Monthly Archives: October 2022

Four Francophone soldiers killed in Amba attack on Tuesday: Cameroon Intelligence Report sources

5, October 2022

Four Francophone soldiers killed in Amba attack on Tuesday: Cameroon Intelligence Report sources 0

Four Cameroon government army soldiers were killed in an attack by Ambazonia fighters on Tuesday in Boyo constituency in the North West region, a resident and two officials hinted Cameroon Intelligence Report.

The office of the Francophone governor in Bamenda said today that Cameroon government troops had repelled an assault on the outskirts of Boyo.  It was the first major Amba attack staged in the North West region since Southern Cameroonians in Ground Zero celebrated their independence day on October 1.

The civil administrator statement made no mention of casualties but our informant in Boyo said he saw four corpses.

“Amba fighters fought their way into Boyo and killed four soldiers,” he said.

The Biya administration has been marketing slogans claiming to fortify bilingualism and saying that Amba fighters have been defeated but the latest attack shows Ambazonia fighters continued ability to stage hit-and-run raids.

Yaoundé recently replaced its previous military commander of the fight against Southern Cameroons Self Defense Forces and announced the deployment of the so-called Special Forces.  Military sources told Cameroon Intelligence Report that this followed a series of embarrassing attacks by Amba fighters.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Canada: Cambridge Ward 1 leading candidate pledges to implement the Good Neighbours Initiative

4, October 2022

Canada: Cambridge Ward 1 leading candidate pledges to implement the Good Neighbours Initiative 0

Erick Takor is running for the Ward 1 seat in the City of Cambridge in Canada and as one of the leading candidates he has made public plans to implement the Good Neighbours Initiative if elected.

Takor gave the assurance in a campaign presentation published in Cambridge Times and added that housing remains an immediate concern.

According to him, he knows exactly how to work with the forces of law and order for neighbourhoods to be safe from drugs, opioids, and needles including speeding of cars.

Erick Takor who migrated to Canada from the Republic of Cameroon is an accounting manager and runs a small business.

He has been involved in the formation and leadership of multiple community-based organizations around the GTA for over 15 years. He reportedly served as chairperson of the St. Gabriel Catholic School Council in Cambridge.

Below is what he told the Cambridge Times in Canada on why he is running for the Ward I seat

WHY HAVE YOU DECIDED TO RUN?

I chose to run in this election because I believe the time is right for a change in the city hall. Ward one needs a leader who respects diversity, has energy and commitment to represent our community at the city hall. The demographics of the city have changed within the years and there is a disconnect between the community and the council; we need a councillor who can connect with our growing and diverse population to represent our unique perspectives or values at the decision-making table. I want to represent the voices of my community.

HOW WILL YOU EMBRACE AND CHAMPION DIVERSITY IN THIS ROLE?

We are all born unique, and tapping into our differences makes our community stronger. I believe in an all-inclusive community, a community where everyone belongs. As a councillor, I will champion diversity by encouraging and celebrating diverse cultures. I will create an open and safe environment for all and finally champion the thoughtful use of city resources equitably — champion the City of Cambridge diversity and accessibility and action plan.

WHAT ARE YOUR TOP THREE ISSUES?

The top three issues facing my community are;

• Affordability of housing is an immediate concern. We see interest rate hikes, and inflation and salaries have remained the same year over year.

• And public safety concerns; our neighbourhoods needs to be safe from drugs, opioids and needles. Many residents have talk about speeding of cars, increased traffic, and our streets need bike lanes.

• Improvements of community services for all.

IF ELECTED, WHAT DO YOU PLAN TO ACCOMPLISH IN YOUR FIRST 100 DAYS?

• Knowing the house-learning the role of councillor and building a working relationship with other councillors and mayor.

• Plan and hold at least two information meetings with my constituent, and reviewing the out gone councillors plan of action to relay my constituents reconcilable ideas to the council

• I will also launch the “Good Neighbours Initiative”; I will help people become great neighbours by means of improving connection, implementing quick safety measures, have experts talk about mental health and social resilience, a communications line/site for better ideas,

By Soter Agbaw-Ebai with files from CAMBRIDGE TIMES

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Marchers Call for Peace, But Warring Sides at Odds on Talks

4, October 2022

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Marchers Call for Peace, But Warring Sides at Odds on Talks 0

In Cameroon, thousands of people are marching to call for peace in the country’s separatist conflict. The daily peace marches, which began on Friday and are slated to continue through Tuesday, come on the third anniversary of talks designed to end the fighting. Marchers say authorities need to do more to return peace to the restive western regions, where fighting has killed about 3,500 people since 2017.

