Southern Cameroonians thought a new independent state would rid them of the marginalization they had been victims of in Cameroon for six years, but most of them are gradually discovering that marginalization is a lesser evil to the terrorism which is being practiced on them by their so-called liberators. Their dream of a beautiful Southern Cameroons has turned into a never-ending nightmare.

For over two years, the Yaoundé government had modified its war plan, walking away from collective killings and punishment to silent diplomacy, with the country’s Prime Minister, Dion Ngute, working hard behind the scenes to involve the Canadian government in talks which were supposed to bring peace to Cameroon.

Though the Prime Minister’s plan was scuttled by members of his own government, Mr. Ngute and his supporters have not relented when it comes to engineering peace in Southern Cameroons.

While the government has changed its ways in a positive way, the separatists, for their part, have also changed their ways, unfortunately in a very bad way.

They have become the face of death and destruction. Fighters, who said they were fighting the government in protection of their people, have today become a real millstone around the people’s neck.

Kidnappings, summary executions, extortion and intimidation have become their stock in trade. Those who said they were protecting their people, prompting huge financial contributions from the Diaspora, are those who are killing their own people in cold blood.

Today, Mamfe is in blood and tears. Separatists’ fighters have once more proven that if they had had an independent state, Afghanistan and other rogue nations around the world would have been better than Southern Cameroons.

Separatists’ fighters have chopped off the hands of their people just because their people wanted to work. They have robbed children in rural areas of their right to education. They have impregnated young girls, some of whom are less than 12 years. And today, many people cannot bury their loved ones in peace in many parts of Southern Cameroons. The so-called fighters charge the bereaved huges amounts of money if they want to bury their loved ones in their villages.

But it seems they are not yet done. Their list of crimes and sins is very long and very early today, they demonstrated in Egbekaw New Lay-out in Mamfe that their version of Independence is predicated upon extreme violence and death.

More than 25 people have lost their lives today in Mamfe through senseless killings and more than 20 homes have been burned. The criminals left the crime scenes once they set fire to those homes, unfortunately for them, some of their members were identified and they have already been reported to the gendarmerie brigade in Egbekaw-Mamfe.

In the past, apologists of these separatists would be quick to point out that some of those atrocities were being committed by the Cameroon army. The Mamfe District Hospital, one of the finest in the country, was burned down by these “fake fighters of independence” and a thorough investigation by the Cameroon Concord News Group clearly exonerated the military.

From burning houses and slaughtering soldiers, these separatists are today slaughtering their own people and they seem to take pleasure in killing the people they said they wanted to protect. Which liberators kill their own people and refuse their own children from going to school? Where in the world has a country developed without educated minds? Even in the Dark Ages, those with enlightened minds were the pillars of social engineering and development but in Southern Cameroons, a drug- and alcohol-inflamed bunch is dictating things, prioritizing illiteracy over literacy.

For more than seven years, these members of a cloak-and-dagger organization who pass off as liberators have been suffocating the Southern Cameroonian economy through sterile and meaningless “ghost town” operations which have left many unemployed and economically desperate.

Southern Cameroonians who saw hope through their rebellion, are today asking themselves if it was even necessary to challenge the Yaoundé government.

A noble struggle, once led by the mild-minded Sisisku Julius Ayuk Tabe, has been hijacked by people of the underworld who are using violence and intimidation to keep the people in check and in extreme poverty.

Nobody can stop these violent elements from causing havoc in places like Mamfe, except the residents of the town. Those who have sent some 25 residents of Mamfe to an early grave are the sons of Manyu. It will be preposterous for the people of Mamfe to think that their enemies have come from somewhere else.

The so-called revolution had failed. The revolution is consuming its own people. If the people of Mamfe in particular and Manyu in general have to put an end to this endemic violence, then they must cooperate with government security operatives.

They must report those criminals living in their communities to the government for proper action to be taken.

The Cameroon Concord News Group clearly condemns what has happened in Mamfe and has already despatched its reporters to Mamfe for a comprehensive coverage of this unfortunate situation.

