About soter

Posts by :

10, April 2019

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Switzerland rejects Biya’s request ⁰

The President of the Republic of Cameroon, Paul Biya, has just faced a major setback as the Swiss government turns down his request for him to be accompanied to Switzerland by heavily armed Cameroon uniformed officers.

A source at the Presidency of the Republic has hinted Cameroon Concord News Group that Cameroon government officials are very disappointed with the Swiss government’s response to Mr. Biya’s request.

“There is total sadness today at the presidency. The Swiss have rejected President Biya’s request for heavily armed soldiers to accompany him to Switzerland where he is expected to undergo treatment,” our source at the Unity Palace which elected anonymity said.

“The Swiss are open to Mr. Biya heading to Geneva for treatment, but they are reluctant to let heavily armed Cameroon soldiers on their territory given that the country’s Diaspora is prepared to sow chaos in the Swiss city if Mr. Biya goes there for health care,” the source stressed.

Our source also said that Mr. Biya and his team were contemplating going to Saudi Arabia given that the Swiss government cannot guarantee that Cameroon’s Diaspora will not disrupt the 86-year-old’s health care programme in Switzerland.

The Saudi are willing to welcome Mr. Biya and his large entourage but are not comfortable with the idea that Mr. Biya should be in their country with armed officials who may be trigger-happy.

It should be pointed out that Mr. Biya and his government have become very unpopular in Western capitals, especially as many Cameroonians living abroad are prepared to give the government a very bad name.

Over the last three years, Cameroon has been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. The Southern Cameroons crisis which has caught the international community’s attention has eroded the country’s reputation as an Island of peace in a desert of chaos.

But it is the arrest and detention of opposition leader, Maurice Kamto, that has really angered the country’s Diaspora and created an opportunity for Southern Cameroonians and the Francophone Diaspora to collaborate so as to destabilize the country.

Even the international community, led by the United States, is gradually expressing its indignation at the gross human rights violations in the country.

With people power revolutions spreading across the continent, it is becoming obvious that Cameroon might be the next destination. Algerians have succeeded to unseat their 82-year-old dictator while Sudanese have taken to the streets to kick out Oumar El-Bechir who is considered as one of the most brutal dictators on the African continent.

“Cameroon is certainly in the eye of the storm,” a source in Yaounde said, adding that “ there is no way our country can avoid the chaos that is playing out in Algeria and Sudan, except the country’s authorities change their ways. The international community is sick and tired of seeing a man who has ruled his country for 36 years and has no results to show for his long stay in power.”

“Cameroonian authorities are watching what is playing out in Algeria and Sudan very closely. They are living in fear, especially as the Southern Cameroons crisis has revealed a lot about the regime. Francophones are gradually understanding that with the same people in power, their country’s political and economic woes might not be over anytime soon,” the source which is close to the country’s military said.

The fear is increasing, especially as Southern Cameroonian politicians have begun breaking ranks. Recently, Chief Victor Mukete, the Paramount Chief of the Bafaws in the South West region and the oldest member of the country’s senate, called on the government to stop playing with an issue that might split up the country.

Mr. Mukete, who is a staunch member of the ruling party, expressed his anger with the regime, urging law-makers to consider extensive decentralization as an option that might bring peace to the country.

The changing rhetoric is keeping the government awake. However, Southern Cameroonian leaders who are calling for the total liberation and independence of Southern Cameroons have tagged Mr. Mukete’s outburst as ‘the government’s diabolic attempt to test the waters as its crackdown is failing’.

Many Southern Cameroonian activists have called on their followers not to take Mr. Mukete seriously, adding that his call for the issue to be addressed comes too late as many people have been killed and thousands displaced.

“102-year-old Mukete should not be taken seriously. He is a buffoon who is simply seeking attention. He has aided and abetted the Yaounde regime in its reckless killing of our people and he wants to be a hero now. He clearly belongs to the past, indeed to the grave. He is done feathering his family nest and now needs forgiveness from the people. He will not get that. He will carry his guilt to his grave. We are going to fight to the end. We will not accept anything short of total independence,” a frustrated Southern Cameroonian in Yaounde said.

The coming days will be very critical to the country and if care is not taken, Cameroon might be the theater of public demonstrations like those taking place in Algeria and Sudan.

The telltale signs of frustration are already there as on Tuesday, supporters of jailed opposition leader, Maurice Kamto, defied the military and held a demonstration for the release of their leader.