The protesters, a majority of them women, say hardly a day goes by without cases of killings, abduction, rape and torching of public edifices in the Northwest and Southwest regions.

Monday’s peace march was organized by a non-governmental organization called Cameroon, Peace and National Unity. Its president, Clementine Mvogo, said the peace march marks the third anniversary of government-organized peace talks called the Major National Dialogue.

“The culture of peace is still very much absent in Cameroon since the holding in Yaounde of a Major National Dialogue from September 30 to October 4 2019. The ongoing peace march in Yaounde is to make the quest for peace a daily struggle of all Cameroonians. All civilians and civil society movements should be concerned about the return of peace to Cameroon,” Mvogo said.

After that dialogue, Cameroon’s President Paul Biya implemented recommendations to give the Northwest and Southwest regions more power, including the creation of regional assemblies and elected regional presidents.

Zacchaeus Bakuma Elango, president of the Southwest regional assembly, said outreach efforts to the armed separatist groups continue.

“We’re doing everything we can to convince them to lay down their arms and come to the negotiation table. We have families who have been displaced, children who have not gone to schools for five years, so what becomes of them? Are we coming up with a generation of semi-illiterates?” said Elango.

Elango said some people have realized that war is not the answer.

“As the years go by, more and more people are beginning to understand that we are in the same country. There were problems and those problems progressively are being addressed and the situation is improving.”

As evidence of that, he notes that tens of thousands of people who fled the fighting have returned to Southwest towns and villages in Manyu, Lebialem, Meme, Ndian, Fako and Koupe Manengouba administrative units. Elango said several hundred schools sealed by fighters in the region have been reopened.

The government says after the dialogue, powers were given to a national commission for the promotion of bilingualism to give equal status to the English and French languages, in order to reduce domination by the French-speaking majority.

David Abouem a Tchoyi, a member of the commission, said the conflict still persists because many separatist leaders refused to take part in the dialogue.

“I regret bitterly that some of our brothers and sisters, especially those who are abroad, couldn’t be part of that jamboree. When I read the recommendations, I saw some of them which could be game changers and I think it is important to note that the head of state said that the recommendations should be implemented according to the means and the capabilities of the state.”

Three years on, the prospects for peace talks remain stalled. Some separatist groups say they are not ready for any dialogue, while others say the talks should be held outside Cameroon. Separatist leaders based in Europe and the United States have expressed concern they will be arrested on charges of terrorism if they come home for peace talks.

Cameroon maintains that the 2019 dialogue was successful and no talks will be organized outside the country.

The stalemate doesn’t bode well for peace in the western regions, and suggests that Yaounde will see more marches like the ones taking place this week.

Source: VOA

Leading Roman Catholic cleric says Amba crisis – now in its sixth year – has become “about money”

4, October 2022

Leading Roman Catholic cleric says Amba crisis – now in its sixth year – has become “about money” 0

Father Humphrey Tatah Mbuy, the head of the communications department of the bishops’ conference, told a local television station on Oct. 2 that “when money is concerned, it is very difficult to detach a person from his source of income, even if that source is human blood.”

Cameroon is 80 percent French-speaking and 20 percent English-speaking, a result of the country being divided by France and Britain during the colonial era. The two English-speaking North West and South West regions continued to use the British education and common legal systems, but faced marginalization by the Francophone majority for decades.

In 2016, a series of protests by English-speaking teachers and lawyers were violently suppressed by the central government, leading to the present separatist insurgency. So far, over 4,000 people have been killed, and over 700,000 people displaced.

“The conflict…has become what the Frenchman calls ‘L’economie de la Guere.’ It is now a war economy,” Mbuy told the television station.

The priest said the war has turned into a fight for economic benefits, not only by separatists, but by those in government as well. There have been reports of government soldiers arresting people and only releasing them upon the payment of a bribe.

Meanwhile, kidnapping for ransom has become an important way to raise funds for the separatist forces.

On Sept. 16, 30 unidentified gunmen kidnapped five priests, a nun, and three laypeople in the village of Nchang the country’s South West Region.

“The bishop has not been able to get the priests released,” Mbuy said, noting the church has refused to pay the $50,000 ransom demanded by the kidnappers.

The priest said this “war economy” means the parties don’t want to negotiate, making it difficult for the church to work for peace.

