Monthly Archives: January 2022

Africa Cup of Nations: Cameroon hosts influx of football fans from neighboring Gabon, Equatorial Guinea

22, January 2022

Africa Cup of Nations: Cameroon hosts influx of football fans from neighboring Gabon, Equatorial Guinea 0

Cameroon says that within four days, at least 1,500 football supporters have entered the country from neighboring Equatorial Guinea and Gabon to support their teams that have advanced to Round 16 in the Africa Football Cup of Nations, or AFCON. Gabon battles Burkina Faso Sunday, while Equatorial Guinea plays against Mali Wednesday. Tournament organizers require all fans to have COVID-19 tests before entering stadiums.

Cameroon’s immigration police said Saturday that buses carrying at least 900 football fans from Gabon and Equatorial Guinea have entered the central African state within 48 hours. Gabon and Equatorial Guinea are Cameroon’s southern neighbors.

The immigration police said about 600 other football fans from Gabon and Equatorial Guinea arrived in Cameroon by sea and by air this week.

Cameroon says the influx came after Gabon and Equatorial Guinea qualified for the knockout stage of the Africa Football Cup of Nations, or AFCON, in Cameroon. Gabon played a 2-2 draw Tuesday against Morocco in Yaoundé, and both teams advanced.

Equatorial Guinea sealed their place after a 1-0 win against Sierra Leone in a group match played at Limbes Omnisport Stadium in Cameroon’s English-speaking South West region Thursday.

Thirty-year-old Prosper Ebang is among the 1,500 supporters from Gabon and Equatorial Guinea Cameroon police say have entered Cameroon. Ebang says he wants to be part of a continental soccer event in which his country’s national football team, the Panthers of Gabon, are doing well.

Ebang says no citizen who loves Gabon can be indifferent when the Panthers are making Gabon proud with the excellent football exhibited in Cameroon during AFCON. He says he is certain that Gabon will reach the AFCON final if Cameroon continues providing a conducive environment for the games.

Felix Nguele Nguele is the governor of Cameroon’s South region that borders Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. He says Gabon and Equatorial Guinea officials have informed him that hundreds of other supporters are still on their way to Cameroon.

Ngueles says he has asked police and military in Cameroon’s southern border to ensure the safety of football fans and supporters from Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. He says he knows that people with evil intentions may want to disturb the visiting supporters since tensions mounted between Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea in November.

On November 30, 2021, Cameroon said Equatorial Guinea was deporting thousands of Cameroonians who were living in the neighboring state illegally, citing national security concerns. Authorities in the capital, Malabo, said the Cameroonians fled conflict in western Cameroon, where government troops have been fighting anglophone separatists.

Videos from Cameroonians deported from Equatorial Guinea flooded social media platforms including Facebook and WhatsApp. In the video, Cameroonians claiming to have been forcibly sent out of Equatorial Guinea promised to chase football fans from the neighboring country visiting Cameroon for AFCON from January 9 to February 6.

Kisito Esua is president of the nongovernmental organization South West Youth League, headquartered in Limbe, an English-speaking southwestern town. Esua says the league is teaching youths to be hospitable to fans coming to Cameroon to support their football teams. He spoke via a messaging app from Limbe.

“The influx of fans and supporters from Gabon and Equatorial Guinea is so massive,” said Esua. “The fans have been coming in in their numbers by air, land and sea and we think that the turnout tomorrow will be something spectacular. So, we have made sure that the environment is so friendly, convivial and conducive.”

Cameroon’s Public Health ministry says the supporters who have arrived within the past 48 hours must respect COVID-19 restriction guidelines imposed by the Confederation of African Football. CAF says people must provide negative COVID-19 test results that are not more than 24 hours old as well as proof they have been vaccinated against COVID-19 to gain access to stadiums for AFCON matches.

The embassies of Gabon and Equatorial Guinea in Yaoundé say all the visiting fans have agreed to respect Cameroonian laws and COVID-19 restrictions instituted by Cameroon and CAF during their stay.

Source: VOA

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Five kidnapped from school in Menchum County

22, January 2022

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Five kidnapped from school in Menchum County 0

Three teachers, the headmaster and a deputy head were kidnapped from a Cameroonian high school by armed men in one of two English-speaking regions plagued by an armed conflict between separatists and soldiers, a teachers’ union told AFP on Friday.

