Monthly Archives: November 2022

Bui Division: Bloody day in Banten as 3 Southern Cameroonians killed by Francophone soldiers

30, November 2022

Bui Division: Bloody day in Banten as 3 Southern Cameroonians killed by Francophone soldiers 0

Cameroon government forces have killed three Southern Cameroonians during an early morning raid in Banten, a village located in Bui Division in the North West Region in the latest onslaught that has made 2022 the deadliest year of violence ever since the beginning of the Anglophone uprising in 2016.

The fatalities included two Southern Cameroonian brothers, identified by our correspondent in Bui as Faraih, a Douala based mechanic and his brother Walidu, a local bike rider who were reportedly visiting their granny.  Our reporter in Kumbo, the chief town in Bui also stated that the two siblings were fatally shot after the Francophone army soldiers had stormed the residence of a local granddad identified as Pa Kongnyuy and murdered him on his sick bed.

Cameroon Intelligence Report gathered that Faraih was shot in the pelvis while his brother Walidu was shot in the chest. A local trader, who had bought two brand new bikes for retail, saw his precious goods burnt completely.  

The Cameroon government troops left their base in Tahkija, Nkum Sub division in Bui and started the raids on Banten as early as 2:00 am on Monday November 28 2022.

A Banten resident contacted by CIR said the French speaking soldiers entered the village centre commonly referred to as Sanheiri breaking into houses and shops “And after looting and spending the day in the court yards feasting on stolen goods and even roasting a pig in front of the Central Mosque, the soldiers then moved through the village centre down into the valley where the local Catholic Church is located. The doors of the Catholic Church Banten were forced open and the sacred tabernacle where the Holy Eucharist is kept was emptied”.

This item is still developing  

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with files from Bui

Qatar 2022: France overwhelming favourites in final group stage match against Tunisia

30, November 2022

Qatar 2022: France overwhelming favourites in final group stage match against Tunisia 0

France go into their third group stage match against Tunisia as overwhelming favourites, having already secured their place in the knockout rounds with their impressive victories over Australia and Denmark.

Les Bleus take on Tunisia on Wednesday after a sparkling run of form that shows them to be top contenders to win the trophy, while lessening fans’ fears that they will repeat history and perform poorly as title-holders. 

The 4-1 drubbing of Australia displayed France’s strengths. The talisman of the French team, Kylian Mbappé showed his trademark lacerating pace, dazzling creativity and clinical finishing skills. 

Antoine Griezmann massively surpassed expectations. Some had written him off as a has-been. But Griezmann has adapted well to Didier Deschamps playing him in a much deeper, more central position than his traditional role on the left wing of the French attack. 

Olivier Giroud, however, was the star of the show against Australia. The AC Milan striker captured the attention of the footballing world by matching French hero Thierry Henry’s 51-goal record for Les Bleus. The 36-year-old consigned to distant memory his failure to score a single goal at the 2018 World Cup.

Ousmane Dembelé has been another outstanding player for France at the World Cup so far, with some searing runs, incisive passing and neat positional interchanges with Mbappé. So too has defensive midfield linchpin Aurelien Tchouaméni – a sterling replacement for the injured N’Golo Kanté and one of the breakout young players of the tournament so far. While he still has some distance to go in refining his talent and ensuring consistency, Tchouaméni shows a hint of Roy Keane’s toughness combined with a hint of Andrea Pirlo’s creative brilliance in that deep position.

Deschamps the ‘water carrier’

Mbappé showed several missteps against both Australia and Denmark, with a sometimes clumsy first touch on the ball. Giroud, too, disappointed against Denmark after his brace against the Socceroos; Deschamps substituted him relatively early. 

The French defence, meanwhile, let themselves down against their easy first opponent, as some sloppy positioning from Les Bleus’ back four allowed the Aussies’ Craig Goodwin to score that shock opening goal in the 9th minute. 

But all of these problem should be relatively easy for Deschamps to correct – especially seeing as the ex-midfielder whom Eric Cantona once dismissed as a mere “water carrier”, one of just three men to have won the World Cup as both player and manager – is renowned for his tactical and strategic flexibility. 