Similarly, Mr. Kamto and his fellow detainees refused to go to court on Tuesday, stating that they would not be legitimizing the charade that is being organized by the aging Yaounde government.

The country is faced with many issues and from every indication, it looks more like a ticking time bomb that might go off very soon if it is not defused through appeasement and dialogue.

By Linda Embi and Kingsley Betek in Cameroon

9, April 2019

UK: House of Lords approve Brexit law forcing Prime Minister to consult parliament on delay ⁰

Britain’s House of Lords approved legislation on Monday that will give parliament the power to scrutinize and even change Prime Minister Theresa May’s request that the European Union agree to delay Brexit until June 30.

The legislation, which is being passed despite government opposition to it, will now return to the elected House of Commons for further consideration with a view to being finalized and turned into law later on Monday.

May has already asked Brussels to extend Britain’s EU membership until June 30 to allow talks with the opposition Labour Party in search of different exit plan – a last-ditch attempt to keep control after parliament rejected her own Brexit deal three times.

But lawmakers want additional legal guarantees against a “no-deal” exit happening on April 12 – the current exit day – and have crafted a law forcing ministers to consult with parliament on Tuesday (April 9) before she goes to Brussels.

That would give lawmakers the chance to make legally binding changes to May’s requested departure date during a debate scheduled to last 90 minutes on Tuesday (April 9).

Source: Presstv

9, April 2019

Biya Regime Says Nigerians Who Fled Election Violence Have Return Home ⁰

Cameroon says at least 40,000 Nigerians who fled across the border for fear of election-related violence have returned home and another 20,000 are soon to follow.

Cameroon troops whistle to indicate it is time for departure as about 3,000 Nigerians prepare to return to the village of Kukawa in Borno state.

Midjiyawa Bakari, the governor of Cameroon’s Far North region, says about 60,000 Nigerians fled into Cameroon ahead of Nigeria’s February elections, fearing that violence could break out. He says some 40,000 of them have already returned home and the rest will soon follow.

Midjiyawa Bakari, governor of the far north region of Cameroon in his office in Maroua, Maroua, Cameroon, April 7, 2019. (M. Kindzeka/VOA)

Bakari says within a week, they counted more than 40,000 Nigerians. They deployed the military to protect them, he says, and provided them with water and food while they stayed in Cameroon. The elections ended well so the Nigerians are going back to their country, says Bakari. But he notes they will be escorted by Cameroon’s military to protect them from any surprise attacks by Boko Haram militants.

Government spokeswoman Appolonia Ndukong says after escorting the returnees to the border, Cameroon’s military will hand them over to Nigerian authorities.

“We are working with the Nigerian authorities actually because they have a squad that protects, so they want us to report on any event that are taking place so that they make sure they provide the necessary protection and security services that are necessary,” said Ndukong.

Nigerians in host community houses, Limani, Cameroon, April 7, 2019. (M. Kindzeka/VOA)

UNHCR has previously criticized Cameroon for refusing to accept Nigerian refugees, in breach of its international obligations.

But Cameroon says all Nigerians returning home are doing so of their free will. Bakari says Cameroon neither considered nor treated the recent arrivals as refugees because officials often see mass movements across the border before elections.

Nigerians in Makary who fled for fear of political violence say they thank god the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari on February 23 was largely peaceful.

Thirty-five-year old Maiduguri businessman Nelson Chidi says he hopes this time around Buhari will ensure peace in Nigeria.

“… Since Buhari entered there it has become worse. You can see Boko Haram. People are dying, innocent people are dying for a crime they never committed,” said Chidi. “People are not living well. You see Nigerians are not having light while our neighboring countries have light. We produce fuel, but in our country Nigeria, fuel is too scarce. Our people are suffering because of bad government.”

Nigerian men in a meeting with Cameroon authorities, Limani, Cameroon, April 7, 2019. ( M. Kindzeka/VOA)

No doubt Cameroon hopes for peace as well, in hopes the flow of refugees will slow down. According to the latest U.N. figures, he country currently hosts more than 400,000 refugees, mostly from Nigeria and the Central African Republic.

Source: VOA

9, April 2019

Cameroon Tightens Screws on Opposition ⁰

In a crackdown on both the opposition and the right to assemble, Cameroonian authorities have banned a week of demonstrations planned by the opposition Cameroon Renaissance Movement (MRC) party.