Mbuy noted the Catholic Church has played a key role in trying to resolve the crisis from the beginning. In 2016, the bishops of the Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province, which covers the two Anglophone regions, wrote an open letter to the central government tracing the origins of the problem and how best to resolve it.

The priest then lamented the fact that clergy and religious have been targeted in the conflict by both sides, both because of the peacemaking efforts and also for their ransom value.

“This armed conflict in the North West and South West Regions – which should never have been in the first place – is taking on a very wrong approach in conflict management.” Mbuy said.

“You do not touch the person who could help you resolve your problem. If you go for the person who in the end can help you resolve your problem and who has the capacity to help you resolve your problem, then you are shooting yourself in the foot, because the church at the moment, and I can say that without any fear, has the unique moral force to help resolve the armed conflict in the North West and the South West,” he said.

“You can’t force somebody to sit down and talk. You can only discuss with somebody who is ready for a discussion,” Mbuy said.

He also expressed his regret that despite the neutrality of the church, both sides have a history of accusing the church of supporting their opponents. However, the priest reiterated the church’s impartiality in matters of conflict.

“The aggressor and the aggressed are both children of God and the role of the church is that of mother and teacher. When your children are fighting, as a mother you try to bring them together for reconciliation. You do not come as a teacher and take on one side without showing where the truth is. So the church, as a teacher, has to show the truth,” he explained.

Meanwhile, a series of peace marches has been taking place in the capital city Yaoundé to mark the anniversary of the Major National Dialogue that took place Sept. 30-Oct. 4, 2019.

The peace conference resulted in greater autonomy for the Anglophone regions, including the creation of regional assemblies, but separatist groups refused to participate in the dialogue and have not accepted the results.

Source: Crux

North Korea fires ballistic missile over Japan, some residents warned to take cover

4, October 2022

North Korea fires ballistic missile over Japan, some residents warned to take cover 0

South Korea’s military and Japan’s Coast Guard say North Korea has fired a ballistic missile, which has flown over the northern part of Japan, prompting a warning for residents to take cover and a temporary suspension of train operations.

According to both countries, the launch that took place early Tuesday marked Pyongyang’s first missile to fly over Japan in five years.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it appeared to have been an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) launched from North Korea’s Jagang Province. North Korea has used that province to launch several recent tests, including multiple missiles that it claimed were hypersonic.

Tokyo urged residents to shelter themselves and suspended train operations in the area, which was overflew by the North’s projectile.

The missile fell into the Pacific Ocean after flying “over and past” Japan’s territory, the Japanese government said.

North Korea fires ballistic missiles, marking fourth in a week

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, meanwhile, said the South’s military was “maintaining a full readiness posture and closely cooperating with the United States while strengthening surveillance and vigilance.”

“North Korea’s series of actions, including its repeated ballistic missile launches, threaten the peace and security of Japan … and pose a serious challenge to the entire international community, including Japan,” Japan’s top government spokesperson Hirokazu Matsuno, told a news conference.

The test prompted East Japan Railway Co to suspend train operations in the northern regions, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported. Matsuno said there were no reports of damage to aircraft or ships from the missile.

He said the North’s missile flew 4,600 kilometers (2,850 miles) to a maximum altitude of 1,000 km.

The new missile launch came less than a week after South Korea, Japan, and the US staged anti-submarine drills.

Days earlier, Washington and Seoul’s navies conducted large-scale exercises in the waters off the Korean Peninsula. North Korea considers such drills to be rehearsals for an invasion on its territory.

Last week, Pyongyang fired short-range ballistic missiles on four occasions, including just hours after US Vice President Kamala Harris flew out of Seoul.

US President Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, took unprecedented steps towards apparently fraternizing the North by initiating several rounds of dialog with it, and even walking a number of steps into the country alongside North Korea’s ruler Kim Jong-un.

However, Washington blew what Pyongyang called a “golden opportunity” at mending the situation by insisting too much on the North’s denuclearization. The emphasis prompted Pyongyang to discredit all the steps that had been taken by Trump as not being genuine and go back to its fiery discourse towards Washington.

Culled from Presstv

Huge scandal as Yaoundé V is named the best and cleanest district in Cameroon

4, October 2022

Huge scandal as Yaoundé V is named the best and cleanest district in Cameroon 0

One of President Biya numerous cabinet ministers Madam Celetine Kecha has named Yaoundé V as Cameroon’s best and cleanest district on a CPDM government 2022 list.

