Gunmen attacked a border crossing in Cameroon’s southwest on Thursday, launching their assault from Nigeria, security source witnesses said.

No one was killed, the officials said, but the incident is likely to further damage relations between the neighbors, strained over the rise of an Anglophone Cameroonian separatist movement.

Five security and administrative agents said the unidentified gunmen launched their attack on the Ekok border post along Cross River.

“They came around 3 a.m. (0200 GMT). They came from Nigeria and there were many of them. They had heavy weapons. They had grenades. They were shooting everywhere,” said one police source, who like the other witnesses asked not to be named.

“We don’t really know how it happened,” a second security source told Reuters. “Some of these guys came from the riverside (beneath the bridge). We don’t know exactly which path they took, but all of them came from Nigeria.”

Government officials in Cameroon would not immediately comment on the attack.

Nigeria’s defense ministry spokesman said he was not aware of the incident and referred queries to the military. A Nigerian military spokesman said he was not aware of the attack but would make checks.

Cameroonian military officials and pro-government media accuse Nigeria of sheltering the insurgents, who since last year have waged a guerrilla campaign to establish an independent homeland for Cameroon’s English-speaking minority.

Reuters reported last month that Cameroonian troops crossed into Nigeria in pursuit of the rebels without seeking authorization from Nigeria, provoking a behind-the-scenes rift between two nations with a history of fraught relations.

The militaries of Cameroon and Nigeria repeatedly clashed over the disputed Bakassi peninsula in the 1980s and 90s.

The status of the territory was settled in Cameroon’s favor by The Hague-based International Court of Justice in 2002 and in recent years the two countries have cooperated extensively to stamp out the Islamist militant group Boko Haram.

More than 15,000 refugees have fled to Nigeria amid Cameroonian military operations against the Anglophone separatists, the United Nations refugee agency and Nigerian government officials said earlier this month.

REUTERS

Twin car bombings outside a mosque have claimed the lives of more than 30 people and wounded dozens more in Libya’s second city Benghazi.

Security officials said on Wednesday that the bombers blew up two cars 30 minutes apart outside the mosque after evening prayers on Tuesday in the central neighborhood of al-Sleimani.

Emergency and security workers who had rushed to the scene were among those killed in the second blast.

Fadia al-Barghathi, a spokeswoman for the city’s al-Jala hospital, said that the facility received 25 dead and 51 wounded. Spokesman Khalil Gider said that the Benghazi Medical Center received nine dead and 36 wounded.

Health officials said many of the wounded were in critical condition and the death toll was likely to rise.

Military spokesman Milud al-Zwei said Ahmad al-Fituri, a security official for Khalifa Haftar forces, was also among those killed.

Benghazi has been relatively calm since military strongman Haftar announced the eastern city’s “liberation” from militants in July last year after a three-year campaign.

Haftar, who supports an administration based in the east of the country has declared three days of mourning following the attack. Haftar’s opponents accuse him of wanting to seize power and establish a military dictatorship.

A UN-backed unity government based in the capital Tripoli, the Government of National Accord (GNA) condemned the attack as a “terrorist and cowardly act.” The GNA has struggled to assert its authority outside the west.

The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) strongly denounced the bombings as “horrific” and warned that “direct or indiscriminate attacks against civilians… constitute war crimes.”

The UN-backed government of Libya has yet to exert its control over much of the oil-rich North African country as a rival administration in the east and its powerful army continue to challenge Tripoli’s rule as they rely on support from some of Libya’s neighbors and certain rich Arab states.

Libya has been wracked by violence and divisions since dictator Muammar Gaddafi was toppled and killed in a 2011 NATO-backed military invasion.

A series of fierce clashes between rival militias at Tripoli’s airport last week left 20 dead and forced the cancellation of all flights for five days.

Source: Presstv

Cameroon-based Nigerian man identified as Ugochukwu Okeke a.k.a Alino, has allegedly been killed by his wife, Chinenye Adaeze Okeke, and her apprentice boyfriend in the  African  country.

Multiple online reports reveal that  the deceased  met his untimely death during an argument with his wife over her sexual affairs with one of his apprentices under his roof. Late Alino hailed from Ndimgbu while the wife is from Mbanagu, both in Anambra State.

It was gathered that Chinenye and the said boyfriend joined hands to beat Alino to death. They then wrapped his body and put it in a car trunk for disposal, but luck ran against them and they were apprehended.

The suspects are now cooling their feet in a police station in Yaunde.