Raphael Varane has already returned to the fold after a hamstring injury ruled him out of the Australia match – providing much-needed ballast to that slightly rickety French defence. That’s while it seems churlish to note Mbappé’s rare faltering moments considering how much he has sparkled, not to mention his double against Denmark. As for Giroud, surely the chance to smash the legendary Henry’s record at international football’s highest competition will seem irresistible to one of the most underrated strikers in the world.

In light of all this, betting odds highly favour France. It doesn’t help Tunisia that they lost 1-0 to Australia on Saturday – letting the Aussies’ grit and determination overcome them days after Les Bleus found the Socceroos so easy to vanquish. 

But everything is to play for in Wednesday’s match. The Eagles of Carthage, as Tunisia are nicknamed, showed similar grit and determination to hold the pertinacious Danes to a goalless draw in their first game. 

They also have some strong players – albeit nothing like the world-class calibre of the Mbappés and Griezmanns. Goalkeeper Aymen Dahmen has shown himself to be a safe pair of hands; the only shot he conceded was the goal against Australia, which was the kind of shot many of the world’s best keepers can do nothing about. Mohamed Drager is an energetic and dynamic presence down the right flank, although lacks consistency. Striker Anis Ben Slimane did not feature in the Australia game, and was greatly missed for it; he is a solid goalscorer for his Danish club Brondby.

Yet it would be the brave pundit who bet money against France. History shows that World Cup champions keep faltering – and perhaps that will happen in the knockouts, as it did for Brazil in 2006 and Italy in 2010. But as things stand, France look like fairly decent contenders to pull off a whopping achievement and seize the World Cup twice in a row.

Source: France 24

Biya has been president for 40 years – and he might win office yet again

30, November 2022

Biya has been president for 40 years – and he might win office yet again 0

At 89 years old, one of the oldest leaders in the world, President Paul Biya of Cameroon has marked 40 years as head of state. He assumed office in 1982.

He is the second longest serving leader in Africa. The longest is Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang Nguema, in power since 1979.

Cameroon experienced a long spell of political stability under Biya’s iron hand. But this eventually unravelled when an Anglophone rebellion broke out in the south-west and north-west and when radical Islamists entered from Nigeria. Domestic pressure for Biya to accept a transition has also been persistent.

But Biya remains non-committal about relinquishing power in 2025, which would be the end of his current seventh term of office.

What explains Biya’s longevity in office and why is Cameroon unable to marshal a transition?

I am a scholar of democratic studies and regime types in Africa and a commentator on African political developments. I’m interested in why the continent is saddled with ageing presidents who ought to be enjoying their retirement when it desperately needs young, agile and innovative leaders equal to its challenges.

A bright start

Biya succeeded Ahmadou Ahidjo, Cameroon’s president from 1960 to 1982, after his surprise resignation. Ahidjo had been struggling with an economic crisis and widespread corruption. He had superintended a one party state and an exceptional centralisation of power in the presidency.

When Biya became president in 1982, he promised political liberalisation, including democracy, civil and human rights and economic advancement in Cameroon.

For a while, he worked to achieve some of these goals. The country achieved political stability and unity, and relative economic transformation through his “new deal”. There was even a momentary easing of the draconian police state.

But in the late 1990s, there was a gradual halt to political liberalisation, fiscal discipline and government accountability. This happened after the 1984 bloody coup attempt by the Republican Guards.

Biya became increasingly unyielding to political accommodation. First he purged Ahidjo’s faction within the ruling party and eventually he locked out any meaningful challenge to his leadership from within or outside the party. Ultimately though, under external pressure, he agreed to a multiparty dispensation in 1990.

This has gradually and systematically been hollowed out, creating a monolithic system that entrenched Biya in office for the last 40 years.

Biya’s staying power

Cameroon’s politics has long been dominated by Biya’s Rassemblement Démocratique du Peuple Camerounaise, which rebranded from the Cameroon National Union in 1985. It had been the dominant party since 1966. After a formal opening up of the political space to multipartyism, this has gradually been weakened.