On April 5, the Ministry of the Territorial Administration issued a press release banning the demonstrations between April 6 and 13, accusing the MRC of destabilising the country. The minister, Atanga Nji, also accused the MRC of an act of provocation, having chosen to organise demonstrations on April 6, a date which marks the anniversary of a 1984 coup attempt to oust President Biya.

This move is part of a growing trend in Cameroon. Since late 2016, the government has repeatedly blocked peaceful anti-government protests with force, arbitrary arrest, and detention of protesters. In January 2017, the Minister of Territorial Administration banned the activities of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium (CACSC), a leading civil society organization working in the volatile anglophone regions.

The ban on MRC demonstrations comes as the party’s leader, Maurice Kamto, prepares to go to court tomorrow alongside six other MRC members and supporters to hear the verdict on a habeas corpus request. Kamto and the six others were among 200 people arrested on January 26 following pro-MRC demonstrations across Cameroon.

The Yaoundé Appeal Court is expected to confirm the decision of a lower court to keep Kamto in prison awaiting trial. On April 2, his defense lawyers walked out of the court room in protest of the decision to hold the proceedings behind closed doors.

The government’s ban on MRC rallies is a step backward for Cameroon and should be lifted immediately. Rather than forbid dissent and lock up opponents, the government should respect democratic principles and allow peaceful protest.

Source: Human Rights Watch

9, April 2019

Yaounde moves towards its national cyber risk assessment ⁰

A 3-day Cyber Risk Assessment workshop was organised to train IT experts in strategic state institutions in Cameroon to establish an inventory of critical cyber risks.

The workshop from 2 to 4 April addressed issues on cybersecurity and cybercrime in Cameroon, national critical assets identification and the protection of critical cyberspace. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the workshop, the General Manager of the [National Agency for Information and Communication Technologies (ANTIC) Prof. Ebot Ebot Enaw highlighted the severity of cybercrimes in Cameroon amongst which scamming, phishing, identity theft through the creation of fake social media accounts, web defacement and skimming. Furthermore, with the exponential growth of internet usage in Cameroon Prof. Ebot said there have been more than 1400 cases of scams, over 2000 cases of phishing especially with mobile money transfers, 32 government agencies and ministries web defacements and several local banks have suffered considerable financial losses estimated at over £4.8 million.

Citing the pros and cons of technology, British High Commissioner to Cameroon, Rowan James Laxton said:

Advances in technology are transforming businesses, and transforming lives, around the world. The way we do business, use information and communicate with each other has changed beyond recognition in our lifetimes. In the wrong hands, these powerful capabilities can be used to disrupt our everyday lives, instead of improving them. They can be harnessed by malign actors to disrupt our democratic elections, undermine our financial systems and cripple our critical infrastructure.

Cybercrime has become a scourge that spares no state and the protection of critical assets has become a global challenge for both the developed and developing countries.

Mr Laxton added:

The UK is developing its own capability through a system called Active Cyber Defence which is blocking fake emails, taking down phishing attacks and preventing public sector systems from switching to malicious servers. In the past year, this system has stopped over four and a half million malicious emails from reaching users and has weeded out over half a million scam emails that pretended to come from government accounts. The UK is also committed to working with our partners to build cyber security capacity across the Commonwealth. The British Prime Minister announced during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting last year that the UK would be making £15 million available to support this work through to 2020. We are already funding capacity reviews for 11 Commonwealth countries in Africa and Asia under this Programme. The remaining £10 million will be delivered through our Digital Access Programme and the international strand of the National Cyber Security Programme.

The National Cyber Risks Assessment workshop is part of the Commonwealth’s Cyber Security Programme to support low and middle-income countries to tackle cyber threats.

Source: British High Commission Yaounde

9, April 2019

Cameroon’s Current balance deficit worsens ⁰

Unlike other countries within the Cemac area, Cameroon’s current balance deficit worsened during the past year. According to recent data from the Bank of Central African Countries (Beac), the country’s deficit grew to 3.4% over the period, against 2.5% in 2017.

Such a situation is driven by a negative trade balance performance of XAF271.7 billion in 2018 compared to XAF117 billion, according to Beac projections. A negative trend is also observed in Equatorial Guinea with deficit reaching 8.5% of GDP in 2018 against 7.1% in 2017.