Alino was the only son of his mother popularly known as Madam Holy Holy. The couple had 5 children together.

On Saturday, Nnewi Youth in their numbers stormed  the home  of the wife in Mabanagu to burn down her father’s house. The angry youths ransacked the house and took the  pictures  of Chinenye and  mourn  her alive around the town.

Source: The Nigerian Voice

The Cross River government on Sunday provided food and non-food items to over 3,000 Southern Cameroonian refugees camping in Ikom local government area of the state. The items included rice, plantain, beans, yam, garri, palm oil, cartons of indomie, toiletries and cooking utensils.

Presenting the items, Gov. Ben Ayade of the state disclosed that the intervention was to give succour for the hardship and displacement experienced by the refugees. Ben Ayade Ayade, who was represented by Dr Mercy Akpama, the Managing Director, Cross River Food Bank Commission, said that his administration places premium on the welfare of residents in the state.

“I am aware of your pains and I am not relenting in my contacts with President Muhammadu Buhari and the international community to know that what is happening to you is not good before God and humanity. There is no greater pain like depriving a people of their ancestral homes and reducing them to wants in body and soul. “This passion has led me to bring food to you and soon I will build camps for you while waiting for my contacts to come to fruition in a bid to see you return to your ancestral homes. “I love you all and urge you to stay in peace with your hosts. Remain patriotic and obey the laws of the land. “I urge you to share these items in love for your suffering will not be for too long,’’ he said. Mr John Inaku, Director General of Cross River State Emergency Management Agency, told the refugees that the state governor was passionate about their plight. “We have your brothers and sisters in other locations as well, these items are for those of you in Ikom and I can assure you that the governor will also reach others soon,’’ he said.

Inaku explained that drugs would also be provided soon to take care of the health needs of the refugees. “The governor will come with more things for you. Be law abiding; you are our brothers and sisters and we love you all,’’ he said.

Mr Abia David, Coordinator, Southern Cameroon refugees, lauded the government and people of the state for their concern, noting that the gesture was a sign of true love. “A drop of water to a man who is very thirsty is a welcome development. We are appreciative of this gesture by Cross River state governor and it is a sign that he cares about our wellbeing,’’ he said.

www.vanguardngr.com

Suspected militia fighters killed four Congolese soldiers in a hit-and-run attack on a military post in troubled Kasai-Central province’s capital, Kananga, UN-funded radio reported on Sunday.

Fighting between the Kamuina Nsapu militia and government forces over the past year and a half has displaced over 1 million people in Democratic Republic of Congo’s Kasai provinces. Millions more have been hit by a severe humanitarian crisis.

Citing UN sources, Radio Okapi, which is supported by Congo’s peacekeeping mission, MONUSCO, said the assailants attacked a military post near Kananga’s airport in the early morning hours before disappearing into the surrounding bush.

Local authorities were not immediately reachable for comment on the attack.

More than a decade after the end of a 1998-2003 war in which millions of people died, mostly from hunger and disease, militia attacks are on the rise across the vast, mineral-rich nation.

The violence comes amid a political crisis linked to President Joseph Kabila’s refusal to step down when his mandate expired a year ago and has raised concerns that Congo could again slide into all-out war.

(Source: Reuters)

A joint military operation involving the armed forces of Nigeria and those of the Republic of Cameroon  is currently going on in the North-East, the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali ,has said.

Dan-Ali made the disclosure in an interview with newsmen after the Juma’at service at the National Mosque, Abuja, to mark the 2018 Armed Forces Day.

He said that the joint operation was aimed at flushing out remnants of the Boko Haram terrorists.

“In the North-East, I can say we have made great success. As I am talking to you, there is an operation going on between Nigeria and Cameroon,’’ the minister said.

He called on other neighbouring countries to collaborate with Nigeria in routing the insurgents.

The minister pledged the readiness of the military to continue to defend the territorial boundary of the country and in addressing internal security challenges.

Also, the Minister of Interior, retired Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau, said that government had put in place structures to address internal security challenges and was “re-enforcing those structures.’’

Earlier in a sermon, the Deputy Chief Imam of the National Mosque, Dr Mohammed Kabir, called for continued prayers and support for the military.

Kabir noted that the military had made sacrifices to defend the nation. He also said that while Jan. 15 was observed annually to remember the fallen heroes, serving members of the armed forces should be supported to ensure the security, peace and unity of the nation.

