Monthly Archives: September 2020

17, September 2020

UN chief condemns suicide bombing in Cameroon ⁰

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has strongly condemned Saturday’s suicide bombing in the border village of Zeleved in northern Cameroon.

About six civilians were killed and 10 others injured in the attack, media reports quoted security sources as saying.

Guterres’ reaction came through his spokesman, Mr Stephane Dujarric, at his daily news briefing in New York on Tuesday.

“The Secretary-General strongly condemns the suicide bombing last week in the border village of Zeleved in the Far North region of the country.

“He expresses his deep sympathies to the families of the victims and the government and people of Cameroon.

“It is essential to hold those responsible for the attack to account,’’ he said.

Dujarric quoted the UN Chief as reiterating unwavering support to the countries of the Lake Chad Basin in their collective fight against Boko Haram and other terrorist organisations.

He also assured them of his strong backing of their efforts to address the security, humanitarian and socioeconomic needs of the affected populations.

“The secretray-general calls on the countries of the Lake Chad Basin, with the support of the broader international community, to maintain their resolve and  find a sustainable solution to the crisis and address its root-causes’’ he said.

Source: Naija247news

17, September 2020

Football: Choupo-Moting has left PSG ⁰

The former Stoke City player will not be staying in Paris for the new season following the expiry of his contract at the end of August

Eric Choupo-Moting will not return to Paris Saint-Germain for the 2020-21 season after both parties failed to reach an agreement for a new deal, Goal can confirm.

Choupo-Moting’s two-year deal with the French champions had expired at the end of June, but he was handed a short-term extension until the conclusion of PSG’s Champions League campaign.

The Ligue 1 champions were defeated 1-0 by Bayern Munich in Lisbon on August 23, with Choupo-Moting featuring for the final 10 minutes of the contest.

Following Sunday’s 1-0 defeat by Marseille at the Parc de Princes, Thomas Tuchel admitted the French giants have lost the Cameroon captain alongside four other players this summer.

When asked about the Parisians’ transfer plans, the German tactician said; “Are there going to be new players? I really hope.

“It’s no secret, we lost five players including Choupo-Moting. It’s going to be complicated, we play a lot of matches. I don’t know if other teams that have played in the Champions League should play so much games.”

Since he moved to Paris from Stoke City in 2018, Choupo-Moting has been restricted to a substitute role in Tuchel’s team.

Out of the 31 Ligue 1 matches he played, the Indomitable Lions forward made 13 starts with 18 appearances as a substitute and he scored six goals in total.

Last month, the 31-year-old made a statement as a super-sub with the match-winning goal that sent PSG into the Champions League semi-final after their 2-1 victory against Atalanta.

Before Sunday’s league game, Tuchel revealed the ex-Schalke 04 star was offered a new deal which suggested he would play a similar role as last season.

“It’s one of the possibilities [a new contract for Choupo-Moting]. Everything depends on whether you want to stay and accept the club’s proposal,” Tuchel said.

Source: Goal.com

17, September 2020

Biya regime deploys military to thwart opposition protesters ⁰

Cameroon has deployed military troops to stop opposition supporters from protesting against long-serving President Paul Biya. Political opposition and rights groups blame Biya, who has been in power for 38 years, for rights violations and a four-year separatist conflict. Cameroon authorities have vowed to arrest anyone who tries to demonstrate against the government.

Opposition supporters say at least 12 of their members have been detained since Friday by what appear to be Cameroonian military troops.

27-year-old Christophe Nkemche says eight motorcycle taxi drivers in the city of Douala were detained and have not been seen since.

He says armed men dressed in Cameroon military uniforms whisked off eight of his colleagues to an unknown location. Nkemche says the eight men were arrested while reading newspapers and publications from opposition political parties.

Cameroon’s opposition leaders say the detentions appear aimed at thwarting protests against the country’s first regional elections and President Paul Biya.

Biya in late August announced the elections would take place December 6.

Cameroon Renaissance Movement (MRC) leader Maruice Kamto vowed to disrupt the polls and called for protests.

Kamto, who says Biya stole from him the 2018 presidential election, says Cameroon should first resolve its four-year separatist conflict.

“Our fight against the dictatorship is heading towards its critical phase. Despite the essentially peaceful nature of our struggle for the freedom and development of our country, the regime once again resorts to terror and judicial barbarism,” said Kamto. “As I have said repeatedly, we want to get out of the dictatorship.”

Authorities have not confirmed or denied any military detentions of opposition supporters.

But territorial administration minister Paul Atanga Nji confirmed that troops were deployed and instructed to arrest any protesters.

“I want to sound a stern warning to unscrupulous politicians looking for cheap popularity with a hidden agenda that they will face the law in case of any public disorder,” said Nji. “Administrative authorities have been instructed to take necessary measures to maintain law and order.”

Nji would not say how many troops were deployed, but opposition supporters and locals say the security presence is noticeable in major cities.

