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Southern Cameroons Crisis: Manyu Ghost Warriors issue statement on the Eyumojock Attack

24, April 2018

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Manyu Ghost Warriors issue statement on the Eyumojock Attack 0

The Commanding Officer

Manyu Ghost Warriors Battalion

Subject: The Eyumojock 18/04/2018 Attack

Category: Unclassified

Following the publishing of a gruesome video on social media in which the thugs of LRC paraded the corpses of 3 young men they claimed were part of the MG Restoration forces, we launched a thorough investigation and want to officially inform the public of the following findings:

➢ There was no MG Battalion mission planned for Eyumojock on the 14th April 2018

➢ The Eyumojock attack was a brazen act of robbery carried out by unidentified elements against a popular beer parlor owned by a certain Mr. Ojang Stephen.

➢ These bandits held the Sales girl and other customers captive at gun point and stole an unknown amount of money

➢ They then moved to other localities towards the Eyumojock Gendarmerie post with the intent of carrying out further acts of vandalism and banditry.

➢ These thieves were ambushed and killed by the Gendarmes

➢ Their bodies were then displayed in Public and labelled as Restoration forces

We want the public to know that while we regret the waste of human lives put on display like some trophy to boost the ego of the LRC thugs, we equally take this opportunity to assure you that the gory video you watched was pure propaganda by the LRC thugs. The intention was to shock public opinion into losing faith in the capability of the Manyu Ghost Warriors to protect its people.

We want to assure the public that this piece of cheap LRC designed propaganda video had nothing to do with the brave and well trained Manyu Ghost Warriors who operate under the very strict supervision of professional Commanders.

Finally, we want to assure the public that we have performed a head count of all the boys in our MG battalions and none of them is missing.

As Commander of the 2nd Brigade of ASC, I am sending this as the official report received so far from one of the defense units partially operating in that brigade. I am still waiting for reports from other defense units.

Brigade Commander

Ekri Kak


Macron in US for 3 days, will attend first Trump state dinner

24, April 2018

Macron in US for 3 days, will attend first Trump state dinner 0

French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife have arrived in Washington for a three-day state visit as US President Donald Trump hosts his administration’s first official state visit of his presidency.

Impressed by the warm welcome he received for the Bastille Day ceremony last July in Paris, the US president has returned the favor by making Macron the first foreign leader of the Trump-era to receive a state visit.

Brigitte Macron, wife of French President Emmanuel Macron, President Donald Trump, and First lady Melania Trump pose at their table at the Jules Verne restaurant for a private dinner at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, July 13, 2017. (AFP)

 

The Macrons arrived at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington to the playing of both the French and American national anthem, where Macron said he was looking forward to the “very important” visit.

“This is a great honor and I think a very important state visit given the moment of our current environment,” Macron said Monday as he briefly spoke to reporters outside the plane, first conversing with the crowd in English and then in French.

The couple then took a motorcade into Washington, DC, and were spotted walking around downtown, just blocks from the White House.

The couple arrived just after 1:30 pm at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, where they received a red-carpet welcome. (Photo by Reuters)

 

Of all Europe’s leaders, Macron has been most successful in building a relationship with Trump over the past year, winning him over in part with a lavish visit to Paris in July. Macron was not able to dissuade the US president from pulling out of the Paris climate accord, but he is seeking to be more successful in keeping Trump in the Iran nuclear deal which the US President is mulling to exit.

“Is this agreement perfect and this JCPOA a perfect thing for our relationship with Iran? No,” Macron said on “Fox News Sunday,” before his trip to the US. “But for nuclear, what do you have as a better option? I don’t see it. What is the what-if scenario or your plan B? I don’t have any Plan B for nuclear against Iran. So that’s a question we will discuss.”

The French first couple decided to take a walk around Washington upon their arrival for a three-day trip to the Unites States. (AFP)

 

Melania Trump plans dinner menu, Democrats not invited

Donald Trump is the first president since Calvin Coolidge in the 1920s to end his first year in office without hosting a foreign leader on a state visit. But now Trump and his wife are preparing for a pomp display of hospitality. The US first lady has selected specific decor, entertainment and food options for Tuesday night’s state dinner, the White House said.

