Anglophone Crisis: Mamfe witnesses sporadic fighting and massive arrests ⁰

Mamfe, the capital city of Manyu Division, today, October 2, 2017, is the theater of some intense fighting following the killing of some residents of Mamfe yesterday by the country’s military after the population declared its independence from the Republic of Cameroon. Due to the number of deaths registered yesterday across the Anglophone zone, the Southern Cameroons Governing Council and the Southern Cameroons National Council have issued threats of reprisals and Southern Cameroons Defense forces have successfully smuggled weapons into city where it is currently engaging the army in tough battles that have left two army soldiers and one gendarme officer dead. It should be recalled that the border between Cameroon and Nigeria in Manyu Division is one of the most porous and, in places like Akwaya, the government is conspicuously absent.

The group that attacked the soldiers comprised some forty well trained men, twenty of whom have been arrested while the others have melted into the Manyu forest. Www.cameroonconcordnews.com reporter in Mamfe says that the entire city is in total darkness and residents are really facing tough times. There is no Internet connection and anybody seen walking around the city is considered a suspect and is promptly arrested. There are massive raids across the Anglophone region following the declaration of independence on October 1, 2017, and many young men and women are being arrested and taken to unknown destinations.

Similarly, the village of the leader of the Southern Cameroons Governing Council, Ewelle, which is close to the Nigerian border, is currently being raided and the young adults are all being taken to an unknown destination. Many of the young men have been shot in their legs, with some sustaining critical injuries. The soldiers are working in collaboration with the chief who has been toppled because of the current situation in the region. The chief is still working with the Yaounde government and the young men and women of the village think that it is time for him to quit playing such an unholy role.

In the meantime, rumors of a possible coup d’etat are rife in Yaounde, Cameroon’s capital. Many people hold that with Biya’s era coming to an end, all is possible and since the 85 year old president is down with prostrate cancer and other illnesses, it is very likely that there is division within his entourage as each personality seeks to position himself as the rightful successor of the ailing octogenarian.

Also, it has been alleged that the American billionaire, George Soros, is using his vast resources to help Southern Cameroonians walk away from their oppressors of fifty-six years. George Soros, the Greek American, is alleged to have supported Burkina Faso when there was a popular uprising against the country’s former dictator, Blaise Compaore. It is also alleged that thanks to him, Senegal’s civil society succeeded to stop former President Abdoulaye Wade from changing the constitution. The fund attributed to Soros is designed to dethrone dictators and restore genuine democracy in most third world countries.

Similarly, it is also alleged that a Canadian firm has signed an oil contract with the Southern Cameroons Governing Council regarding the Anglophone region’s vast oil fields.The proceeds from the contract are expected to be used to purchase arms for shipping to Southern Cameroons. The Canadian firm is suspected to have played a key role in the conflict in Angola when Cabinda sought to secede. If this story is confirmed, then the struggle has moved into a very critical stage and this implies that things will take a turn for the worse and the entire school year will, once more, be disrupted.

Many Southern Cameroonians are prepared to lay down their lives for their country. To them, they want to quit the union with East Cameroon so as to build a more prosperous and democratic country wherein social justice and the rule of law will be realities. They hold that the union with East Cameroon has been an ill-wind that has not blown them any good. The massive arrests, they say, will not rob them of the enthusiasm to fight on, adding that their arrest will only make things worse for the government, as it already has a bad name. They hold that the one-for-all and all-for-one slogan has given them the courage to fight on. In their view, the government stands to gain if it negotiates, if not the Diaspora will continue to destabilize the country.