“An armed group burst into the Weh bilingual high school on Tuesday and kidnapped five people,” said Roger Kafo, secretary general of the National Union of Secondary Teachers (Snaes).

Armed separatists regularly attack schools which they accuse of teaching in French, and kill civil servants, including teachers, whom they accuse of “collaborating” with the central government in Yaounde.

Students have been abducted and later released.

“At the moment we don’t have any news of the hostages and none has been freed,” Kafo added.

The hostages were the principal, the deputy head and three teachers.

The northwest and southwest regions have been rocked by violence since 2017 when anglophone militants declared independence from the majority French-speaking country.

Yaounde responded with a crackdown.

Both the separatists and government forces have been accused of atrocities in the fighting, which has claimed more than 3,000 lives and forced over 700,000 to flee their homes.

Source: The Guardian

“Francophone Catholic Bishops better first wake up to crimes being committed against Ambazonians” Carlson Anyangwe

22, January 2022

“Francophone Catholic Bishops better first wake up to crimes being committed against Ambazonians” Carlson Anyangwe 0

Southern Cameroons Department of Foreign Affairs has blasts the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon over a declaration made public during the 45th plenary assembly that held in Ngaoundéré in the Adamawa Region from January 8 to 15, 2022 on the situation of human rights in Southern Cameroons saying the Francophone Roman Catholic Bishops should first pay attention to the actual crimes against humanity that were being committed against the people of Southern Cameroons-Ambazonia.

Professor Carlson Anyangwe made the remarks late on Friday in reaction to a statement devised by Bishop Emmanuel Abbo of Ngaoundéré, president of the 45th plenary assembly of the Bishops of Cameroon National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon on Radio France International (RFI).

“His Lordship Bishop Emmanuel Abbo should, to begin with, wake up from his deep sleep and condemn the devastating effects of the Biya French Cameroun war on Southern Cameroonians access to their bare necessities, including medical and pharmaceutical items during the coronavirus pandemic,” Professor Carlson Anyangwe said.

On the occasion of its 45th plenary assembly held in Ngaoundéré in the Adamawa Region from January 8 to 15, 2022, the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon strongly denounced the stalemate in the numerous crises in Cameroon with particular reference to the armed struggle in Southern Cameroons-Ambazonia.

“The crisis in Anglophone Cameroon continues because there are some people who maintain it, precisely because it suits them. There are some who will do nothing to stop this crisis because for them this crisis has a certain financial and material advantage. The information we have received clearly shows that these conflicts are maintained. First of all by the actors themselves on the ground. It has become a business for the Ambazonians who commit exactions, who rob the population. It has become a way for them to get rich. The crisis is also maintained by certain authorities who do not want this war to end because it is to their advantage,” said Bishop Emmanuel Abbo of Ngaoundéré in an interview on Rfi on Sunday, January 16, 2022.

Professor Carlson Anyangwe called the claims made by Bishop Emmanuel Abbo that had based some of its contents on alleged information provided by the Biya Francophone regime in Yaounde spiteful and worthless as well as confrontational.

Anyangwe said Bishop Emmanuel Abbo’s comments had been devised based on a selective approach and denounced the Roman Catholic cleric for adding his voice in pursuance of French Cameroun political goals.

Professor Carlson Anyangwe asserted that Vice President Dabney Yerima has invariably taken steps towards expansion and enhancement of human rights throughout the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

By Isong Asu in London

Maryland cabal close doors to Ambazonia, open them to French Cameroun: Dr Patrick Ayuk

22, January 2022

Maryland cabal close doors to Ambazonia, open them to French Cameroun: Dr Patrick Ayuk 0

A senior Southern Cameroons academic says the Federal Republic of Ambazonia is under a very malicious occupation but some so-called front line leaders are closing their doors to the liberation journey to Buea, while at the same time reaching out to Southern Cameroons enemy in Yaounde.

Referring to the crisis that has rocked the Southern Cameroons group in Maryland often refered to as the Sako-IG, Dr. Patrick Ayuk said on Thursday, “We have to admit that the Maryland gang had private financial dealings with some people in Yaounde.”

“It is hard to believe that because of small amounts of money, the enemy in French Cameroun is now standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Maryland group in the way we are seeing today, and the group is closing its doors to the Ambazonian struggle? Dr. Patrick Ayuk said during a meeting with the Vice President of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government, Dabney Yerima on Thursday.

