Headline News

11, June 2016

US bombs Pentagon-trained militants in Syria ⁰

The US military has acknowledged bombing a Syrian militant unit it had trained and armed purportedly to fight Daesh terrorists in the country, a report says. The incident was the most serious setback for a controversial Pentagon program that is angling to find new recruits for training after last efforts ended in disaster, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. The Pentagon carried out a series of airstrikes in and around Syria’s northern town of Mare’ on May 27 and May 28. The Mutasim Brigade, a force of US-trained militants, said one of the airstrikes hit the brigade.

The US military said at the time that three strikes had targeted “two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL tactical vehicles and an ISIL vehicle” near Mare’. But Mutasim Brigade’s leaders told The Journal that one of the airstrikes hit the brigade’s fighters while they were battling Daesh terrorists. Ten US-backed militants were killed in the “friendly-fire incident.” Col. Patrick Ryder, a spokesman for the US military’s Central Command, said an investigation had been launched into the incident. “We will continue our support to counter-ISIL forces and will apply any lessons learned derived from the investigation to improve our operations in the future,” Col. Ryder added.

It is unclear why the US military chose not to disclose the errant airstrike earlier. Col. Ryder told the Journal that the “dynamic and complex nature of the battlefield” led to a lag time in reporting.The US military acknowledged last year that a $500 million program to train and equip militants for Syria had managed to produce only a handful of fighters. The mission was halted under mounting pressure from members of Congress. However, new training efforts were launched this year for more “vetted” recruits. Daesh terrorists, who were among the militants initially trained by the CIA in Jordan in 2012 to destabilize the Syrian government, now control parts of Iraq and Syria. They are engaged in heinous crimes against humanity in territories under their control.

Presstv

11, June 2016

Ali buried in home city of Louisville ⁰

Rousing tributes have been paid to boxing legend Muhammad Ali at a memorial service in his home city of Louisville, Kentucky. Muslim, Christian, Jewish and other speakers spoke of his fight for civil rights, while a message from President Barack Obama praised his originality.

The interfaith event took place hours after thousands said farewell as his coffin passed through city streets. Ali was buried in a private ceremony attended by friends and family.

BBC

10, June 2016

Euro 2016: How prepared was the French Republic? ⁰

Riot police in France have used tear gas to halt clashes between British soccer fans and locals in the French port city of Marseilles ahead of a European soccer event. Police said on Friday that two British fans were injured and four police officers slightly hurt in a string of incidents overnight involving British soccer fans and locals. Euro 2016 is now more of a problem to the EU political nation. The issues are too many!! UK Hooligans, industrial action, train drivers strike, Takfiri attacks and like CPDM Cameroon, over flowing rubbish bins littered everywhere in Paris.

Witnesses said the fight between the fans and the locals, outside a pub in the Mediterranean city’s Old Port district, was stopped by police, who quickly restored order by separating the two groups from one another. It is not clear how the brawl began. Police said that two British hooligans were arrested.

France is already in the grip of industrial action, mainly over reforms to labor law. President Francois Hollande warned against attempts to disrupt Euro 2016 with strike action. Train drivers are threatening to strike on a line serving the Stade de France in St Denis just outside Paris, where France play Romania in the first match. France is also on high alert since Takfiri attacks on Paris in November, one which took place at the Stade de France, and is still reeling from floods in central and northern regions. “I appeal to everyone’s sense of responsibility because if the state must do its duty – and it will, it will take all the measures that are necessary,” Hollande said on Thursday.

Transport Minister Alain Vidalies said Friday France may order striking rail employees back to work. Vidalies told Europe 1 radio that the government would use “every tool available” to get fans to the match and “if we have to issue orders tomorrow (for trains to be driven), we will do so.” He also ruled out any new negotiations with workers who have been striking for 10 days and warned the authorities would show “no tolerance of actions that threaten the big celebration.” “The strike has no meaning anymore,” he added.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo meanwhile announced that rubbish which has been piling up in the capital over the past few days would be cleared. Pictures of overflowing rubbish bins have dominated front pages since unions began blockading incineration plants a few days ago and rubbish truck drivers walked off the job. “All the rubbish will be collected,” Hidalgo told BFMTV channel, adding that dozens of extra garbage trucks had been deployed as part of the cleanup.

