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5, June 2016

Iran says Saudi Arabia the real terrorism sponsor ⁰

Tehran on Sunday dismissed its renewed blacklisting by Washington as a state sponsor of terrorism charging that it was US allies including Riyadh that were the real culprits. The Iranian foreign ministry noted its role in neighbouring Iraq supporting the government against the Islamic State jihadist group independently of a US-led coalition as well as its backing for the Syrian regime against jihadists and other rebels, some of them backed by Saudi Arabia. Washington “turns a blind eye to the broad political and financial support by Saudi Arabia and its other allies to this ominous phenomenon in the world,” foreign ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari told the official IRNA news agency.

“While US allies in the region in various ways support Daesh (IS) and other terrorist groups, the Islamic Republic of Iran is at the forefront of the fight against terrorism in Iraq and Syria.” Ansari said Washington’s support for Israel despite its decades-old occupation of the Palestinian territories made it the “biggest sponsor of state terrorism”. In its latest annual report published on Thursday, the US State Department said Iran had boosted its support for Palestinian militant groups in Gaza last year, as well as Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah which has deployed thousands of fighters to Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad.

It said Iran also “increased its assistance to Iraqi Shiite terrorist groups, including Kataib Hezbollah, which is a US-designated foreign terrorist organisation, as part of an effort to fight the Islamic State.”Kataib Hezbollah is one of a number of Iran-backed Shiite militias in Iraq that have played a major part in the government’s fightback against the Sunni extremists of IS.

France 24

5, June 2016

Boko Haram kills 32 Niger soldiers ⁰

Boko Haram Takfiri militants have killed 32 soldiers in an attack on a military post on Niger’s border with Nigeria. “Hundreds of assailants” attacked a military post at the rural town of Bosso on Friday evening, Niger’s Defense Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

The statement gave the “provisional toll” of 30 Nigerien and two Nigerian soldiers killed and nearly 70 wounded. Earlier in the day, media outlets reported that the Nigeria-based militants had captured the rural town located in southeastern Niger.

4, June 2016

About Us ⁰

Cameroon Intelligence Report is part of the Cameroon Concord News Group founded in Essen Germany in 2000 by exiled Cameroonian journalist Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai who ever since then has moonlighted as Chairman and Editor-in-Chief.

4, June 2016

France confirms its troops abused CAR citizens ⁰

France has acknowledged that its soldiers deployed to the Central African Republic (CAR) under the pretext of quelling the bloody sectarian violence in the country, have committed physical abuse against civilians there, disciplining five servicemen. The French defense ministry announced on Saturday that it has disciplined five of the troops accused of engaging in physical abuse following their deployment to CAR, including sexual abuse of children, local press reports said.

The five are accused of physically abusing two Central Africans at a military outpost in the capital Bangui in 2014, the Ouest-Francenewspaper reported. There are currently three official probes under way into allegations that French soldiers sexually abused children in the country, but the latest case does not relate to sexual acts, said a ministry source cited in the report. “In view of the gravity of the facts, the five soldiers have been suspended,” said the defense ministry, noting, “Simultaneously disciplinary action has been launched… as a precursor to their eviction from the military.”

France launched the Sangaris military operation in 2013 in a bid ‘to maintain peace in its impoverished and chronically restive former colony’ after the outbreak of inter-communal violence between Muslim and Christian militias that has killed thousands. The military mission is due to conclude at the end of the current year, after a progressive draw-down. The United Nations announced in April that it has documented 108 new cases of sexual abuse committed by French troops mostly against minors, describing them as “sickening” and urging investigations that “leave no stone unturned.”

Presstv

4, June 2016

Cameroon Tribune: GM and Board Chairman at daggers-drawn positions ⁰

A tug of war has erupted between the general manager of the National Press and Publishing Company, SOPECAM and the chairman of the company’s board of directors. Marie Claire Nnana, by extrapolation the publisher of Cameroon Tribune is no stranger to controversy and has recently hinted that only the head of state, President Biya would be allowed to arbitrate between her and the board chairman Joseph Le, who also moonlights as the Deputy Director of the Civil Cabinet at the Presidency of the Republic. Both CPDM elites have engaged in a remote standoff ever since the Cameroonian dictator traveled to Europe for a private visit.

Cameroon Intelligence Report was reliably informed that the SOPECAM boss reportedly blocked all moves taken by the chairman to convene a board meeting citing a decree that was signed by President Biya on May 2016 ordering a new configuration of the board. Our source at SOPECAM revealed that the all powerful Marie Claire Nnana has regularly argued that the old board has outlived its usefulness. A view not accepted by the Biya acolyte, Joseph Le.

Our informant added that the chairman announced a board meeting on the same day that the general manager was en route to the Republic of South Africa. Madam Marie Claire left standing instructions that the hall reserved for board meetings should remain closed until she returns. She is yet to pay sitting allowance for the last council session that held under very difficult circumstances with some board members observing that her action is complete contempt and insubordination.

The crisis recently took a dramatic u turn when Chairman Joseph Le sacked the Chief Finance Officer, Olinga Biyo’o who refused to pay the sitting allowance on instructions from Marie Claire Nnana and replaced him with Ngane Gustave Leopold, a civil administrator. Cameroon Tribune has blatantly refused to publish the full text signed by the chairman. In its Friday edition, the national daily made public part of the Joseph Le decision on the new appointments of the Technical Director and the Sales and Marketing managers.