Dr. Patrick Ayuk in a soul-searching presentation to the Ambazonia war cabinet re-echoed the view that Dr. Ikome Sako and Pastor Chris Anu had used the Bible to blindfold Southern Cameroonians who were delivering millions of dollars for war purposes.

The pastors became front line leaders in the US and carefully transformed Southern Cameroonians into their personal piggy banks not to fight the intimidated Yaounde regime, but to line their pockets.

Dr. Patrick Ayuk condemned what he described as a treacherous stab in the back and appealed to Vice President Yerima to present a clearer picture to the people in Ground Zero and Ground One on the state of the Southern Cameroons revolution.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Biya regime issues travel ban against Amougou Belinga amid financial probe 

22, January 2022

Biya regime issues travel ban against Amougou Belinga amid financial probe  0

A Pro Biya prosecutor has issued a travel ban against the CEO of the L’Anecdote Group, Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga, who is among the top officials of the ruling CPDM party widely blamed for the unprecedented corruption in Cameroon.

The Judge issued the travel ban against Amougou Belinga, who has been at the center of investigations at home and abroad into his conduct launched after it was revealed the controversial Francophone business tycoon had several nasty deals with prominent Cameroon government ministers.

Cameroon Intelligence Report understands the judge imposed the ban as part of a Cameroon government investigation into the Amougou Belinga business empire, whose existence has come under public scrutiny. CIR’s chief intelligence correspondent in Yaoundé hinted that the next stage of the Amogou Belinga probe would be questions to the CEO at the Special Criminal Court.

A judicial source said the travel ban was pursuant to an end of year declaration by the 88-year old President Biya over alleged financial misconduct deep within government circles.

The source said the Amougou Belinga probe will include investigating alleged fraud and complaints about the CEO by journalists working for his private TV Channel in addition to looking at CAMPOST’s financial engineering operations involving Minister Paul Atanga Nji, Minister Issa Tchiroma and Minister Laurent Esso.  The source added that the Special Criminal Court had summoned Amougou Belinga for questioning over the case but the exact date of the session had yet to be publicly disclosed.

Amougou Belinga’s investments in France are also being investigated on suspicion of money laundering and illicit enrichment, among other allegations including dubious state subsidies.

When the big man arrived at the Yaoundé-Nsimalen airport to board an Air France flight to Paris, he was told by police officers carrying a ban on leaving the country that he could not enter the plane.  His travel documents, including a Central African Republic diplomatic passport, were taken away from him.

The Beti-Ewondo businessman reportedly protested and threatened to fight but he left the scene and return home after he was informed that Martin Mbarga Nguélé, the Delegate General for National Security was about to order his arrest.

Cameroon’s economy has been in a free-fall state since President Biya announced a massive anti corruption campaign more than a decade ago.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Double Standard: Total Energies withdraws from Myanmar over worsening abuses but remains key sponsor of the Africa Cup of Nations

21, January 2022

Double Standard: Total Energies withdraws from Myanmar over worsening abuses but remains key sponsor of the Africa Cup of Nations 0

It has often been said that helping to promote human rights globally has always had a political dimension. The so-called world powers often press these issues in the case of those countries of which they disapprove and ignore or downplay transgressions by friendly countries.

The recent decision by French energy giant Total Energies to withdraw from Myanmar over what the company described as “worsening human rights abuses” and Total Energies continued financial support and investment in the current Africa Cup of Nations holding in Cameroon-a nation with the worse human rights record in Africa has finally justified the assertion that the use of human rights as a policy tool, and hence the politicization of the human rights issue, has attained new heights.

French oil giant Total Energies on Friday said it would withdraw from Myanmar over “worsening” human rights abuses committed since the country’s military took power in a February 2021 coup.

Total Energies said “The situation, in terms of human rights and more generally the rule of law, which have kept worsening in Myanmar… has led us to reassess the situation and no longer allows TotalEnergies to make a sufficiently positive contribution in the country.”

Cameroon Intelligence Report understands the French energy giant will withdraw from its Yadana gas field in the Andaman Sea, which provides electricity to the local Burmese and Thai population, six months at the latest after the expiry of its contractual period.

The company also said it had not identified any means to sanction the military junta without avoiding stopping gas production and ensuing payments to the military-controlled Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE).