Garoua 2, Bertoua 1, Baffoussam 2 and Nkongsamba all made it on the 2022 list with the top spot accorded to Yaoundé V.

The results are made possible thanks to a fraudulent survey of city-dwellers from both French and Southern Cameroons and Cameroon government sources say it involves city life, culture, dining and drinking, nightlife, relationships, community, and local neighbourhoods.

However, in what is now being described as a big scandal, Minister Celetine Kecha is under fire for awarding the 100 million FCFA cash prize to Yaoundé V council as the district is among the dirtiest areas in the nation’s capital Yaoundé (see photo attached).

Cameroon Concord News understands Yaoundé V is also the district with rudest locals, dirtiest streets, worst shopping and the least friendly place to other Cameroonian citizens.

By Rita Akana

Ex-Amba fighters protest in Buea

4, October 2022

Ex-Amba fighters protest in Buea 0

Former Ambazonia fighters who have surrendered to the Biya Francophone government and are kept at a DDR centre in Buea are protesting their long stay and unfulfilled promises from the Yaoundé authorities.

The protesting ex- Southern Cameroons fighters are those kept within the Buea metropolis. This protest, according to Cameroon Concord News sources is the fourth time the ex-fighters are raising a strong finger against their prolonged stay in confinement and the fighters say Yaoundé had promised to help them pay school fees for their kids but each fighter only received 20,000 CFAF.

According to a source among the security personnel guarding the DDR centre in Buea, the ex-fighters demanded that the government should find a way to engage them as they are said to be tired of being idle in the DDR centre.

According to the same source, some of the former Amba fighters housed in other camps within the South West region are already escaping into society without the permission of the authorities with many rejoining armed groups in the rural areas.

Troops have been deployed to the centre.

By Rita Akana

Pro Yaoundé Mayor shuts down Mbveh market in Bui County

4, October 2022

Pro Yaoundé Mayor shuts down Mbveh market in Bui County 0

The pro French Cameroun mayor of Kumbo Dr Mborong Venaslus has shut down the popular Mbveh market, citing security reasons.

Cameroon Concord News understands the closure is part of an anti Southern Cameroons strategy being teleguided from Yaoundé in a bid to suffocate Ambazonia fighters operating in Bui County.  

Mbveh is one of the biggest markets in Kumbo and it is frequented daily by hundreds of Southern Cameroonians from different parts of Bui.

The controversial Dr Mborong said in a press release that the market provides finances for Amba fighters.

The mayor with a PhD attached to his name thinks the closure will guard against the escalation of Ambazonia self defense actions against the Francophone dominated Cameroon government military.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with files from Fon Lawrence

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Thousands worldwide march in support of October 1

3, October 2022

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Thousands worldwide march in support of October 1 0

Thousands of Southern Cameroonians have gathered in several countries in Europe, Asia and North America to condemn the war in British Southern Cameroons and to celebrate the proclamation of the independence of the Ambazonia homeland by President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe.

Southern Cameroonians took to the streets in Ground Zero and in the diaspora on October 1 to celebrate the creation of Africa’s newest nation.

Cameroon’s utmost authority, 89-year old President Paul Biya, has not commented on the Anglophone celebration.

Following major rallies in key cities in Europe and North America including Strasbourg over the weekend, Southern Cameroonians chanted anti French Cameroun slogans and death to La Republique du Cameroun.

By Isong Asu

Southern Cameroonians celebrate October 1

3, October 2022

Southern Cameroonians celebrate October 1 0

More than two million Ambazonians on a sea of cars and motorbikes paraded in celebration of the proclamation of Southern Cameroons independence.

Processions were staged in all Southern Cameroons administrative units. Southern Cameroons social media outlets said more than two million people were involved in the celebrations and the Southern Cameroons Broadcasting Corporation (SCBC) showed crowds in many towns and villages.

The anniversary comes as many moderate Anglophone human rights activists including Barrister Agbor Balla are now calling for a meeting between Yaoundé and the jailed leaders of the Ambazonia Interim Government.

The Vice President of the Ambazonia Interim Government Dabney Yerima said the people of Southern Cameroons are taking big steps to get to Buea the historic capital of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

Southern Cameroonians waved Ambazonia flags, chanting My Trip To Buea slogans and carrying placards that read “Free At Last” and “Death to La Republique Du Cameroun” in celebration on Saturday, a commemoration for the uprising that led to the current crisis in Anglophone Cameroon.

By Fon Lawrence with files

«< 6 7 8 9 10 >