There has been a failure of political party institutionalisation. Hundreds of small parties mushroomed – 300 to date, many allegedly secretly bankrolled and controlled by Biya. They provide a façade of democratic competitiveness. In reality, they have weakened legitimate political opposition.

The absence of a united and consolidated opposition has enabled the entrenchment of a dominant party system. The ruling party has a dominant majority in both the National Assembly and the Senate (63 seats of 70). This erodes any chance of genuine checks and balance.

The party has also used electoral mechanics like redrawing boundaries for electoral advantage and in places outright fraud to expand victories and consolidate majorities.

Elections have become little more than a procedural inconvenience, where Biya runs with no possibility of losing.

For instance, in 2004 Biya won with 70.9% of the vote. After the 2008 constitutional revision to remove term limits, he was re-elected with 78% of the vote in 2011.

In 2018, he got 71.28% against his challenger, opposition leader Maurice Kamto.

Biya has created a rent seeking political class that not only does his bidding but keeps him in power with minimum resistance. Cameroon is a leading exporter of timber in Africa and fifth largest cocoa producer in the world.

The country should have enough resources to reduce extreme poverty and underdevelopment. Yet the proceeds are plundered through corruption and to maintain a clientelist network.

Politicians must show allegiance and loyalty to Biya. The alternative is being out in the cold or in jail. Biya has also filled senior positions in the administration, the military and security agencies and the civil service with people from his southern ethnic group. Most notably he has relied on the Rapid Intervention Battalion, a highly trained military commando unit, to ensure the regular army is unable to move against him.

The Anglophone conflict has also enabled Biya to deflect attention from his misrule. The violent conflict has left thousands dead in a civil war against the secessionist English-speaking regions of the country.

Biya, relying on French and recently Russian backers, used the conflict to strengthen his domestic hand and deflect international criticisms.

Another factor is the concentration of power in Cameroon. Nothing substantive gets done without the sign-off of the president. No arm of government or entity of the state has gone unpoliced, including the judiciary: judges are nominated directly by the president.

Simply put, there is no facet of public life untouched by the Biya regime.

Contemplating a post Biya era

The president’s mandate runs out in 2025, at which time he will be 92. While he has shown no signs of exiting the stage, talk of a post Biya era is rising.

Although the ruling party has not held a party congress since 2011, hence dampening the transition debate, there is periodical internal party reorganisation. The president has used it to reward and check potential threats to his supremacy.

Biya’s stewardship has long run its course. Its longevity relies on ruthlessness and political astuteness.

Sadly, the real cost is to the country’s democracy, which has long suffered fissures that can only be healed by political renewal through a change of guard. And this change is one that even Biya can do little to forestall.

Culled from The Conversation

Aboubakar’s SCOOP: A World Cup goal of the tournament contender

29, November 2022

Aboubakar’s SCOOP: A World Cup goal of the tournament contender 0

Vincent Aboubakar scored one of the most eye-catching goals of the World Cup – but only with the help of VAR.

Unfortunately, Aboubakar wasn’t able to properly celebrate his glorious lob of Serbia goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic because the assistant referee raised his flag for offside straight away.

But video assistant referee Mohamed Al Hammadi ensured one of the best-taken goals of the tournament wouldn’t be wasted by checking the replays and finding Aboubakar had timed his run to perfection.

Source: Daily Mail

Yaoundé Landslide: Rescue workers still searching for victims

29, November 2022

Yaoundé Landslide: Rescue workers still searching for victims 0

Rescue workers in Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde, are searching for people believed trapped under a landslide that killed at least 14 people and injured scores more Sunday. The victims were attending a funeral when the landslide occurred.

Civilians mourn as they join rescue workers in digging and searching for people they fear are trapped underneath a huge pile of debris.

The soil and stones collapsed Sunday evening on several hundred community members from Cameroon’s west region who had gathered for a funeral of people who died within the past month.

Rosette Ngeufack, 50, is among the mourners. She says she saw the ground collapse on scores of people including her two sons.Ngeufack says she is still searching for her 24-year-old son who was buried by the landslide alongside his motorcycle. She says she left the Yaounde central hospital at 2 a.m. after hospital staff reassured her that her 21-year-old son, also a victim of the landslide, is responding to treatment.