Deficit narrowed in Gabon (2.7% in 2018 compared to 5.0% a year earlier); Chad (4.2% after 7.1% in 2017) and the Central African Republic (8.0% after 8.5% in 2017). The rate returned to surplus in Congo (+2.6% against -2.5% in 2017).

Overall, CEMAC’s external accounts show a decrease in the current account deficit, including official grants, from 4.2% of GDP (XAF2,057.9 billion) in 2017 to 3.1% in 2018 (XAF1,622.5 billion).

“This improvement (for the region) would result from a 49.1% increase in the trade balance surplus to XAF6,436.9 billion in 2018, thanks to a larger increase in exports (+20.4%) than in imports (+6.3%),” explains the Beac.

Source: Business in Cameroon

8, April 2019

US: Man fatally shoots woman in front of Hawthorne police department ⁰

A man has shot and killed the mother of his child in front of the Hawthorne police department in Hawthorne, Los Angeles, California, officials say.

The incident happened on Sunday afternoon as the two were meeting for a custody exchange of their 17-month-old child when the man shot and killed the woman.

An officer, who ran outside the station once he heard the gunfire, opened fire, but the suspect escaped the scene.

The suspect’s black pickup truck was left less than a block away. After three hours, he was finally arrested near where his car was found.HThis happened just hours after, in another incident, Hawthorne police officers and a gunman exchanged gunfire, leaving one officer and the suspect both wounded.

The incident began when officers responded to a report of a man chasing a woman in the lobby of a hotel before 9:30 in the morning, according to Hawthorne Police Chief Michael Ishii.

As the officers arrived, the suspect ran across the street and into a shopping center.

The officers then confronted the man and twice exchanged gunfire with him, according to Ishii.

“I just heard the gunshots. It was just nonstop for 30 seconds to a minute, just nonstop gunshots,” said witness Kevin McCullough. “I parked my car and got out and filmed as carefully as possible. It was pretty frightening to say the least.”

One of the officers, a 15-year veteran, was struck in the leg and taken to a hospital. The suspect was arrested and taken into custody.

The gunman was armed with “some sort of assault rifle or a TEC-9-type high-powered or high-capacity weapon,” Ishii said at a press conference.

8, April 2019

China conquer Cameroon to win in Wuhan ⁰

China PR emerged as competition winners for the second time in 2019, defeating Cameroon 1-0 to claim the Wuhan International Tournament on Sunday.

The win, sealed by a lone Wang Shanshan goal shortly before half-time, follows January’s successful Four Nations Tournament campaign in Meizhou as Jia Xiuquan’s side continue their build up to the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019 in June.

Following on from an emphatic 4-1 win over Russia on Thursday, China PR began with a strong line-up featuring the likes of Wang Shuang, Wu Haiyan and Wang Shanshan, but it was Cameroon who had the first chance, with Henirette Akaba forcing a save within the opening minute.

Chasing a sixth successive win on home soil, the Steel Roses gradually grew into the contest, and they scored what proved to be a decisive goal in the 40th minute.

It was far from the prettiest addition to the scoresheet in Jia’s 11-month spell as boss, but Wang Shanshan forced the ball home when Cameroon Ngo Ndom spilled a looping Gu Yasha cross from the vicinity of the left-hand corner flag.

Replaced in the 62nd minute, Wang Shanshan’s goal meant the striker scored three times in just 89 minutes of game time in the tournament, taking her tally to 10 in her side’s last 10 matches.

Despite the heavy involvement of Wang Shuang and Li Ying, China PR failed to extend the lead after the break, but two wins from two, including one against FIFA Women’s World Cup-bound Cameroon, was a welcome return following a disappointing Algarve Cup campaign a month prior.

China PR’s next confirmed test will be a compelling one, as they head to Paris to face the France 2019 hosts in a friendly on May 31, before the serious business of the FIFA Women’s World Cup group stage begins against Germany on June 8.

Source: the-afc.com

8, April 2019

Family of Missionary Killed in Cameroon Experiencing Another Parental Hardship ⁰

The wife of an American missionary killed in Cameroon in October is asking for prayer for herself and her eight children as she has now learned that she has numerous masses on her liver.

The Praying for Stephanie Wesco Facebook page outlines that Wesco went to the emergency room last month to have herself checked for appendicitis due to pain, but a scan found that she rather had a lesion on her liver.