Presstv/CIR

10, June 2016

War on Corruption: Special Criminal Court to announce verdict on the CAMPOST Affair ⁰

The Special Criminal Court in Yaounde will soon make public its verdicts on cases of embezzlement that allegedly took place in the Cameroon Postal Services (CAMPOST). Cameroon Intelligence Report understands the judgments of some 21 cases involving highly placed officials of CAMPOST have already been reached. The corruption scandal at the Cameroon Postal Services was estimated at nearly 3 billion 815 million Francs CFA.

Prosecutors at the Special Criminal Court revealed recently that Damba Tezi on registered case No 047 / RG-SCC / 2013 alongside Zamngang Florence Kyen, Mbock David Désiré and Bekale Jean Marie charged for the diversion of 51 million CFA Francs from CAMPOST accounts have all escaped from the country. The court is also aware that Mvogo Jules Martin and Miste Gisèle sentenced via case file No 008 N / RG-SCC / 2014 to 10 years in prison have never been seen or heard.

Today’s hearings were centered on Mbamzomo Jacques Cyrille and Olé Ndoutoumou Emmanuel,both former controllers in Kribi, and Ebolowa respectively charged for siphoning 108 million CFA Francs and Martial MEDJOU Foanze and Louis Paul Kombo accused of embezzling 51 million CFA Francs.

CIR

10, June 2016

Biafra: Amnesty International says Nigerian army killed 17 unarmed separatists ⁰

Amnesty International said on Friday that Nigeria’s army last month killed at least 17 unarmed members of a group calling for secession from Africa’s most populous nation, but the military dismissed the allegations as unfounded.An army spokesman said Amnesty’s accusations, the latest in a series of allegations of impropriety levelled against Nigeria’s military in the last year, revealed a bias that undermined its credibility. Amnesty’s report — which it said was based on details from eyewitnesses, morgues and hospitals — says soldiers opened fire on members of the Indigenous people of Biafra (IPOB) and their supporters in the southeastern city of Onitsha during the build up to a march in late May.

The human rights group said the killings took place during a security operation in the early hours of the morning shortly before the march when the military raided homes and a church where IPOB members slept. The army issued a statement in which it said troops had to “resort to self defence” after IPOB members attacked security agencies with “firearms” and various weapons including dynamite. It said five members of IPOB were killed, eight wounded while nine were arrested. “These efforts were in order to de-escalate the palpable tension as well as ward off the apparent threats to lives and property in the general area,” it said.

Secessionist feeling has simmered in the southeast since the Biafra separatist rebellion tipped Nigeria into a 1967-70 civil war that killed an estimated 1 million people. It flared up again last year after IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu was arrested and detained on charges of criminal conspiracy and belonging to an illegal society. He remains in detention.
Amnesty said its investigation showed at least 17 people were killed and nearly 50 injured, adding that “the real number is likely to be higher”. “Information gathered by Amnesty International indicates that the deaths of supporters and members of IPOB was the consequence of excessive, and unnecessary use of force,” said Amnesty, which urged the government to investigate.

The contents of the report were rejected by army spokesman Sani Usman. “The allegations are unfounded,” he said.
The report is the latest in a series of accusations levelled at the army by Amnesty. Last year, Amnesty said more than 8,000 people died in detention during a crackdown on Boko Haram and that soldiers killed hundreds of Shi’ite Muslims in the northern city of Zaria in December. “Amnesty is losing credibility,” added Usman, who accused the group of being biased against the army.

Reuters

10, June 2016

Euro 2016: Three Cameroonians to defend France and Switzerland ⁰

The largest European male football competition begins today the 10th of June, 2016 in France. To be sure, it is the world’s second most important football competition among nations after the FIFA World Cup due to the quality of the teams involved. Cameroon will be well represented in the 15th edition of the EURO as three footballers born in Cameroon will take part in the competition.