It is a tradition in Cameroon for communities to organize funeral events in towns after burial of their community members in villages.

People who attended the funeral prior to the landslide said they had prayed for the departed and were sharing drinks and food when the unfortunate incident occurred.

Nasseri Paul Bea, governor of Cameroon’s center region where Yaounde is located, visited the disaster site for the second time within 15 hours on Monday morning. He says that investigations carried out by Cameroon police indicate that some civilians are still trapped in the landslide.

Bea says he asked the government for more troops to assist rescue workers who for the past 14 hours have been searching for people. He says bodies removed from the disaster site are identified by the police and taken to the mortuary of the central hospital in Yaounde and then eventually to their family members.

Cameroon’s government says the landslide occurred when an 18-meter-high embankment collapsed on several hundred civilians attending a funeral in a house constructed in a risky area.

Bea said the embankment that gave way was not solid enough to stop the soil from collapsing.

Cameroon’s Housing Ministry Monday asked people living in areas deemed at risk of landslides to immediately to leave or be forced to relocate.

Yaounde, a city of about 3 million people, has had devastating floods caused by heavy rains within the past three months. The government says more than 25 houses constructed in risky areas have collapsed, injuring and killing scores of people.

Source: VOA

Southern Cameroons Crisis: US charges three for supporting Amba fighters

29, November 2022

Southern Cameroons Crisis: US charges three for supporting Amba fighters 0

The US Justice Department announced charges Monday against three men who allegedly helped fund separatist fighters in Cameroon and supported the 2020 kidnapping of Catholic cardinal Christian Tumi.

The three men, US citizens of Cameroon origin,  are accused of raising $350,000 for arms and bomb-making materials for the separatist Ambazonian Restoration Forces operating in Cameroon’s English-speaking northwest region.

The funds also supported kidnappings by the separatists, including of Tumi and Sehm Mbinglo, a traditional chief in the troubled region.

Both were freed within days. Tumi, who died in 2021, had frequently sought to mediate between the government and the separatists in the mainly French-speaking country.

The Justice Department said Claude Chi, 40, of Lee’s Summit, Missouri; Francis Chenyi, 49, of St. Paul, Minnesota; and Lah Nestor Langmi, 46, of Buffalo, New York, were arrested Monday on charges of conspiracy to provide material support to support kidnappings and use weapons of mass destruction in a foreign country.

Each man held a senior position in an organization that supported and directed the Ambazonian Restoration Forces, according to the Justice Department.

The three “solicited and raised funds for equipment, supplies, weapons and explosive materials to be used in attacks against Cameroonian government personnel, security forces and property, along with other civilians believed to be enabling the government,” the Justice Department said in a statement.

They also conspired with people in Cameroon to kidnap civilians for ransom, it said.

It said they raised the funds from donations by others in the United States and other countries.

Cameroon’s Northwest and Southwest regions have been gripped by conflict since separatists declared independence in 2017 after decades of grievances at perceived discrimination by the francophone majority.

The conflict has claimed more than 6,000 lives and forced more than a million people to flee their homes, according to the International Crisis Group.

Source: AFP

Football: Former Ivory Coast International Kolo Toure handed first managerial job at Wigan

29, November 2022

Football: Former Ivory Coast International Kolo Toure handed first managerial job at Wigan 0

Kolo Toure hopes his experience working under Brendan Rodgers will prove valuable after being handed his first senior managerial role at Championship side Wigan.

The Latics named the former Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool defender as successor to Leam Richardson on Tuesday.

The 41-year-old has signed a three-and-a-half year contract at the DW Stadium after leaving his backroom role at Leicester, where he had been working alongside Foxes manager Rodgers since February 2019.

Toure has a long association with Rodgers having also played under him at Liverpool and Celtic and later been part of his coaching team at the Scottish champions.

The former Ivory Coast international told the club’s website: “The experiences that I have amassed under Brendan Rodgers have been invaluable and I’m sure they will help me in this next chapter of my career.