“My doctor ordered an MRI, just to double check the lesion, and it revealed 4-5 masses in my liver,” an update from Wesco outlines, as shared by a family friend. Wesco is now scheduled for testing and a biopsy at Cancer Treatment Centers of America this week.

“I covet your prayers right now! The future holds so many unknowns,” she wrote. “Please pray that the Lord will work miraculously and bring glory to Himself through this trial.”

Wesco also asked for prayer for her eight children, who just went through the loss of their father, and now are experiencing another parental hardship.

“Please pray for my precious children, as their lives are once again flipped around,” she requested. “They are dealing with all of their own questions as we go through this new valley.”

Wesco said that while her circumstances have taken “away almost every plan, dream and hope that I held so precious and left me with no one but Him to cling to, by faith,” God’s “Word continues to lighten the path and give strength for every moment of every day.”

As previously reported, the Wescos moved to Cameroon last October after selling their house and possessions in Indiana. They had been working for two years to raise support to conduct missions work in the nation, and had previously served in South Africa in 2003 and 2004.

However, just two weeks following their arrival, while the couple was out for a shopping trip, Charles was tragically shot in the head with his wife sitting right behind him in the car.

“My precious husband, Charles, is now with the Savior he adored and faithfully served for many years,” Stephanie Wesco wrote on a GoFundMe page that had been set up for the family. “His life focus was seeking to cause others to love Jesus and serve him. My prayer is that somehow someway Jesus will be glorified through my precious Charles’ death and that God will not let his death have been in vain.”

“My heart is broken. I want to wake up from a horrific nightmare,” she candidly acknowledged.

Wesco had served as assistant pastor at Fellowship Baptist Church in South Bend, where his father was pastor emeritus. His brother is state Representative Timothy Wesco, R-Osceola, and also serves as a pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Elkhart.

Messages of support poured in on Sunday after learning of Stephanie Wesco’s new battle. One post asking those praying to list their city and state had over 500 comments as of press time.

“Missionaries Dan and Edna Cadavos, along with Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, Malaybalay City, Bukidnon, Philippines are keeping you and the children on our prayer list! (Edna also battling cancer.) Trusting His plans, His way,” one commenter wrote on the page.

“Stephanie, I am praying for you. … Your father-in-law was my pastor when I was little. You have been in my heart. Praying for you,” another shared.

“You are walking through a deep and unimaginable valley. But our God? He is THE ‘God of the valleys.’ My husband and I are praying for you and your children daily,” a third stated.

“I can not imagine what you are going through, but remember, this is no surprise to God. So in His plan, we must be strong and of good courage,” another exhorted. “Mrs. Stephanie Wesco, the Lord is with you and so are all of us!”

Source: Christian News

7, April 2019

France’s role casts a long shadow, 25 years after the Rwandan genocide ⁰

As Rwanda marks 25 years since the genocide that killed an estimated 800,000 people in just 100 days, France is renewing efforts to shine a light on its role in the country, long a source of tension between Paris and Kigali.

Rwanda has repeatedly accused France of playing a role in the genocide by supporting the Hutu government whose supporters carried out most of the killings, accusations that have often tarnished bilateral relations.

The violence erupted on April 6, 1994, after a plane carrying Rwandan president Juvenal Habyarimana and president Cyprien Ntaryamira of Burundi – both men Hutu – was downed by a rocket attack. Within hours, members of the Rwandan presidential guard began killing Tutsi civilians in retribution.

The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a Tutsi rebel militia, claimed that Hutu extremists within the Rwandan government had downed the plane while the government claimed the RPF itself was behind the attack. The actual perpetrators remain unknown.

For the next 100 days a massacre of the Tutsi ethnic minority unfolded. More than 800,000 people are thought to have been killed, according to the UN, and an estimated 150,000 to 250,000 women were raped. Some 300,000 of the dead were children while another 95,000 were orphaned.

On June 22 the UN Security Council authorised French-led troops to launch a humanitarian mission known as Operation Turquoise that saved thousands of civilians. But France has also been criticised for allowing many of the soldiers and officials responsible for the genocide to flee through the humanitarian zone it controlled into what was then Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo).

In an effort to bring more clarity to France’s role, President Emmanuel Macron appointed a panel of eight researchers and historians this week to study French actions in Rwanda from 1990 through 1994, covering the period before, during and after the massacre.