Cameroon’s government has banned public gatherings of opposition political party members in most cities and towns. Nonetheless, Kamto this month has been meeting with supporters as part of what he calls plans to force Biya from power.

Source: VOA

16, September 2020

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Explosive device blast kills 2 La Republique soldiers and a civilian in Dion Ngute’s village ⁰

At least two Cameroonian soldiers and a civilian were killed on September 14 in an improvised explosive device blast in Bongong Barombi, a locality in the the Ndian County, Southern zone of Southern Cameroons.

The soldiers loyal to the French Cameroun regime in Yaounde were reportedly on patrol when the device planted along the road exploded.

The explosion destroyed the military vehicle, leaving two soldiers and a civilian killed and another civilian injured at the scene, a military source in Buea hinted Cameroon Concord News.

The Francophone dominated military have been in clashes with Ambazonia Restoration Forces since 2017.

By Fon Lawrence

16, September 2020

Ambazonia: Yerima rules out possibility of a one and indivisible Cameroon ⁰

The Vice President of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government says the people of Ambazonia will not commit to the so-called one and indivisible French Cameroun doctrine being marketed to the international community by the regime in Yaoundé.

“The people of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia do not believe that the one and indivisible Cameroon theory is the core of the Southern Cameroons crisis and hence it cannot be the solution,” Vice President Dabney Yerima said during a zoom meeting grouping members of a Southern Cameroons think tank in Holland on Tuesday.

The exiled Ambazonian leader furthered, “The core of the Southern Cameroons crisis is about the deplorable and drastic conditions that Ambazonians are living under as people under occupation.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, Yerima pointed to some attempts to end the disagreement among Southern Cameroons Resistance groups noting that the efforts have not yet reached a tipping point.

By Chi Prudence Asong

16, September 2020

US: Trump’s dislike of Obama is ‘purely racial’ ⁰

US President Donald Trump is “a cult leader,” whose dislike of his predecessor, Barack Obama, is “purely racial,” says the Republican’s former fixer.

“Why he despises him to the extent that he does, I believe it’s purely racial,” Michael Cohen told ABC on Monday.

The former Trump lawyer, who was convicted of campaign finance violations in 2018, further described the American commander-in-chief as a “an Archie Bunker racist.”

“I believe it’s solely predicated on the fact that Barack Obama is Black,” he said, further commenting about his telltale book, titled Disloyal. “I described Mr. Trump as a cult leader and I was in this cult. And while I was in the cult I was really refusing to acknowledge that the actions I was performing for my boss were really morally wrong.”

Trump has dismissed the claims by his former lawyer as “fan fiction.”

“About the only way a person is able to write a book on me is if they agree that it will contain as much bad ‘stuff’ as possible, much of which is lies,” Trump tweeted late last month. “It’s like getting a job with CNN or MSDNC and saying that “President Trump is great.” You have ZERO chance. FAKE NEWS!”

Cohen was sentenced to three years behind bars and ordered to pay a $50,000 fine.

He made payments during the 2016 campaign to two women – adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal – to silence them from speaking publicly about affairs they had with Trump.

Source: Presstv

16, September 2020

Football: Bayern Munich no longer beat their opponents – they destroy them ⁰

European champions Bayern Munich begin the hunt for a ninth-straight Bundesliga title on Friday, but while their rivals ponder how to break their iron grip on the German league, the Bavarian giants have pressing issues to resolve on the eve of the new season.

Bayern host Schalke at the Allianz Arena to kick-off the Bundesliga season just 26 days after lifting the Champions League trophy in Lisbon to complete the treble.

They stand to play 57 games in a condensed 2020/21 fixture list, due to the knock-on effects of the coronavirus pandemic, but on Friday, Bayern will be able to play in front of a small number of fans for the first time since March.

However, they have already lost three of the Champions League-winning squad.

Ivan Perisic, Philippe Coutinho and Alvaro Odriozola have returned to Inter Milan, Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively after their loan deals expired.

“We have to make up for it,” head coach Hansi Flick admitted with Bayern facing Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup and Borussia Dortmund for the German Super Cup in the coming fortnight.

Bayern want to sign a winger, to back up Sane, Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry with Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-Odoi again on their radar. They also want a defender.

– ‘They destroy them’ –

Flick’s star-studded squad finished last season on an all-conquering 21-game winning run, including the 8-2 thrashing of Spanish giants Barcelona in the Champions League’s semi-finals.

“The current team of Hansi Flick is perhaps the best Bayern team ever,” Hans-Joachim Watzke, chief executive of arch rivals Borussia Dortmund, declared last month.

“They no longer beat their opponents – they destroy them.”

Bayern’s last loss was at the hands of Moenchengldbach in December.

Watzke refuses to make any statements about Dortmund denying the Bavarians a ninth-straight Bundesliga title in 2020/21.

The messages are similar from the camp of Champions League semi-finalists RB Leipzig, who finished third in the Bundesliga behind Bayern and runners-up Dortmund.