The menu will consist of three courses, which will include American dishes with French influences. The main course will be a rack of spring lamb with Carolina gold rice jambalaya.

In a break with tradition, AP has reported that Trump has invited no Democratic members of Congress or journalists. But at least one Democrat will be in the crowd: the office of Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards confirmed his attendance. Louisiana is a state with a strong French cultural heritage.

Approximately 150 guests will take their seats in the State Dining Room on Tuesday, making for a more intimate affair than those held by President Barack Obama. Obama’s guest lists numbered into the hundreds, requiring that the event be held in a tented pavilion erected on the South Lawn because no room in the White House can accommodate that many people.

 

Culled from Presstv


Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria kill 21

24, April 2018

Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria kill 21 0

Suspected Boko Haram militants killed 21 people in separate attacks in a remote northeastern region of Nigeria, security officials and a witness told AFP on Monday.

The jihadists shot dead 18 forest workers who had been collecting firewood in Borno state, close to the town of Gamboru, on the border with Cameroon on Sunday, according to a member of a local anti-militant militia in the area.

“The bodies were scattered over several hundred meters, and they were mostly shot in the head or the back,” another militiaman told AFP.

Also on Sunday, a vehicle carrying civilians travelling in a nearby army convoy hit a mine planted by the insurgents, killing three people near the village of Wumbi, a militia member said. “Three people including the driver were killed and 11 passengers were wounded,” he said. A local resident confirmed the toll, adding that the victims were buried on Sunday.

The Boko Haram insurgency, which broke out in 2009, has killed at least 20,000 people and displaced more than 2.6 million, forcing them into camps and host communities. In August 2014, the group seized Gamboru, a trading hub along with the neighboring town of Ngala.

Nigerian troops retook both towns in September 2015 with the help of Chadian forces following a months-long offensive. Despite the recapture of the area which saw residents moving back, Boko Haram fighters continue to launch sporadic attacks, ambushing troops and vehicles, as well as attacking and abducting farmers

Source: newsinfo.inquirer.net


Eleven asylum-seekers dead, 263 rescued off Libya coast

23, April 2018

Eleven asylum-seekers dead, 263 rescued off Libya coast 0

Eleven asylum-seekers have died at sea and another 263 rescued by the Libyan coast guard off the country’s western coast.

Libya’s Navy spokesman, General Ayoub Kacem, said in a statement on Sunday that the coast guard found the asylum-seekers in two separate operations.

In the first operation, the coast guard found 11 bodies and 83 survivors off the town of Sabratha, while in the second op 180 asylum-seekers on two inflatable boats were rescued near the town of Zliten, according to the spokesman.

The perilous journey across the Mediterranean Sea – from Libya to Italy – is one of the routes taken by asylum-seekers trying to reach Europe.

During past years, Libya’s coast guard has been financed, equipped and trained by Europeans to stop the flow of immigration to Europe by cutting migrant boats off before they can reach international vessels.

Hundreds of thousands of asylum-seekers have crossed over to Europe despite its dangers and hardships; many have perished at sea, some have fallen prey to slave-traders in Libya and a faction have returned to their countries of origin.

Eritreans, Tunisians and Pakistanis constitute the three largest groups attempting the hazardous voyage across the Mediterranean to Italy from North Africa. Twelve Pakistani asylum-seekers drowned trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea in February.

More than 600,000 asylum-seekers have made the journey from Libya to Italy during the past four years.

In November 2017, the United Nations migration agency said more than 33,000 refugees had died at sea while trying to reach European shores since 2000, making the Mediterranean “by far the world’s deadliest border.”

 

Source: Presstv


US gov’t says Cameroon forces in gross abuse over Anglophone, Boko Haram crisis

23, April 2018

US gov’t says Cameroon forces in gross abuse over Anglophone, Boko Haram crisis 0

Cameroon security forces have been cited as engaging in significant human rights abuse in respect of armed combat they are engaged in across three regions of the country, a United States government report has said.

