Monthly Archives: September 2023

20, September 2023

Football: Onana laments poor start as Man Utd crisis deepens ⁰

Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana said he had let his teammates down after a howler set the tone for a 4-3 Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich.

A third consecutive defeat ramps up the pressure on United manager Erik ten Hag and two late goals from Casemiro masked the gulf in class between the sides at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday.

However, United had started brightly until Leroy Sane’s strike slipped through Onana’s grasp on 28 minutes.

“After my mistake we lost control of the game. It’s a difficult situation for us, for me especially because I’m the one who let the team down,” Onana told TNT Sports.

The Cameroonian starred for Inter Milan on their run to last season’s Champions League final, but has struggled in the early weeks of his United career since joining in a £47 million ($58 million) move.

The Red Devils have now conceded three or more goals in three consecutive games for the first time since 1978.

“My start in Manchester is not so good, it’s not how I want (to play),” added Onana.

“Today is one of my worst games and it is difficult because we have big ambition, we want to win everything – it was a big opportunity for us to bounce back after the situation we are facing.

“It’s a tough time. We have to be together and learn from our mistakes because it’s the only thing to do.”

United have now lost four of their opening six games of the season for the first time in 37 years.

Downward curve

Ten Hag earned plenty of plaudits for his first season in charge as he led United back into the Champions League and ended a six-year trophy drought by lifting the League Cup.

But his side’s downward curve dates back to the latter part of last season. Since a historic 7-0 humiliation at the hands of Liverpool in March, United have lost eight of their last 12 games away from home in all competitions.

Ten Hag called for character from his side to bounce back from being outplayed on home soil by Brighton 3-1 at the weekend.

Instead, the former Ajax boss will be concerned at how quickly his side crumbled after Onana’s blunder and twice conceded within seconds of getting back into the game.

Serge Gnabry quickly doubled Bayern’s advantage after Jamal Musiala burst through the United defence with ease.

Rasmus Hojlund’s first goal for the club was the big positive of the night for Ten Hag’s men.

But Harry Kane had restored Bayern’s two-goal cushion within five minutes from the penalty spot after Cristian Eriksen was harshly penalised for handball.

Bayern should have then ran up a far more convincing scoreline as they twice hit the woodwork and eased up by bringing off Kane, Sane, Gnabry and Musiala.

Casemiro’s first goal could have provoked a nervy finale had Mathys Tel not been given space to crash in Bayern’s fourth within three minutes.

The Brazilian then headed in his second with virtually the last action of the match.

“When you score three goals at Bayern then you have to at least take a point,” said Ten Hag.

But he was keen to point to a collective failure rather than pointing the blame at Onana.

“If you see the first 25 minutes you have to score, but if not stay in the game. Don’t allow the opponent to score goals like we did. It’s not only about one mistake.”

Source: AFP

20, September 2023

Macron hosts King Charles for lavish Versailles banquet ⁰

The UK’s King Charles III starts a three-day state visit to France on Wednesday meant to highlight both nations’ friendship, after the trip was postponed in March amid widespread demonstrations against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension changes.

Charles and Queen Camilla were greeted by Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne at Paris-Orly airport, before heading to the city centre for a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe in the presence of Macron and his wife, Brigitte.

Both nations’ hymns will be played during the ceremony before a review of French troops and a wreath laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to “mark the shared sacrifices of the past and an enduring legacy of cooperation”, according to Buckingham Palace.

The jet fighters of the Patrouille de France and Britain’s Red Arrows, the acrobatic teams of the countries’ air forces, will fly above the monument.

The presidential and royal couples will then head by car to the presidential palace, parading on the Champs-Élysées avenue.

Macron and Charles will hold a bilateral meeting expected to cover topics including Russia’s war in Ukraine and the migration issue as Italy’s southern island of Lampedusa was in recent days overwhelmed by people setting off from Tunisia.

The visit “symbolizes the relationship of friendship and trust” between them since they both ”have in the past worked closely together to protect biodiversity and combat global warming”, the French presidency stressed.

A state dinner on Wednesday in the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles in the presence of more than 150 guests will be one of the highlights of the visit.

On Thursday, Charles will address French lawmakers at the Senate, providing a new venue for the king to show off his language skills after he wowed his audience by switching seamlessly between German and English during a speech to Germany’s parliament in March

He will later rejoin Macron in front of Notre-Dame Cathedral to see the ongoing renovation work aimed at reopening the monument by the end of next year.