“I am extremely proud to be named manager of Wigan Athletic. Wigan Athletic is a big club with hugely passionate fans. Together, we can continue to make the right steps forward.”

Toure takes over with Wigan 22nd in the table, with just six wins from 21 games, in their first season back in the Championship following promotion.

Source: AFP

Qatar 2022: World Cup pitch invader defends ‘breaking the rules’

29, November 2022

Qatar 2022: World Cup pitch invader defends ‘breaking the rules’ 0

The Italian who ran on to the World Cup pitch wearing a T-shirt in support of Ukraine and Iranian women is a football player with a history of similar stunts.

Mario Ferri, 35, who calls himself “The Falcon”, interrupted the Portugal-Uruguay game on Monday when he sprinted on to the pitch wearing a blue Superman T-shirt with “Save Ukraine” on the front and “Respect for Iranian Woman” on the back.

He also carried a rainbow-coloured flag adorned with the words PACE, meaning peace in Italian.

“I’m BACK,” wrote the footballer on his Instagram page, where he describes himself as a “modern pirate”.

Ferri said he wanted to send “important messages”, including for Iran “where I have friends who are suffering, where women are not respected”.

“FIFA banned rainbow captain’s armbands and human rights flags in the stands, they blocked everyone, BUT NOT ME, like a Robin Hood,” he wrote.

“SAVE UKRAINE. I spent a month in the war in Kyiv as a volunteer and saw how much those people are suffering,” he wrote, adding that “breaking the rules for a good cause is never a crime”.

Italy’s foreign ministry confirmed Ferri had been briefly detained following the pitch invasion, before being “released by the authorities without any further consequences”.

Gay rights and the use of the rainbow flag have been a simmering issue at the World Cup in Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal. The rainbow features in both the flag for LGBTQ rights and the peace flag.

According to the Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper, Ferri has played football in India, Jordan, San Marino, the Seychelles and Switzerland.

In 2010, Ferri invaded the Club World Cup pitch in Abu Dhabi during an Inter-Mazembe game furling an AC Milan scarf.

Four years later during the World Cup in Brazil, he again sported his Superman T-shirt as he ran onto the field during a Belgium-USA game.

The T-shirt read “Save the children of the favelas,” or the slums of Brazilian cities, with underneath it “Ciro lives”, in memory of Naples fan Ciro Esposito who shot by an ultra before the Coppa Italia final. He later died.

In 2017, Ferri threw a Naples scarf in the face of Juventus player Gonzalo Higuain during a Naples-Juventus match.

“I decided to avenge the Neapolitans for Higuain’s move to Juventus,” he told Corriere dello Sport.

“I said, ‘Traitor!’ and left.”

Source: AFP

‘Neymar haters’: Brazil political divide spills over to World Cup

28, November 2022

‘Neymar haters’: Brazil political divide spills over to World Cup 0

Normally, it would be horrible news to football fans anywhere that their team’s star player was injured. But even as they endured an anguished wait for a Neymar-less Brazil to score in their 1-0 win over Switzerland Monday, some Brazilians found it hard to miss the injured superstar, who has promised to dedicate his first World Cup goal to far-right President Jair Bolsonaro.

Watching the match in a packed bar in central Rio de Janeiro, where fans decked out in yellow and green waited nervously for what turned out to be the lone goal — scored in the 83rd minute, by Casemiro — 23-year-old law student Henrique Melo explained his dilemma.

As a football fan, he desperately wanted Neymar back from the ankle injury that sidelined him late in Brazil’s 2-0 win over Serbia Thursday, in which the Paris Saint-Germain star sparkled despite failing to find the goal.

“The team are missing him,” Melo said, proudly sporting the football-mad nation’s jersey.

At the same time, the fact that the world’s most expensive footballer has yet to score in the tournament “is the best result Brazil’s had in the World Cup,” he joked.

“We would have had all these Bolsonaro supporters celebrating,” Melo, a proud supporter of leftist president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, told AFP.