However, for such Total Energies measures to be effective, they must apply to all countries in an equal fashion. Yet this has never been the case. Several countries in Africa including Cameroon have contravened international standards of human rights, and yet they have received very different treatment.

It will soon be five years since the government of Cameroon made a huge and costly mistake by thinking that all political issues must only be addressed through repression and oppression. After close to five years of fighting, the President Paul Biya regime has transformed the English-speaking part of the country into a massive killing field.

The madness has lasted for too long and Total Energies is yet to see that it is time for common-sense and wisdom to prevail. The reckless killing of English speaking Cameroonians by soldiers militarily equip with money provided from business transactions with Total Energies  only underscores the fact the French energy giant is interested in giving a slap on the wrist to the 40-year old Biya regime in Yaoundé.   

This special treatment of the Francophone dominated Biya regime in Yaoundé by the French administration and French multinationals has served neither that country nor French interest well. It has emboldened Cameroon under the 88-year old President Biya to continue its disregard for human rights and support for international crime groups without fear of any retaliation.

The story of the armed kidnapping of 10 Anglophone Cameroon academics now known as the NERA 10 in Abuja and armed smuggling to Yaoundé under cover of darkness; the story of their incommunicado detention at DIA in Nigeria and later at SED in Cameroun; and the story of their nocturnal ‘trial’,‘ conviction’ and ‘sentence’ to life by Cameroun’s Tribunal Militaire – all this was shrouded in complete mystery and illegality. The Nera 10 were kidnapped by plain clothes Nigerian military in a joint operation with members of Cameroun’s military. It is now known that they were smuggled out to Yaoundé by members of the armed forces of Cameroun with the complicity of Nigeria’s military. The illegality of their seizure has further compounded the illegal refoulement of all ten of them, refugees and certified asylees, back to Cameroun, back to the regime and country from which they are escaping persecution and possible death. Upon arrival in Yaoundé and after about a year of detention at SED under atrocious conditions, the Nera 10 were moved to the cramped and insalubrious life-threatening Kondengui prison, and then arraigned before the Tribunal Militaire, Yaoundé- a terror agency of the Yaoundé regime. After more than a year and a half of detention, the Nera 10 were hurriedly brought before that tribunal on a certain night and put through the motion of a ‘trial’ under cover of darkness. They are denied access to counsel. They are not given the opportunity to be heard. They are ‘convicted’, and ‘sentenced’ to life imprisonment and a fine of more than US$525 million each.

For 5 years and counting, the Cameroon government Francophone dominated military and their private militias have been committing genocide in English speaking Cameroon. More than 32,500+ civilians have been killed; over a million children are out of school; 550+ villages have been razed down, 3,000+ are presently in detention centers and prisons; hundreds of our women and girls have been raped; thousands of our loved ones are missing. The Norwegian Refugees Commission (NRC) has stated two years in a roll that this is the world’s most under-reported crisis – obviously because French multinationals such as Total Energies are helping the Biya regime to block access to the international community and are shielding and trying to clean up the crimes they are committing in English speaking Cameroons.

The special treatment of Francophone African dictators has undermined the cause of human rights throughout the sub Saharan region and has led to growing cynicism regarding the international community’s commitment to upholding human rights-the aftermath being that coups are being celebrated in countries such as Mali and Guinea. Like peace and security, human rights are indivisible. Either the same standards and principles are applied to all and transgressors are punished equally or the defense of human rights will be reduced to mere rhetoric that convinces no one.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

British Foreign Secretary says Russia risks ‘quagmire’ in Ukraine

21, January 2022

British Foreign Secretary says Russia risks ‘quagmire’ in Ukraine 0

Russia risks becoming embroiled in a “terrible quagmire” if it invades Ukraine, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is to warn Friday in a speech in Sydney.

The UK’s top diplomat will tell Russian President Vladimir Putin that he is on the brink of making a strategic blunder by launching military action and “has not learned the lessons of history.”

According to prepared remarks to the Lowy Institute, Truss will urge Putin to “desist and step back from Ukraine before he makes a massive strategic mistake.”

“Invasion will only lead to a terrible quagmire and loss of life, as we know from the Soviet-Afghan war and conflict in Chechnya.”

Tens of thousands of Russian troops have massed on Ukraine’s border, and the drumbeat of invasion has been growing for months.