More will be yours as the Group’s reporters file in their reports.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai and Joachim Arrey

Cameroonian air force has carried out airstrikes on the creeks of Akpankanya village in Bakassi Peninsula to flush out Biafra rebel group the Dragon Fighter Marine from the area, on Thursday 2 November, 2023.

However, no casualty has been recorded as at the time of report.

The attack is coming days after a suspected suicide bomber blew up oil installations at the maritime border of Bakassi.

Recall that the militant group executed numbers of members of the Rapid d’intervention Battalions, BIR, in the area few days ago resulting to retaliatory attacks by men of BIR which left two militants dead.

Simon Ekpa, a Finland based Biafra separatist leader sometime ago posted on Twitter he would aid the militant groups which he referred to as the Biafran Naval wing.

The Biafra Nations League, BnL, a group suspected to be the parent body of the Black Marine and Dragon Fighter Marine have continued to remain silent after threatening international businesses , oil exploitation in the Gulf of Guinea.

Source: Igberetv news

Nearly 646,000 Cameroonians remained internally displaced in Northwest and Southwest as of September 2023 as conflict between non-state armed groups and government security forces persisted, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The conflict—which began in 2016—has resulted in human rights violations against civilian populations, the destruction of property, and the disruption of livelihood activities. Fighting has also hindered humanitarian assistance activities with reports of abductions of humanitarian actors and repeated lockdowns, the UN reports. An additional 428,000 people remained displaced in the Far North Region as of September 2023, where attacks by the Islamic State West African Province against the Cameroonian military and violence against civilians continue to drive both new and protracted population displacement and limit humanitarian access in the region’s Logone-et-Chari, Mayo-Sava, and Mayo-Tsanaga divisions. Several armed incursions during April and May 2023 displaced thousands of people in Mayo-Tsanaga’s Mayo-Moskota and Mokolo sub-divisions, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports.

Conflict and insecurity continue to disrupt livelihood activities, markets, and trade across Cameroon’s Northwest, Southwest, and Far North regions, resulting in reduced access to food and income and heightened staple food prices, according to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET). In the Northwest and Southwest regions, sporadic clashes between government forces and non-state armed groups continue to impede households’ access to income-earning activities and inflate production and trade costs. The price of maize remained elevated during September despite the seasonal harvest; specifically, maize prices increased by an estimated 14 percent in areas of Northwest and 35 percent in Southwest, FEWS NET reports.

As of September 2023, nearly 477,000 refugees—sheltering mostly in the Adamaoua, East, and North regions— remained displaced by armed conflict, intercommunal violence, the effects of climate change, and political instability in neighboring Central African Republic (CAR), according to UNHCR. Many of these refugees are unable to return to CAR, primarily due to fears of ongoing violence, and currently live in poorly protected and crowded conditions without access to basic services or adequate livelihood opportunities. The influx of CAR refugees has strained host communities’ response capacity as resources for relief efforts and government-led social services remain limited amid growing needs in other areas of Cameroon.

Culled from Reliefweb

Suspected separatist fighters abducted nine villagers in Cameroon’s restive English-speaking region of Northwest, local and security sources said Tuesday.

Gunmen believed to be separatist fighters stormed Big Babanki village in the region on Monday night, threatening to kill those who were perceived to be working with government forces, a source living in the village said.

“They kidnapped about nine people, including quarter heads and elderly individuals, accusing them of collaborating with the military. They also set some houses on fire,” said the source, who asked not to be named for security reasons.

Army officials in the region confirmed that troops were searching for the hostages in the village where separatist fighters frequently operate.

Kidnapping for ransom is a common occurrence in Cameroon’s two Anglophone regions of Northwest and Southwest, where separatists seek to establish an independent nation. Government forces have been clashing with separatist fighters in these regions since 2017.

Source: Xinhuanet

At least five separatist fighters have been killed in military raids in Cameroon’s war-torn English-speaking regions of Northwest and Southwest, army sources said on Monday.

Early Sunday, the military raided Furu Awa locality in Northwest region killing three separatist fighters “who had taken the area hostage,” an army official in the region said.