“They sacrifice their lives for this nation, it is our duty to show kindness to their families, it is our duty to support them; it is our duty to make sure that they live normal lives,’’ he said.

www.punchng.com

Cameroon’s English-speaking regions are observing a three-day “dead city” protest against the arrest of a number of separatist leaders in Nigeria last week, local media reported.

At least 10 Cameroonian separatists, among them leader Julius Tabe, were arrested in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, the activists said in a statement on Sunday.

In protest of the move, the English-speaking separatists urged the population to stay at home from Monday through Wednesday.

“For fear of reprisals, we remained at home. Everything is calm on the streets … Banks, travel agencies and shops are closed. Only security forces are patrolling the streets,” Musa Abu, a Bamenda resident told Anadolu Agency late Monday.

The strike also affected the reopening of schools that had been scheduled for Monday, Jan. 8.

“The school was opened early in the morning, but the students did not come. We were forced to close it, otherwise the building would have been burned by activists,” Tatou Godlove, the principal of the Bafut High School in the Northwest Region said.

Ayaba Acho, the so-called defense minister of the self-proclaimed Republic of Ambazonia, said Nigeria should not extradite “our leaders” to Cameroon, because they “are not” Cameroonians.

“They are Ambazonians,” he said referring to the Northwest and Southwest Regions. “We are in the process of increasing contacts with the Federal Government of Nigeria for their release”.

The government has also shut down the Internet in the two English-speaking regions in the Central African state.

Protests have been going on for more than a year in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions. The Anglophone minority say they are being marginalized by the Francophone majority.

The protesters are calling for a return to federalism or the independence of the English-speaking Cameroon, which the demonstrators refer to as the “Republic of Ambazonia”.

French Cameroon gained its independence From France in 1960. In 1961, a federal state was set up when British Cameroon gained its independence from Great Britain and joined French Cameroon.

The federal state was later dissolved in favor of a unitary state in 1972.

Since then, English-speakers say they are being marginalized, forced to use French in public institutions and schools, and also use the French-Cameroon legal system in courts.

www.aa.com.tr

Soldiers in Ivory Coast’s second largest city looted weapons from the base of an elite military unit overnight before setting it on fire, leaders of the faction said on Wednesday.

The soldiers, who were involved in a series of mutinies last year that tarnished the image of Ivory Coast, one of Africa’s fastest growing economies, accuse the elite unit, known as the CCDO, of spying on them.

Residents of Bouake reported late on Tuesday hearing gunshots and heavy weapons fire between the rival factions, though they said the situation on Wednesday was calm after some early sporadic gunfire and businesses were operating normally.

(Source: Reuters)

Fifteen months back, when a group of Anglophone lawyers went on strike in Cameroon, few would have predicted how far and how quickly events would escalate.

Back then, in October 2016, the lawyers were objecting to the appointment of French-educated judges to their courts. A few other frustrated groups joined them later in peaceful protest against other government actions they perceived to be discriminating against the country’s English-speaking regions.

Fast-forward to today, however, and that initial modest impetus has spiralled into Cameroon’s most alarming internal conflict since independence. In recent months, scores of civilians have been killed. Armed attacks have led to the deaths of at least sixteen army and police officers. The government has deployed the elite Rapid Intervention Battalion, which is usually found combatting Boko Haram, to the area. And thousands of refugees have fled to Nigeria, with the UN Refugee Agency expecting up to 40,000 more.

Pushed to extremes

From the start of the crisis, the government’s instinct has been to respond to protest and grievances with force. The initial demonstrations in late-2016 were met with mass arrests and the deployment of security forces. In January 2017, there was brief hope that dialogue would lead to a resolution. But these talks fell apart as the government banned the umbrella group with which it was negotiating and detained its leaders.

Since then, the government has not looked like returning to the negotiation table. It has arrested around 1,000 people, according to activists. It has empowered the police, gendarmes and army to use heavy force. And it has shut off the region’s Internet for months at a time on at least two occasions.

These actions have had a high human cost. “Cameroonians in the hundreds have lost their lives needlessly while expressing themselves and their ambitions for Cameroon,” says Barrister Akere Muna. “Others remain incarcerated under circumstances that might well have been avoided by the simple choice of dialogue over confrontation and repression.”

Moreover, many argue that rather than stifling dissent, the government’s strategy has made the situation more volatile and extreme.

What began as more specific grievances regarding the perceived imposition of French in courts and schools has escalated into demands for greater autonomy, federalisation and even secession. Meanwhile, the repression of largely peaceful protests has contributed to the emergence of armed groups calling for secession. Even moderate voices have been pushed to more extreme positions, and Cameroon has seen attacks on security forces and growing threats of a violent insurrection.