Few military experts believe that Kyiv’s smaller forces could repel an outright invasion.

But Truss will become the latest official to raise the spectre of a protracted and bloody Ukrainian resistance that ensnares occupying Russian forces.

The top diplomat is currently on an official visit to Australia alongside British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace.

Speaking in Sydney at the conclusion of the talks, Wallace and his Australian counterpart Peter Dutton drew a parallel between rising tensions today and the pre-war 1930s.

Wallace noted the two countries had “fought side-by-side then against authoritarian and totalitarian regimes” during World War II.

“Eighty-one years ago to the day, men of the Australian 6th division and the British 7th division captured Tobruk from the Nazis,” he said.

“We won not just because of the bravery of those men who died, many of them, for the sake of freedom, but because we have an alliance.”

Australian Defence Minister Dutton said: “We would be in a very different situation if, during the 1930s and 1940s, the United Kingdom hadn’t stood up to malign forces.”

‘Step up’

The trip comes as Western officials engage in frantic shuttle diplomacy, in part to prevent war, but also to overcome differences in how to respond to any Russian aggression.

Truss will urge allies to “step up” in the face of the crisis, linking the Ukraine conflict to a slew of increasingly emboldened authoritarian regimes who are looking to “export dictatorship.”

“Together with our allies, we will continue to stand with Ukraine and urge Russia to de-escalate and engage in meaningful discussions. What happens in Eastern Europe matters for the world,” she will say.

Truss’ call won support in Australia — which has come under fierce diplomatic, economic and political pressure from China, another authoritarian power, in recent years.

A slew of Australian goods are currently banned from China or under punitive tariffs, following a row over Beijing’s influence in Australia and the region.

Dutton echoed Truss’ call for “the free world to stand its ground.”

“When you see Russia act the way they do, it encourages other bullies and other dictatorships to do the same, and particularly if there’s no pushback from the rest of the world,” Dutton told the Seven Network.

“Thousands of people will die and that is not a circumstance that anyone wants to see prevail. The build-up of the Russian troops is incredibly concerning.”

Source: AFP

Cameroon government  army commander killed in Muyuka Amba attack

21, January 2022

Cameroon government  army commander killed in Muyuka Amba attack 0

A Cameroon government army commander was killed this week after an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle in Muyuka.

A military source told Cameroon Concord News that the popular soldier, who was  charged with providing security for a French Cameroun company known as Super Mont in Muyuka, was leading an escort mission to the company’s premises when the bomb went off.

Our source said the officer was among the many immediately rushed to the Muyuka hospital who died later from wounds he sustained during the attack. It was unclear whether some of his troops, including members of the pro Yaounde Atanga Nji Boys, were injured or killed during the explosion.

Cameroon Concord News has withheld the name of the officer as it was unclear whether or not his family has been notified by the Cameroon government military.

The office of the Divisional Officer for Muyuka, did not return a request for comment on the attack that killed the commander.

The soldier has become the latest officer to die in Fako County since the beginning of the Africa Cup of Nations.

The Muyuka attack has raised fresh concerns about Ambazonia Revolutionary Guards ability to launch surprise strikes against French Cameroun army soldiers.

Two Cameroon government military vehicles were reportedly destroyed.

By Rita Akana

Africa Cup of Nations: IG condemns occupation of Fako County, presence of Francophone soldiers in Ambazonia

21, January 2022

Africa Cup of Nations: IG condemns occupation of Fako County, presence of Francophone soldiers in Ambazonia 0

The Vice President of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government Dabney Yerima says the people of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia strongly rejects any form of occupation of their homeland, be it for the hosting of the Africa Cup of Nations and believes that all French Cameroun army soldiers will finally have to leave British Southern Cameroons.

In a conversation with Cameroon Concord News on Tuesday, the exiled Southern Cameroons leader highlighted the necessity of continued Ambazonia resistance, saying the illegal presence of La Republique du Cameroun troops and the Atanga Nji Boys must come to an end.

French Cameroun currently occupies a large swathe of Southern Cameroons territory and has deployed thousands of French speaking soldiers to the Fako County for the Africa Cup of Nations – moves that have been condemned by the Ambazonia Interim Government.

The French Cameroun regime has also been maintaining an illegal military presence on the Northern Zone precisely in Bamenda collaborating with pro Yaoundé armed groups known as Atanga Nji Boys.