The Central African nation is beset by Boko Haram insurgency in its Far North region whiles the Anglophone crisis continues to pose a security challenge to the government in the Northwest and Southwest i.e. Anglophone regions.

According to the U.S. Department of State’s Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2017, the military, police and gendarmerie – paramilitary – forces were using among others arbitrary killings, forced disappearances and prolonged military / unofficial detentions in the three regions.

In its Executive Summary relating to the country, the report said: “The most significant human rights issues included: arbitrary and unlawful killings through excessive use of force by security forces; disappearances by security forces and Boko Haram.”

It went on to mention: “torture and abuse by security forces including in military and unofficial detention facilities; prolonged arbitrary detentions including of suspected Boko Haram supporters and individuals in the Anglophone regions.”

Then there was the issue of “harsh and life threatening prison conditions; violations of freedoms of expression and assembly; periodic government restrictions on access to the internet; trafficking in persons; criminalization and arrest of individuals engaged in consensual same-sex sexual conduct; and violations of workers’ rights.”

The government has deployed a military unit the BIR, which continues to engage with Boko Haram insurgents in the Far North region. Communities in the region have been attacked mostly by suicide bombers and raids by the group.

Over in the Anglophone region, guerilla style attacks on security forces by suspected separatists under the so-called Ambazonia republic banner has led to the formation of a new military unit headquartered in the capital of the northwest region, Bamenda.

There has been a sustained call for dialogue to solve the crisis even though the government has insisted that it will only engage with persons with the unity of the nation at heart.

Separatists have killed over 20 security forces, locals have fled their homes for fear of being caught in the cross fire with thousands now seeking asylum in neighbouring Nigeria.

 

Source: Africa News


Lebialem County: French Cameroun Troops Come Under Attack, But No Ambazonian Injured

23, April 2018

Lebialem County: French Cameroun Troops Come Under Attack, But No Ambazonian Injured 0

Cameroon Intelligence Report has been informed that elements from the Rapid Intervention Battalion, BIR deployed from Dschang in French Cameroun to Menji were ambushed by the Red Dragons protecting the Lebialem County.  A well-placed source deep within the Interim Government of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia who confirmed the attack also said that the Red Dragons staged the ambush around Ntsianbeh Catholic Mission in Lewoh. We gathered that 4 government soldiers were killed during the attack.

Elsewhere in the Lebialem County, Cameroon government officials accompanying the Francophone governor of the South West region came under attack by Southern Cameroons self-defense forces. The Biya regime soldiers retaliated by firing against the Red Dragons. Citing French Cameroun military sources, our Menji correspondent reported that the Red Dragons have been observing a slow buildup of pro- Biya regime forces over the past week and have alerted the Acting President of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, Dr. Samuel Sako.

Source: www.cameroonintelligencereport.com


Cameroon Denies It Forcibly Sent Back Nigerian Refugees

22, April 2018

Cameroon Denies It Forcibly Sent Back Nigerian Refugees 0

Cameroon is denying a report by the U.N. refugee agency that it has forcibly repatriated close to 400 Nigerian refugees and asylum-seekers since January, but it says people running to areas prone to regular attacks by Boko Haram had to be moved to safer localities.

Midjiyawa Bakari, governor of Cameroon’s far northern region that shares border with Nigeria’s Borno State, a former stronghold of Boko Haram, said Saturday that there had been no forced repatriations of refugees from Cameroon’s territory. He said Cameroon had complied with agreements made with Nigeria and the refugee agency regarding voluntary repatriation of Nigerian refugees, and that his government would assure the refugees’ safety until they left Cameroon.

He added, however, that people who had settled outside their camp at Minawao — especially in the Logone and Chari administrative unit that is prone to Boko Haram atrocities — had to be moved to safer localities where they could also receive humanitarian assistance from the U.N., the government of Cameroon, and well-wishers.

U.N. report

On Friday, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees reported that despite warnings, Nigerian refugees and asylum-seekers who had fled Boko Haram violence were continuing to be returned from Cameroon, and it underscored the need to provide international protection to those in need.

In the report, the UNHCR said that since the beginning of 2018, 385 Nigerian refugees and asylum-seekers had been forcibly returned from Cameroon — the majority of them last month, including 160 on April 10 and another 118 a week later.