“What Bayern did in Lisbon was impressive,” admitted Leipzig’s Germany defender Marcel Halstenberg.

“We are working to become even better and to reach their level.”

Bayern’s impressive run is down to the irresistible form of stars like Thomas Mueller and Robert Lewandowski.

Mueller managed a league-record 21 assists, making a mockery of Joachim Loew’s decision to end his Germany career in March 2019.

Lewandowski netted 55 goals in 47 games last season, leaving him as the top-scorer in both the Bundesliga, where he hit 34 goals, and the Champions League, where he scored 15 times in 10 games.

However, to preserve the harmony in the dressing room, Flick and the club’s bosses must quickly resolve the future of defender David Alaba and midfielder Thiago Alcantara. Both are stalling over signing contract extensions.

– ‘Money-hungry piranha’ –

“I don’t know who is going to leave us and who is going to arrive again. It’s not the best way to prepare,” Flick has admitted.

Alcantara has been heavily linked to a move to Premier League clubs Liverpool and Manchester United.

Alaba is said to want a big pay rise.

A war of words broke out over the Austrian defender at the weekend after former club chairman Uli Hoeness branded Alaba’s agent Pini Zahavi a “money-hungry piranha”.

More diplomatically, Alaba hopes a solution can be found soon “so that the club, my teammates, but also the fans know where they stand”.

On Tuesday, midfielder Leon Goretzka said the squad can “block out” off-field mud-slinging.

“We are all professionals enough and strong as a community”.

However, the central midfielder called for fresh signings alongside winger Leroy Sane, goalkeeper Alexander Nuebel and defender Tanguy Nianzou from Paris Saint-Germain.

“We have a top squad, but I do believe that at least every position should be filled twice,” said the 25-year-old with one eye on this season’s dense fixture list.

Source: AFP

16, September 2020

African Court says Ivory Coast should allow ex-PM Soro to run in election ⁰

Former Ivorian rebel leader and ex-prime minister Guillaume Soro, who has been barred from contesting an upcoming presidential election, should be allowed to run, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights said Tuesday.

The court — established by members of the African Union in 2004 — issued a provisional ruling calling on Ivory Coast to “take all necessary measures to immediately remove all obstacles” preventing Soro from competing in the October 31 vote.

However, the ruling is likely to have limited impact, as Ivory Coast withdrew its recognition of the court’s jurisdiction in April this year.

(AFP)

15, September 2020

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Biya desperately needs Regional Election to placate the West ⁰

The Vice President of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government says the announced regional elections by the French Cameroun dictator Paul Biya clearly show that the West is running out of patience with the Francophone regime in Yaoundé.

The exiled Southern Cameroons leader, however, cast doubt on the staging of the so-called regional election in Southern Cameroons and said the idea is to placate the United States and the European Union.

Dabney Yerima made a mockery of the French Cameroun ruling CPDM crime syndicate saying French Cameroun political elites and their military are more loyal to France than to their own people.

Paul Biya recently announced the first regional elections in December, including Southern Cameroons in the grip of a revolt.

The indirect elections on December 6 in the country’s 10 regions will put in place councils provided for in a 1996 constitution in a move towards decentralisation but not yet implemented.

These councils will also be elected in Southern Cameroons where a nearly three-year-old insurgency has claimed over 35,000 lives.

Southern Cameroons is home to a large minority of English speakers in a country where French speakers are the overwhelming majority — a situation that is the legacy of the decolonisation of western Africa by France and Britain more than six decades ago.

Years of resentment at perceived discrimination against British Southern Cameroonians led to the declaration on October 1, 2017, of the independence of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, triggering a crackdown by the Francophone authorities.

The 87 year Biya who has been in power for nearly four decades has promised Southern Cameroonians a special status in a bid to quell the unrest.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

15, September 2020

Biya Francophone regime more loyal to France than to its own people: Vice President Yerima ⁰

The French Cameroun regime has more loyalty to France than it has to its own French speaking Camerounian people, according to the Vice President of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government.

Dabney Yerima made the comment in a conversation with the Cameroon Concord News Group on Monday.

“French President Emmanuel Macron’s remarks that he pressured La Republique du Cameroun leader Paul Biya to release Prof Maurice Kamto was a clear indication that France still has a colonial attitude towards French Cameroun” according to Vice President Yerima.

On Feb. 22, a video went viral on social media showing the French president telling a Cameroonian activist in Paris that he had pressured Biya to release opposition leader, Maurice Kamto from jail.

“It’s pretty clear that there is a genocide going on in Southern Cameroons and Biya is behind the torture and brutal murder of thousands of Southern Cameroonians but Paris has erected a stone wall against any international effort geared towards ending the war in Ambazonia” Yerima added.

“The President Macron’s meeting with the French Cameroun activist in Paris was an acceptance that the French government is interfering in French Cameroun internal affairs” the Ambazonian leader concluded.

By Isong Asu