“As a player, Neymar’s incredible — he’s an artist. As a person, he leaves a lot to be desired. Not just his political opinions, but who he is. Instead of just enjoying his bling lifestyle, he could be investing in education, social projects, setting an example for kids… He could be the man.”

On Rio’s iconic Copacabana beach, where a huge crowd watched the match on a giant screen, 29-year-old vendor Tainara Santana was feeling the same quandary.

“I like football, so I want (Neymar) to play because he’s good. But I can’t say I’m sad he hasn’t scored. It’s great to see Neymar fail,” she laughed.

With his lean good looks and huge social media following, Neymar is one of the biggest names in sports.

But his footballing magic has been tarnished at times.

On the pitch, critics accuse the 30-year-old Paris Saint-Germain star of diving and of failing to live up to the hype when it counts. Off the pitch, he has faced accusations of excessive partying, tax fraud and spoiled behavior.

“He’s a jerk,” Santana said.

“Not just for his politics, but because of his machismo, his ego, his total lack of humility.”

‘How low have we sunk?’

Brazil’s campaign for a record-extending sixth World Cup comes on the heels of its divisive elections last month.

Neymar endorsed Bolsonaro against Lula — and became the target of an army of “Neymar haters” online.

At the weekend, “F*** Neymar” became one of the top trending topics in Brazil on Twitter.

Brazilian football legend Ronaldo rushed to Neymar’s defense Sunday.

“You’re f***ing Neymar! Giant!” the two-time World Cup winner wrote on Instagram Sunday.

“That’s why you have to deal with so much envy and evil, to the point of people celebrating your injury. How low have we sunk?” he said, urging Neymar to “use that hate as fuel.”

Teammates Casemiro and Raphinha also stuck up for Neymar, saying he didn’t deserve the shade he was getting on social media.

Brazil have struggled in the past without Neymar — notably enduring the shame of their 7-1 elimination by Germany on home soil in the 2014 World Cup semi-finals after their talisman suffered a back injury.

In Copacabana, Lula supporter Charleo Luis just wanted to keep politics and football separate.

Neymar haters “are idiots who know nothing about football,” said the 24-year-old street vendor.

“Who cares if he supports Bolsonaro? He’s a great player. I’m a huge fan, I love him. I’m rooting for him to recover.”

The World Cup, he added, “is a time for us to cheer like one big family.”

Source: AFP

Al Shabaab militants besiege hotel in Mogadishu; Somali parliament session postponed

28, November 2022

Al Shabaab militants besiege hotel in Mogadishu; Somali parliament session postponed 0

At least four people were killed in an ongoing attack by Al Shabaab militants who laid siege to a popular hotel in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu overnight, a national security agency official told AFP on Monday.

Gunfire and explosions could still be heard more than 12 hours after the militants stormed the Villa Rose hotel near the presidential palace in a hail of bullets.

Mohamed Dahir, an official from the national security agency, told AFP the gunmen were holed up in a room at the hotel surrounded by government forces.

“So far we have confirmed the death of four people”, he said, adding that others had been rescued from the besieged venue.

Al Qaeda-linked Al Shabaab militants stormed the hotel on Sunday using guns and explosives, with a police officer saying at the time that some government officials escaped from its windows.

“There is still heavy gunfire inside the hotel and we hear explosions from time to time … we are still in our houses since last night, when the siege started,” Ismail Haaji, who lives near the hotel, told Reuters.

Special forces units, known as Haramcad and Gaashaan, had taken over operations, said a police officer at the scene who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The fighters who launched the attack are still fighting inside the hotel, and they are fighting with the forces of Haramcad and Gaashaan, and security forces are trying to rescue the people trapped inside the hotel,” the officer added.

Government officials in Mogadishu frequently use the Villa Rose hotel for meetings.

Somalia’s parliament said it had postponed a scheduled session for both of its houses.

“All members of parliament of both councils are being informed that today’s scheduled meeting has been postponed,” it said in a statement on its Facebook page.

Al Shabaab, which is seeking to topple the government and establish its own rule based on an extreme interpretation of Islamic law, frequently stages attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere.

Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who was elected this year, has launched a military offensive against the group.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)

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