The Francophone dominated military has stationed its forces and equipment in Limbe, Mutengene, Tiko, Muea and Buea with the alleged aim of preventing Amba fighters from attacking football teams in the Fako constituency.

Nonetheless, the Ambazonia Interim Government says the French Cameroun military presence in Southern Cameroons is meant to plunder British Southern Cameroons resources, including its oil.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Africa Cup of Nations: Ivory Coast thump title-holders Algeria 3-1, kicking them out of Cameroon 2021

21, January 2022

Africa Cup of Nations: Ivory Coast thump title-holders Algeria 3-1, kicking them out of Cameroon 2021 0

Reigning champions Algeria were dumped out of the Africa Cup of Nations after an abject 3-1 defeat against the Ivory Coast as the group stage came to a conclusion on Thursday with Tunisia, Equatorial Guinea and tiny tournament debutants the Comoros all securing places in the last 16.

Franck Kessie, Ibrahim Sangare and Arsenal’s Nicolas Pepe all scored to put the Ivory Coast 3-0 up against Algeria in Cameroon’s economic capital Douala, before Manchester City star Riyad Mahrez missed a penalty for the 2019 champions.

Sofiane Bendebka eventually pulled one back with their first goal in over four hours of football at this year’s tournament, but it was too little, too late for Djamel Belmadi’s team.

It is the fifth time in the last six Cups of Nations that the reigning champions have failed to make the AFCON knockout phase, but there has arguably never been a worse title defence.

Algeria came to the tournament on an unbeaten run stretching back over three years but they were held by Sierra Leone in their opening match and then lost to Equatorial Guinea to suffer a first defeat in 36 games.

They finish bottom of their group with a single point.

‘Failure’

“A failure, simple as that,” was how Belmadi summed up their tournament.

“We never managed to take our chances, right from the start of the competition. Even penalties we had difficulty with. We just weren’t good enough.”

Their demise was lapped up by the fans at the Japoma Stadium, with the 50,000-capacity ground filling up as the game went on.

The crowd was given as just over 30,000, the maximum that could be allowed in due to the 60 percent capacity limit imposed as part of coronavirus restrictions, but it looked like more than that. Many fans invaded the pitch in chaotic scenes of celebration at the end.

The Ivory Coast, the 2015 champions, clearly had the backing of the crowd and they will stay in Douala for a heavyweight last-16 tie against Mohamed Salah’s Egypt next Wednesday.

“I am very, very satisfied about what my team has done tonight,” said the Ivory Coast’s French coach, Patrice Beaumelle, who has twice won the AFCON as an assistant coach and had some sympathy for Algeria and their failed attempt to retain the title.

“It is always difficult because it is a coveted trophy and when we won it with Zambia in 2012 that inspired a lot of teams as well.”

Equatorial Guinea go through in second place in Group E after defeating Sierra Leone 1-0 in Limbe thanks to a superb first-half strike from Pablo Ganet.

Kei Kamara missed a penalty for Sierra Leone as they go out while Equatorial Guinea stay in Limbe for a last-16 tie against Mali on January 26.

Mali and Gambia win

Mali finished top of Group F after a 2-0 win over west African neighbours Mauritania in the late game in Douala, with Massadio Haidara giving them a second-minute lead before Ibrahima Kone added a penalty early in the second half.

It was a third successful penalty in as many games for Norway-based striker Kone, as Mauritania go home without a point or a goal.

Tournament debutants Gambia had already sealed a place in the knockout phase before claiming a remarkable 1-0 win over Tunisia in their last group match in Limbe.

Ablie Jallow’s goal deep in injury time gave Gambia the victory and they will now play Guinea in the last 16 in Bafoussam on Monday.

Tunisia were deprived of 12 players who tested positive for Covid-19 on the eve of the game, including star man Wahbi Khazri, and they have to settle for advancing as one of the four best third-placed teams.

That means the 2004 champions have a quick turnaround and must head north to play Nigeria — the only team to win all three group games — in Garoua on Sunday.

Thursday’s results also allowed the Comoros, the small Indian Ocean island nation, to progress to the last 16 in their first appearance at the tournament.

They will face hosts Cameroon in the last 16.

Source: AFP

«< 5 6 7 8 9 >»