Charles and Macron will also both attend a reception for British and French business leaders about financing climate-related and biodiversity projects.

The king will end his trip on Friday with a stop in Bordeaux, home to a large British community. He will meet emergency workers and communities affected by the 2022 wildfires in the area and visit the Forêt Experimentale, or experimental forest, a project designed to monitor the impact of climate on urban woodlands.

He will also tour a vineyard, which has pioneered a sustainable approach to wine making.

Source: FRANCE 24

20, September 2023

Gabon: Ali Bongo’s son charged with treason and corruption ⁰

The son of Ali Bongo Ondimba and several allies of the ousted Gabon president have been charged with high treason and corruption and placed in custody, the state prosecutor told AFP Wednesday.

Bongo’s eldest son Noureddin Bongo Valentin and former presidential spokesman Jessye Ella Ekogha, as well as four others close to the deposed leader, “have been charged and placed in provisional detention,” said Libreville prosecutor Andre-Patrick Roponat.

Bongo, 64, who had ruled the oil-rich central African country since 2009, was ousted by military leaders on August 30, moments after being proclaimed the winner in a presidential election.

The result was branded a fraud by the opposition and the military coup leaders, who have also accused his regime of widespread corruption and bad governance.

On the same day as the coup, soldiers arrested one of Bongo’s sons, five senior cabinet officials and his wife Sylvia Bongo Valentin.

National TV showed rolling images of those arrested in front of suitcases filled with cash allegedly seized from their homes.

Source: AFP

19, September 2023

Southern Cameroons Crisis: 5 Amba fighters killed in Meme Division ⁰

Cameroon’s army said on Tuesday that its troops have killed five separatist fighters in the country’s English-speaking region of Southwest, where a prolonged armed separatist conflict is in progress.

The Rapid Intervention Battalion, the country’s elite force, raided a hideout of the fighters in the Mofako Butu locality of the region late Monday.

Among those killed was a “dreaded” separatist commander who called himself “General Bitter Cola,” said Chamberlin Ntou’ou Ndong, senior divisional officer for Meme division where the hideout is located.

“He terrorized civilians, killing some. We are calling on all other fighters still in the bush to drop their weapons and embrace peace,” Ndong said.

Separatists have been fighting to create an independent nation in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions of Northwest and Southwest since 2017.

Source: Xinhuanet

19, September 2023

Vatican: Catholic Bishops in Cameroon Aim at “rekindling” People’s Faith after Ad Limina Visit ⁰

Catholic Bishops in Cameroon are eager to rekindle the faith of the people of God in the Central African nation following their September 10-16 Ad Limina Visit, the Secretary General of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon (NECC) has said.

In a September 16 statement, Fr. Jervis Kebei Kewi says NECC members have thanked Pope Francis for welcoming them to Rome during the visit that happens every five years.

“At the end of their pilgrimage to Rome, the Bishops go back home with thankful hearts for having consolidated their unity in the same faith, hope, and charity, and looking forward to rekindling the faith of the Cameroonian people in the immense heritage of spiritual and moral values of the whole Church, in communion with the Bishop of Rome,” Fr. Kewi says.

He says the Catholic Bishops in Cameroon “expressed their deep gratitude to the Holy Father, Pope Francis, for the cordial and fatherly welcome that he gave them, and to the Cardinal Prefects and the officials of the various Dicasteries for the enlightenment and updates given them during their working visits to their offices.”

NECC members are “also deeply appreciative to the ambassadors of Cameroon to the Holy See and to the Republic of Italy, respectively, and the general community of Cameroonians living in Rome, and in Italy, for their welcome gestures and participation at Mass with them,” says Fr. Kewi.

The Catholic Bishops in Cameroon had an audience with the Holy Father on September 15, during which, under the leadership of NECC President, Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya of Bamenda, “discussed matters affecting the life of the Catholic Church in Cameroon: the Pastoral life of the Church, the formation of priests and catechists, immigration, the upcoming Synod on Synodality, interreligious dialogue, the situation of the socio-political and economic crisis that our country, Cameroon, has been going through, and the security situation of the world at large,” says Fr. Kewi.

The Cameroonian Catholic Priest says that Pope Francis “promised to continue to pray for peace in our country and assured the Bishops of his closeness to the people of Cameroon.”