On 1 October 2017, members of the Southern Cameroonian Ambazonia Consortium United Front declared the independence of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia. The government responded with what the UN criticised as “excessive use of force”. Its crackdown along the border with Nigeria caused thousands to flee. In response in November and December, separatists launched a number of attacks against defence forces that resulted in several casualties.

Combating separatists

In his address on 31 December, 2017, President Paul Biya sought to reassure the nation and project strength.

“I have issued instructions that all those who have taken up arms, who perpetrate or encourage violence should be fought relentlessly,” he said. “The security operations conducted to that end have already yielded excellent results. They will continue unabated, but without excesses.”

However, many Cameroonians are concerned that the conflict will deepen and spread. As the government’s crackdown continues, there are suggestions that militant elements within the secessionist groups are gaining in strength, number and resolve. On 5 January, several separatists were arrested across the border in in Abuja, Nigeria.

In December, Brigadier General Donatien Melingui Nouma, commander of the troops in the South West region, revealed that some of his troops had defected to the separatists. He also claimed: “We know that they are trained by foreigners, including some white mercenaries whose nationality I would not mention.”

Uncertain times for Cameroon

This ongoing crisis is occurring at a particularly difficult time for Cameroon. In the north, it is still contending with the menace of the Boko Haram insurgency and the thousands of refugees it has created. In the east, it faces a challenge from the presence of displaced persons and rebels from Central African Republic. A drop in commodity prices has contributed to a significant drop in economic growth figures. Meanwhile, the country is set to hold four sets of elections – municipal, parliamentary, senatorial and presidential – this year.

Amidst this uncertainty, many are calling for dialogue to resolve the Anglophone crisis. However, there are few indications that constructive steps are being taken to establish such talks. Minister of Communication Issa Tchiroma Bakary has said repeatedly that the government is ready to negotiate but only on the condition that issues related to the structure of the state are not discussed. That effectively rules out activists’ primary demands for federalism or significant structural change.

As the crisis deepens, international leaders such as UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland have increased pressure on President Biya to engage in talks. It remains to be seen if this will have any effect. If it does not and the government’s current military approach continues, many expect activists’ demands, grievances and strategies to get increasingly desperate, militant and extreme.

www.africanarguments.org

As many as 64 refugees are feared dead after a traffickers’ overcrowded rubber dinghy from Libya started sinking in the Mediterranean Sea, officials said Monday.

The Italian coast guard rescued 86 people from the boat hours after it started sinking Saturday morning due to a puncture. Specially trained rescue divers leapt into the water to pull dozens to safety, including those who managed to stay aboard the half-submerged dinghy as well as others already flailing in the cool waters around it. The bodies of eight dead women were also recovered.

Since trafficking dinghies are often crammed with far more than 100 refugees, fears quickly arose that dozens more could be missing in the sinking. UN officials said Monday that accounts from survivors bore out those fears.

An Italian coast guard search that went through the night didn’t find any more survivors or corpses.

Flavio Di Giacomo of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a tweet Monday that survivors interviewed by the agency in Catania, Sicily, after they arrived on a rescue ship said 150 people had been aboard the dinghy when it set out from the coast of Libya.

“Sixty-four migrants lost their life in the shipwreck (which) occurred last Saturday,” Di Giacomo said, adding that “probably 56 missing migrants” were lost at sea.

“Among them there were many children who are believed to have drowned at sea,” said Doctors Without Borders Sea on Twitter.

Catania Mayor Enzo Bianco told Italian Radio Radicale that among the survivors was a child who lost her mother.

“I watched a 3-year-old girl while she was starting to play at the port here. She was saved, grabbed at the last second by the coast guard in the sea,” the mayor said. “She was clinging to her mother and she saw her drown.”

Bianco said the child is now with her aunt, who was among the survivors.

The dinghy, half-submerged, had been spotted by an aircraft from a European naval mission combating refugee trafficking.

Hundreds of thousands of refugees have been rescued at sea and taken to southern Italian ports in the last few years, including nearly 119,000 last year. Another 3,100 drowned along the way in 2017, the IOM says.

They include refugees fleeing wars or persecution who hope to receive asylum as well as economic refugees, mainly from sub-Saharan Africa, who aren’t eligible to be granted permission to live in Europe.

Italy is working with various groups and authorities in Libya to slow the flow of newcomers.

Di Giacomo couldn’t immediately be reached for further details on the weekend survivors.

(Source: Agencies)