Sama Ernest in Yaounde

4, June 2016

Cameroon, Chad and Niger to receive Cessna caravans ⁰

Cameroon, Chad, Niger and the Philippines are to receive Cessna 208B Grand Caravans from the United States, configured for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. On 9 May, the US Air Force Life Cycle Management Centre awarded two contracts for the conversion of the Cessna 208Bs. The first was to L-3 Communications Corporation – Communication Systems West in Salt Lake City, Utah, which will produce the ISR equipment and spares. The deal is worth $14 185 927, with an initial $7 000 673 released at the time of the award. Contract completion is anticipated by 30 September 2017.

The second contract, worth $39 983 647, was awarded to North American Surveillance Systems of Titusville, Florida, and covers modification of the aircraft and integration of ISR capabilities, together with training and field support. Contract completion is expected by 30 September 2019. An initial $19 751 000 was released at the time of the award. Financing for both contracts comes from Fiscal Year 2016 counter-terrorism partnership funds.

The contract announcements, posted on the US Department of Defence website, did not indicate how many aircraft will be delivered to each country. The US military in September 2014 awarded Cessna a $13.67 million contract to provide three Grand Caravan EX aircraft to Niger, Kenya and Mauritania in support of counter-terrorism operations, but it is believed this contract is unrelated to the existing one. L-3 Communications Systems West also received a $31.2 million contract in 2014 to add intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities to the three Cessna 208Bs. Work was due to be completed in September 2015.

The United States has donated a number of Caravans to African countries in support of peacekeeping and counter-terror operations. The Niger Air Force received two donated Cessna 208Bs in July 2013, but configured for transport tasks. In June 2014 the US government donated two new Caravans to the Mauritania Islamic Air Force to boost its capacity to conduct patrols to counter maritime crimes and regional terrorist groups. Another recipient of Caravans from the United States is Uganda, which received two aircraft on 16 March 2015, to support the Ugandan contingent battling al Shabaab militants in Somalia. The aircraft, worth $15 million including spare parts and training, were donated by the US Department of Defence.

Defenceweb

4, June 2016

Boko Haram captures town in southeastern Niger ⁰

Militants of the Nigeria-based Boko Haram Takfiri group have reportedly captured a rural town in southeastern Niger after launching a large-scale offensive in the troubled border area. Local residents said Boko Haram extremists mounted an all-out attack against Bosso, located around 1,365 kilometers (848 miles) from Niger’s capital, Niamey, on Friday afternoon, forcing Nigerien military forces to withdraw from the area without any resistance.

On November 25, 2015, 18 people were killed, eleven hurt, and 100 homes torched in a Boko Haram militant attack against the village of Wogom close to Bosso. A humanitarian worker, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Takfiris came from Nigeria and crossed the Komadougou Yobe River, which lies on the border between Niger and Nigeria.

Militants and bombers from Boko Haram terrorist group have staged repeated attacks in Niger’s southeastern region of Diffa near Nigeria since February, leaving hundreds of people dead. Boko Haram started its campaign of militancy in 2009 with the aim of toppling the central government in Nigeria. It has so far taken the lives of at least 17,000 people and forced over 2.5 million others to flee their homes.

The terror group has pledged allegiance to Daesh Takfiri terrorists, who are mainly wreaking havoc in Syria and Iraq. Boko Haram has spread its attacks from northeastern Nigeria, its traditional stronghold, into neighboring Chad, Niger and Cameroon.

Presstv

4, June 2016

Obama condemns violence at Trump rally ⁰

US President Barack Obama has condemned the violence at a rally by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in San Jose, California. During a Democratic National Committee fundraiser in Florida on Friday, Obama said that there’s no room for politics that ignores opposing opinions.

“It is very important for us to remind ourselves of who we are and what is best about American democracy and not slip into some of the bad habits that currently manifest themselves in the other party,” Obama said.

“We saw in San Jose these protesters starting to pelt stuff [at] Trump supporters. That’s not what our democracy is about,” he added. “That’s not what you do,” Obama said. “There’s no room for violence. There’s no place for shouting. There’s no room for a politics that fails to at least listen to the other side, even if you vehemently disagree. Because I believe if you’ve got the better argument, then you don’t need to do that. Just go out there and organize and persuade.”

Presstv

4, June 2016

Muhammad Ali passes on at 74 ⁰

Muhammad Ali has died at the age of 74, a family spokesman has said. The former world heavyweight boxing champion, one of the world’s best-known sportsmen, died at a hospital in the US city of Phoenix, Arizona, after being admitted on Thursday.

He was suffering from a respiratory illness, a condition that was complicated by Parkinson’s disease. The funeral will take place in Ali’s hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, his family said in a statement.

BBC

4, June 2016

Gabon’s Aubameyang is Bundesliga player of the year ⁰

Gabon and Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been voted as the German Bundesliga’s Player of the Year. The Gabon captain finished just 0.2% ahead of Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski, who was the top scorer in the league last season.

The award is voted for by the German players’ union, the VDV. “It’s a great honour to be recognised and appreciated by your fellow colleagues,” Aubameyang said. “This is for everyone at Dortmund and our amazing fans.”

Aubameyang, who is also the African Footballer of the Year, scored 25 goals and made six assists in 31 league games as Dortmund finished runners-up in the Bundesliga. He also scored 39 goals in all competitions last season and becomes the first African to win the VDV award since its inception in 1998. He is also the only African named in the Bundesliga team of the year.