

“We know we will get him. He will surely let down his guard and we will chop him down like a piece of meat. You don’t call our people dogs and you think you will get away with that. He is in our cross hairs and we will surely get him,” they said.

Meanwhile, contrary to initial reports that the body of the kidnapped Divisional Officer (D.O) of Batibo, Mr. Namata Marcel Delong, had been found in Sabes, our source in Sabes in the Upper Bayang sub-division confirmed that a group of Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) troops currently wreaking havoc in Sabes had been brought there to arrest a group of robbers who were threatening the locals and a defected soldier who had joined Amba Tigers. There is no information yet as to whether the robbers and the defected soldier have been arrested or not.

Similarly, the family of the former D.O of Batibo who had been kidnapped by some unknown gunmen is devastated following reports that his body had been discovered. Mr. Delong’s wife had called for the release of her husband on national TV, arguing that her husband was a good man who was simply serving his country, but opponents of the regime argue that he is part of the collateral damage insofar as he is on the side of the Yaounde government.

The discovery of her husband’s remains clearly indicate that her calls had fallen on deaf ears. This also underscores that Anglophone separatists are determined to achieve their goal, regardless of the method and he who is serving the Yaounde government is immediately considered as an enemy.

Meanwhile, the 85 year-old President, Paul Biya,last week appointed Ernest Nkwandze, as the interim Divisional Officer for Batibo in Momo Division following the abduction of Mr. Namata Marcel Diteng on February 11, 2018, by unknown gunmen. Mr. Nkwandze was installed on February 14, 2018, by the North-West Governor, Adolphe Lélé Lafrique.

The governor reportedly held a working session with traditional authorities and security officials of the Batibo district and pleaded with the chiefs as well as the population to work in collaboration with the security forces by providing them reliable information in their effort to locate the kidnapped divisional officer.

In the meantime, there are still doubts about the whereabouts of Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya. Despite having delivered a speech on February 10, 2018, and the posting of pictures of his birthday party at the Unity Palace online, many Cameroonians are still skeptical about the whereabouts of the country’s president.

Critics of the dictator point out that the picture used to support the assertion that Mr. Biya had celebrated his birthday was photo-shopped, arguing that Mr. Biya and his government are used to manipulating Cameroonians.

The doubts about Mr. Biya’s health went up by a few notches a few days ago when it was announced that Mr. Biya had received a senior German embassy official. But many analysts said the pictures were those of 2014, a point which only goes to underscore that there is something really wrong with the 85-year-old president.

Similarly, the Southern Cameroons crisis is still playing out in the country’s English-speaking regions with armed men attacking soldiers in the rural regions.

Since October 2016 when the crisis started, more than 500 civilians have been killed, several villages torched by retaliating soldiers, and some 300 uniformed officers have been sent to an early grave.

Despite numerous calls by the international community for inclusive dialogue, Mr. Biya and his government have insisted on using military violence as their tool of choice to end the rebellion.

But their methods have only radicalized most Southern Cameroonians and has spurred the various armed groups into intensifying their attacks on soldiers and Gendarmes as a means of self-defense.

The conflict has intensified since the arrest of Southern Cameroonian leaders in Nigeria and their illegal extradition to Yaounde. The conflict has taken a huge toll on the country’s economy, as many businesses in the English-speaking regions have closed and some relocated to other regions of the country.

As the government continues to pursue its policy of violent repression in the two English regions of Cameroon, so too are Southern Cameroonian fighters seeking news way to have an impact on the government and this impact has come by way of attacks on many army soldiers.

There is every indication that there are many more scenes in this conflict and they will surely be playing out in a manner that will be far from being peaceful.

By Soter Agbaw-Ebai in Dublin, with contributions from Kingsley Betek in Yaounde.