Cameroon-info.net reported that Breel Donald Embolo, who plays his professional football with FC Basel, will be defending the national colors of Switzerland. Europe’s most athletic defender, François Moubandje, of FC Toulouse in France will also be a part of the Swiss national team and Samuel Umtiti, a defender with Lyon in France, will defend the colors of his adopted country.

Breel-Embolo Donald is 19 years old, was born February 14, 1997 in Yaounde, the Cameroonian capital. He migrated to Switzerland at the age of 6. He prefers to play with Switzerland at the expense of the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon.

Jacques François Moubandje was born June 21, 1990 in Douala, Cameroon’s economic capital. He moved to Switzerland at the age of 8.

Samuel Umtiti was born on 14 November 1993 in Yaoundé, Cameroon. He landed in France in 1995 at the age of 2 years.

Cameroon-info.net

10, June 2016

Chad sends 2000 troops to Niger ⁰

Chad has sent some 2,000 troops to neighboring Niger to help the fight against Boko Haram following last week’s terrorist attacks by the Takfiri militants in the Nigerien town of Bosso. The “heavily armed” soldiers will “search everywhere for Boko Haram,” a military source said Wednesday. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Tuesday that some 50,000 people have fled the town of Bosso in Niger’s troubled Diffa region near the Nigerian border following deadly attacks by Boko Haram terrorists.

Boko Haram militants first took the town of Bosso on Friday in an attack, during which 26 soldiers, including two from Nigeria, were killed. A total of 55 militants from the Nigeria-based militant group were also killed during the fierce fighting. The terrorists reportedly torched military barracks, police facilities and looted shops during the terror campaign in the town. The ambush and looting came as Niger’s army was preparing to attack Boko Haram in the Lake Chad region, which straddles Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger. Nigerien troops later retook Bosso on Saturday, but the militants once again took over the town on Sunday night.

The mayor of Bosso, Mamadou Bako, and a military source confirmed the takeover on Monday, but the Nigerien government denied it. Regional countries have created a joint military force that plays a key role in helping Nigeria fight the terrorist group. Back in February, the four littoral nations of Lake Chad launched a military campaign, together with a contingent from Benin, to confront the threat from Boko Haram militants in the region.

The Boko Haram terrorist group, which has pledged allegiance to the Daesh Takfiri militant group, has killed thousands of people, mostly civilians, since it launched its terrorist activities in Nigeria in 2009. The Takfiri militant group has intensified its campaign of terror since President Muhammadu Buhari came to power in the African country in May 2015.

Presstv

10, June 2016

Football under tight security: Euro 2016 kicks off today ⁰

The 2016 edition of the European nation’s cup, Euro 2016 will begin today with the opening encounter between host France and Romania. For the first time in history, 24 teams will be taking part in the final round of the competition with some 51 matches scheduled to take place in ten different locations across France including new stadiums in Bordeaux, Nice, Lille and Lyon.

The tournament will be taking place under tight security as over 90.000 police, soldiers and private security officers have been mobilized for the event. Despite the security concerns, over 90 per cent of the tickets have been bought already with about 80.000 still up for grab.

The 24 teams will be divided into six groups of four teams each and the groups winners and runners up sail through to the knock out stage which begins from the round of 16. All 24 teams are now in France after playing warm up matches in the billed up to the event.

The fixtures for the weekend will comprise France versus Romania today, followed by Albania versus Switzerland on Saturday. On that same Saturday, there will also be Wales versus Slovakia and England versus Russia. The final of the tournament will be on July 10 still at the Stade de France which was the target during the recent terrorist attack in Paris.

Cameroon Tribune

10, June 2016

Cameroon: Senators grilled cabinet ministers on bilingualism, electricity ⁰

The Senate Chamber at the Yaounde Conference Centre was yesterday June 9, 2016, the venue for Senators to check government activities as prescribed by law. Senate President, Marcel Niat Njifenji, in the presence of the Vice Prime Minister, Minister Delegate at the Presidency in charge of Relations with the Assemblies, Amadou Ali, called the House to order and announced that the plenary session was for questions to the Executive. Seven cabinet ministers were grilled on issues patterning to tourism, agriculture, bilingualism, water and electricity, environment amongst others.