But Macron also elicited a new round of criticism when his office announced he would not personally be attending commemoration ceremonies in Rwanda, citing scheduling conflicts.

‘We must arrest them’

France had a strong presence in the country in the early 1990s under president François Mitterrand. From the start of the civil war in 1990 into 1993, the French army was training Rwandan soldiers.

According to Laurent Larcher, author of a new book that exhaustively recounts the stories of witnesses to the genocide, France took a particular interest in supporting the French-speaking regime of Hutu president Habyarimana. His rivals – The RPF led by Paul Kagame – were English-speaking allies of the United States.

Larcher says the belief that France was an ally helped emboldened the Hutu militiamen. As the genocide erupted, the regime allowed French nationals in Rwanda to be repatriated.

Journalist Vincent Hugeux, who was in Rwanda during the genocide, also cites cultural factors as playing a part in French decision-making: “For Mitterrand, Habyarimana, who was the kind of person who could quote the Parnassian poets from memory, could not be fundamentally bad.”

But even back then there were those who could tell trouble was brewing. General Jean Varret, who worked for the French ministry of cooperation and travelled regularly to Rwanda, warned the French as early as 1990 that “a genocide is being prepared”. Rather than his warning being heeded, Varret was replaced in 1993.

Jean-Hervé Bradol, who worked at Médecins sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) in Rwanda at the time, acknowledges that the humanitarian area set up by Operation Turquoise saved thousands of Tutsis. But due to the neutral nature of the mission, “we also allowed those behind the genocide to administer some things, continue their massacres in some areas, receive weapons”, he said. “We did not arrest people who passed through, [and] some were perpetrators of genocide.”

According to documents obtained by FRANCE 24 in February of this year, there was a sharp division between the Élysée presidential palace and the French foreign ministry at the Quai d’Orsay on how to respond to the violence in Rwanda.

The French ambassador to Kigali at the time, Yannick Gérard, warned Paris in July 1994 that the Rwandan authorities bore much of the blame for the genocide: “We do not have any other choice, despite the difficulties, we must arrest them.”

But the decision not to pursue those responsible came from the top.

Some underscore that France’s actions were necessarily limited. Hubert Védrine, then the secretary-general of the Élysée Palace, told FRANCE 24 that the UN mandate was a humanitarian one – not a judicial one.

“I don’t see how France could have done something at the time, because there was no clear mandate from the [UN] Security Council,” Védrine said. It would have been different if France had been given a mandate to arrest those who were responsible, he added.

Jacques Lanxade, chief of the French army at the time, concurs, saying France had no choice but to remain neutral. “We had no power to arrest people,” Lanxade told FRANCE 24 earlier this year, adding: “We did not have that right.”

France’s then foreign minister, Alain Juppé, vowed that those responsible for the mass killings would be arrested. But instead the French mission enabled many of them to flee.

Four months after the massacre, president Mitterrand remained hesitant to ascribe blame to one side. In response to a question about the genocide during a France-Africa summit in Biarritz, Mitterrand asked: “What genocide are you talking about, Sir, that of the Hutus against the Tutsi or of the Tutsis against Hutus?”

Rwandan genocide: 25 years on, mass graves still being discovered

France has always denied any responsibility for the killings, but French presidents have at times sought to improve relations with Kigali by seeking justice for the victims.

The first trial in France of someone accused in connection with the genocide opened in 2014, when Captain Pascal Simbikangwa went on trial in Paris. He was convicted six weeks later. The UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda has separately indicted 93 people for involvement in the genocide.

In October 2017, French judges heard from a witness who claimed to have seen the missiles used to down the plane carrying Habyarimana. The witness said he saw two surface-to-air missiles at the headquarters of the RPF led by Kagame. France dropped its longstanding investigation into several Rwandan officials in connection with the presidential plane crash in December last year.

But just two months later, Radio France and investigative news site Mediapart published excerpts of a memo from the DGSE – the secret service branch specialising in foreign intelligence – that appeared to indicate France had advance warning of Habyarimana’s assassination.

“This French intelligence document indicates that two (Hutu) extremists – Colonel Théoneste Bagosora, an aide to the defence minister, and Laurent Serubuga, a former chief of staff of the Rwandan army – were the main instigators of the April 1994 attack,” the report said, adding: “Did the French secret services really know nothing?”

Serubuga moved to France in the 1990s. French authorities rejected a Rwandan request to extradite him in 2014.

Source: France 24