Late Sunday, troops attacked a separatist hideout in Mbalangui locality of Southwest region, killing two fighters.

“Two top commanders were among those killed in the raids,” the official, who asked not to be named, said. “Our brave soldiers will continue to secure the lives of civilians in the regions.”

There was no word of casualties on the side of government forces during the raids.

Cameroon’s Anglophone regions have been experiencing a separatist insurgency since 2017.

Source: Xinhuanet

Toto Roland Motuba, who headed undercover operations for the Cameroon Intelligence Report in Buea says Anglophone prisoners have been subject to brutal physical abuse by Buea security personnel.

In a conversation with our London Bureau Chief Isong Asu on Monday, Toto Roland Motuba revealed that French speaking prison guards are using batons and physical force on a regular basis on Southern Cameroons detainees and when they attempt to inquire about the reason for their arrest, they respond with more baton strikes and beatings.

He said that security agents hit the late journalist Samuel Wazizi with blows on his head and face while his hands were bound behind his back.

“At one point, a female officer kicked Wazizi forcefully in the back, after which plain clothed men pushed him into a van along with other male and female detainees, many of whom were crying and transported them to Yaoundé” Toto Roland Motuba furthered.

Toto Roland described how Cameroon government security agents humiliated and insulted Anglophone women and girls detained in the Buea prison saying that they were kicking the women like football.

Toto Roland explained that several other British Southern Cameroons detainees were initially taken to a police station in Limbe before being transferred to the Buea prison, where they were subjected to more beatings and were threatened not to publicize their ordeal.

Toto Roland Motuba recounted that over 2000 detainees were mistreated in such a brutal way in Buea.

By Chi Prudence Asong

Southern Cameroons Self Defense Groups have once again warned the regime in Yaoundé and its great benefactor, President Biya of the inconceivable consequences of the continued military operations in Ground Zero.

In two separate audio messages aired by Amba commanders in both Manyu and Bui Divisions, the fighters were heard saying that the territory known as the Federal Republic of Ambazonia is now a powder keg and continued French Cameroun military activities will have consequences for Francophone army soldiers.

In a hasty move last week the European Union announced that it was currently discussing the terms and conditions of military support for the Cameroonian army. That aid should amount to around €10m the EU hinted.

The EU gesture has been described by the Ambazonia Interim Government (IG) as unwise. Vice President Dabney Yerima has been quoted as saying that the EU is now   defending a regime that is killing civilians and burning hospitals and villages.

Yerima said French Cameroonians will be the ones to suffer if things spiral out of control in Southern Cameroons.

Seven years into a deadly separatist conflict in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions, hopes of finding a negotiated settlement seem more distant than ever as both the government and secessionist rebels dig in, according to civil society activists.

It’s a conflict marked by spikes of extreme violence that invariably target civilians. The latest high-profile incident was last month, when government soldiers killed nine people in Missong village, in the anglophone Northwest region.

Rights groups accuse both the security forces and secessionist fighters of serious abuses that include extrajudicial killings, rape, kidnapping, and torture.

The root of the conflict is the central government’s historical marginalisation of the two English-speaking regions, the Northwest and Southwest, home to about 20 percent of the population.

But the dynamics of the violence have changed with the growth of a lucrative “war economy”, typically involving kidnapping and the broader extortion of the civilian population. The political and economic spoils of the war have reduced the incentive to find a negotiated settlement.

By Toto Roland Motuba

Cameroon’s water utility, Camwater, entered into a partnership agreement on October 19th with the National Higher Polytechnic School of Douala (NHPSD) to facilitate the professional integration of graduates.

Under the agreement, NHPSD will provide its most qualified engineers to support the state-owned company. According to Camwater, NHPSD graduates will participate in specific projects conducted within the company, and Camwater will offer its support, to the best of its abilities and whenever feasible, for the training and organization of scientific and technological events at the University of Douala.

The state-owned company has additionally pledged to welcome interns from Polytech Douala and has been granted the privilege of retraining its staff at this vocational training school as part of their continuous professional development.

Source: Business in Cameroon