On the closing day of the visit, NECC members were received at Pontificio Collegio Urbano by the Cameroonian members of the Clergy, men and women Religious, and Laity living in Rome and elsewhere in Italy, where they celebrated a thanksgiving Mass, interacted, and shared a meal.

Source: ACI Africa

19, September 2023

Ambazonia travel ban means era of Biya-Francophone dominance is over ⁰

The travel ban imposed by Southern Cameroons Self Defense Forces in Ground Zero will certainly have a lasting impact on the Cameroonian economy. The flow on effects of the travel ban on buses and commercial vehicles from the entire Southern Cameroons will definitely become a nationwide issue.

90-year-old President Biya and his Beti-Bulu gang needs to look at other ways to speed up a political process that will keep the two Cameroons together again!

Southern Cameroons small businesses as well as big businesses will continue to suffer because of the travel ban but the Vice President of the Ambazonia Interim Government Comrade Dabney Yerima says the travel ban is an indication that the era of Francophone dominance over the Federal Republic of Ambazonia is over.

Speaking exclusively to Cameroon Concord News on Tuesday, Vice President Dabney Yerima said “Despite massive military deployments to Southern Cameroons by La Republique all geared towards imposing their interests and values on British Southern Cameroonians, the people of Southern Cameroons are resisting and they will do so till the last man or woman standing.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, he said that the leader of the Ambazonian nation, President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe long ago designed a plan that will rebuild Southern Cameroons political and economic institutions including agriculture, industry and medicine.

Vice President Dabney Yerima also hailed the travel ban policy that restoration forces are adopting in Ground Zero and called on the Southern Cameroons diaspora to wake up and rejoin the Ambazonia revolution train.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

19, September 2023

King Charles III set to begin postponed state visit to France ⁰

Charles III finally makes it across the Channel from Britain to France this week, six months after rioting and strikes forced the last-minute postponement of his first state visit as king.

The 74-year-old British head of state’s rescheduled three-day trip to Paris and Bordeaux with his wife Queen Camilla, 76, starts on Wednesday, with the itinerary largely unchanged from March.

It includes set-piece ceremonial events with President Emmanuel Macron, whose unpopular pension reforms sparked the civil unrest earlier this year, as well as more informal meetings with the public.

The royal couple, Macron and his wife Brigitte will be officially welcomed at the Arc de Triomphe and lay wreaths of remembrance before a procession down the sweeping Champs-Elysees avenue.

The French leader and First Lady will host Charles and Camilla at a state banquet at Versailles, the palace west of Paris synonymous with French royalty — and the bloody republican revolution of 1789.

Source: France 24

19, September 2023

Killings in Southern Cameroons: Is the territory becoming a failed zone? ⁰

The resurgence of the activities of the ominous unknown gunmen in Southern Cameroons in the recent weeks is becoming worrisome.

Ever since Minister Paul Atanga Nji introduced his private militia known as the Atanga Nji Boys to help Cameroon government army soldiers in their fight against separatists, the unknown gunmen has become a phenomenon in the area and it is getting to an alarming height.

The inability of the Francophone dominated government in Yaoundé to unravel the mystery behind this or to unveil the real identity of the masterminds of these so-called unknown gunmen is not helping matters.

Cameroon Intelligence Report gathered that recently, there has been a blame game between the Francophone dominated security agencies and Ambazonia Restoration fighters.

While Yaoundé continues to point accusing fingers at the Southern Cameroons Self Defense Groups, the Ambazonia Interim Government including other front line groups have not minced words in their allegation that Cameroon government security agents in collaboration with some treacherous civil administrators and military leaders in Southern Cameroons are sponsoring the activities of the Atanga Nji Boys to disrepute, discredit and demonize the Southern Cameroons uprising.

A highly placed Cameroon government official contacted by this reporter but who sued for anonymity said that the festering insecurity in Southern Cameroons is politically motivated.

The modus operandi of these unknown gunmen in some instances like the attack on the Mamfe Divisional Hospital leaves members of the public more confused on who actually is behind the mysterious masquerade.

On Sunday, September 17, 2023, four innocent PAMOL workers were killed by unidentified gunmen. The armed men reportedly attacked the estate in Lobe, Ekondo-titi Subdivision in Ndian.

PAMOL Plantations in a statement made public on Monday, September 18, 2023, said the victims were Foin Ernest, a mechanic and his son Foin Marcel, Tiah Rita and Sakwe Olga wives of a Lobe Mill worker and a retired Research employee.