The Minister of State in charge of Tourism and Leisure, Bello Bouba Maïgari, was the first to mount the rostrum to respond to a question from NUDP Senator, Pierre Flambeau Ngayap, on the impact of the Boko Haram war on tourism in the Far North Region. The Minister of State said the impact is tremendous, not only on the tourism sector, but also on agriculture, education and health. Bello Bouba stressed that the government is preoccupied most with the pressing issue of securing the population and defending the national territory, which so far have been done with great success by the Defence Forces.

This notwithstanding, moves are being made to promote internal tourism, given that diplomatic missions had advised their compatriots to stay away from the Far North Region. Similarly, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Henri Eyebe Ayissi, was also quizzed on measures taken to pre-empt food deficiency in the Far North Region. He outlined short and long term measures adopted stating the Head of State’s special food donation worth FCFA 12 billion which has been partly distributed. Agricultural machinery and the development of production zones are part of long-term measures to ensure food sufficiency in the region.

On the imbalance in the use of official languages in communicating important information, Communication Minister, Issa Tchiroma Bakary pointed out that the Constitution of the Republic of Cameroon provides for English and French as two official languages of equal status. He cited his press outings, which he said are always bilingual and the official newspaper, Cameroon Tribune, which publishes information in both languages.

Senator Simon Anja’s worry on the non-posting of French language teachers to some schools especially in Akwaya sub-division, Manyu Division of the South West Region, was also addressed by the Minister of Basic Education, Youssouf Alim Adidja. Meanwhile, measures to ease access to water and electricity were explained by Minister Basile Atangana Kouna who also said errors in the billing systems should be reported to the service providers. The Minister of Finance, Alamine Ousmane Mey, his colleague of Environment and Protection of Nature, Helé Pierre also provided answers to worries of Senators.

Cameroon Tribune

10, June 2016

Living the Nnoko Mbele Dream: Kumba Council gains 40 per cent investment in 2015 ⁰

Grand Councilors of the Kumba City Council in Meme Division of the South West Region recently adopted the 2015 Administrative and Management Accounts during the First Ordinary Council session. The Government Delegate to the Kumba City Council, Victor Ngoh Nkelle, noted that 1.5 Billion FCFA was budgeted in 2015, with additional investment of 212 Million FCFA from MINEPAT, giving a total of 1,712,000,000 FCFA. He disclosed that 1,082,525,076 FCFA was collected, higher than in 2014; while investment stood at 40 per cent.

He said during the year under review, the City Council was able to dredge portions of River Manbungise in 2015. Victor Ngoh Nkelle disclosed that because of the accountable and efficient execution of the project in 2015, Kumba City Council considered the project for continuation in 2016 by extending it for another 8 months to clean 580 meters of the same river at 210,582,000 FCFA. The City Council, he said, equally drained toilets within the Kumba Main Market and parks, acquired 105 metallic chairs for the City Council Hall, 35 computer tables for the library, 300 plastic chairs and tables still awaited to be supplied.

The Government Delegate to the Kumba City Council noted that work at Buea Road Motor Park stands at 60 per cent, with the ongoing construction of 26 permanent roadside stores adjacent the Premier Pharmacy, in addition to the rehabilitation of other roads in the city. He said internal revenue could be more than what was realized if Sub-divisional Councils stopped the collection of building permit levies and advertisement taxes.

The Senior Divisional Officer for Meme, Koulbout Aman David, lauded the Government Delegate and his team for a job well done, thanks to excellent team work between the Government Delegate, Grand Councilors, the Secretary General and the Treasurer. He called on the Treasurer not to relent his efforts in revenue collection. The SDO also urged the Government Delegate to speed up work at the Mambanda and Buea Road Motor Parks to help generate more revenue for the City Council.

Cameroon Tribune