Could Ambazonia fighters truly be killing fellow folks as recently witnessed in Kumbo in Bui Division, Muea in Fako and now Ekondo titi in Ndian?

Who are truly the people behind the mysterious unknown gunmen?

Despite the narratives of both the Biya Francophone regime and the Dabney Yerima-led Ambazonia Interim Government, the fact remains that Anglophone Cameroon is burning! The fire is ragging so fast that if something is not done and done in a hurry to extinguish the inferno, the entire Southern Cameroons will soon be consumed.

In just one week unknown gunmen have killed people in Bamenda, Buea and Kumba including security agents on roadblocks.

The crisis in Southern Cameroons seems not to be cooling off!! There are lots of things still happening and another explosion of tensions is a possibility.

The consequences of the conflict are all over the place. The trust that used to be the population’s hallmark has simply evaporated given the atrocities that have taken place in the two English-speaking regions of the country.

Many children in rural parts of Southern Cameroons are still not going to school and this is creating a serious problem that will haunt the country in the future.

The crisis which started with protests by teachers and lawyers in 2016, has robbed the two English-speaking regions of the country of much-needed economic development, as many investors have simply fled the region with their investments.

Many Southern Cameroonians are now investing in East Cameroon as the war has proven that instability is not friendly with economic prosperity. Where violence exists, economic prosperity simply walks away, leaving the population in abject poverty.

The relocation of businesses has worsened the unemployment situation in the two English-speaking regions of the country and unemployment has a way of generating hardship and producing hardened criminals.

The Yaoundé government has the nasty habit of leaving things to time but time might never address the grievances of Southern Cameroonians who hold that they have been victims of marginalization and other forms of injustice.

If the violence that has hit the two regions like a ton of bricks must remain a thing of the past, the Yaoundé government must take certain appeasement measures which should help to prevent future conflicts.

One of such measures must be the institution of constant, frank and fruitful dialogue with the jailed Anglophone leaders which will help the government and the local communities to address issues in a timely manner so as to preempt any future misunderstanding.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

18, September 2023

Federal Republic of Ambazonia: Only La Republique benefits from Ambazonia disunity ⁰

The Vice President of the Ambazonia Interim Government (IG) has called for an end to unhealthy rivalry and divisions among Southern Cameroons front line leaders that have pitted Ambazonia groups against each other, saying the disunity only serves French Cameroun’s interests.

The IG met on Friday, after a series of Ambazonia actions geared towards preventing the reopening of schools in Southern Cameroons.

“The ongoing killings are against the will of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia and only serve the French Cameroun enemy and its malicious projects against the Ambazonian nation” Dabney Yerima said.

The exiled Southern Cameroons leader also warned that continued killing of Southern Cameroonians by restoration forces would endanger the struggle and damage the Southern Cameroons cause.

Vice President Dabney Yerima further called on all Southern Cameroons front line leaders to unmask the perpetrators of the crimes in Muea, Buea, Kumba and Kumbo and unite Southern Cameroonians in the face of the French Cameroun enemy.

Back to school is Southern Cameroons has been rocked by several rounds of clashes between Cameroon government forces and Ambazonia restoration fighters.

Attacks on teachers and students have left several people dead, including two head teachers and a female student.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

18, September 2023

Ambazonia fire power aimed at confronting La Republique, Biya plots ⁰

A high-ranking Ambazonia Interim Government official says the current fire power of Southern Cameroons restoration fighters is aimed at confronting the French Cameroun occupation and plots by the Biya Francophone regime in Yaoundé.

Dr Patrick Ayuk made the remarks on Saturday while addressing a Southern Cameroons forum on the controversy surrounding the back to school issue in Dover in the United Kingdom.

Affirming that Amba guns will never be used against Southern Cameroonians, Dr Patrick Ayuk said, “Southern Cameroons fighters all over Ground Zero are planning and preparing to face the Biya French Cameroun barbarism and oppression and liberate the entire Federal Republic of Ambazonia.”

The Southern Cameroons academic added, “Ambazonia fire power is directed against the enemy and Biya French Cameroun schemes in the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.”

The Ambazonia Interim Government official also underlined the importance of holding an international Southern Cameroons dialogue in order to redesign a new platform for the Ambazonia struggle adding that the existence of too many Southern Cameroons groups will not lead to any positive outcome.

By Isong Asu