FILE - Women watch Cameroonian military patrol in Kerawa, Cameroon, March 16, 2016. Kerawa, on the border with Nigeria, was subject to frequent Boko Haram attacks.
FILE – Women watch Cameroonian military patrol in Kerawa, Cameroon, March 16, 2016. Kerawa, on the border with Nigeria, was subject to frequent Boko Haram attacks.

 

The UNHCR said it recognized legitimate national security concerns of states affected by the Boko Haram crisis, and stressed that it is important that refugee protection and national security are not seen as being incompatible.

There are about 110,000 Nigerian refugees in northern Cameroon. Ninety thousand are at the Minawao refugee camp. The UNHCR says 5, 000 have arrived since January, when the multinational joint task force of the Lake Chad Basin — composed of troops from Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria and Niger — launched attacks on the Sambisa Forest, stronghold of the insurgents.

Mamadi Fatta Kourouma, coordinator of the UNHCR in northern Cameroon, said about 60,000 refugees want to return, and the Cameroon-Nigeria-UNHCR commission is assuring that any repatriation takes place in safety and dignity.

Surrounding villages

He said close to 30,000 refugees have been living in villages surrounding the Minawao camp for up to three years, and that UNCHR wants to help them return as well.

The Lake Chad Basin task force announced last year that it had rolled back Boko Haram’s gains and said the terrorist group was living its last moments, but warned the insurgency had switched to terror attacks and remained a threat.

The conflict that began in northeast Nigeria eight years ago has left at least 25,000 people dead and forced more than 2.6 million others to flee their homes, according to the United Nations.

Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria and Niger are calling on the displaced population and refugees to voluntarily return to towns and villages, but to be vigilant as the terror group is gradually being eliminated.

 

Source: VOA


Cameroon bishops urge Biya to resolve Anglophone crisis with dialogue

22, April 2018

Cameroon bishops urge Biya to resolve Anglophone crisis with dialogue 0

Catholic Bishops in Cameroon are calling on President Paul Biya to begin a dialogue to find a sustainable solution to the Anglophone crisis in Cameroon.

Since 2016, English speakers in the Central African country have been protesting against what they say is gross marginalization by the Francophone-dominated administration. They have also been complaining about the use of French in Common Law courts and Anglophone schools.

The two English-speaking regions – in the northwest and southwest of the country – constitute 20 percent of Cameroon’s over 24 million people. The Catholic Church is the largest religious group in the country, representing about 40 percent of all Cameroonians.

At the 43rd plenary meeting of the national episcopal conference, the bishops said the president in his capacity as “father of the nation” holds the keys to the speedy resolution of the crisis, and it is through “an inclusive dialogue” that the solution will come.

“If the head of state decides today that there will be a meeting with all those spear-heading the Anglophone crisis, there will be dialogue,” said Bishop Michael Bibi, the auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Bamenda, which is located in the English-speaking part of the country.

“Those who are in prison can be granted clemency and freed. Those who are out of the country and who are engineering these problems can be called back home. Those who are back home but who are not in jail but are sympathetic to the Anglophone crisis should be invited to the discussion table…religious leaders, administrative authorities, the civil society, opinion leaders, Anglophone secessionist leaders…In fact the various stakeholders should be brought to the discussion table…let this dialogue take place so that together, we can find solutions to the crisis,” Bibi told Crux.

Noting that the search for peace had become a national emergency, Archbishop Jean Mbarga of Yaoundé told Crux the bishops had decided to organize “Novenas for Peace” in the days leading up to the celebration of Cameroon’s National Day, May 20.

But the deputy Secretary General of the National Episcopal Conference, Msgr. Jervis Kebei said that peace will only come if it is accompanied by justice.

“We all want peace, but there can be no peace without justice, there can be no peace without reconciliation,” Kebbei told Crux.

He said the government had taken a number of measures to resolve the crisis.

These include the creation of a National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multi-culturalism; the creation of a Common Law Bench at the Supreme Court; the deployment of English-speaking lawyers and teachers to Anglophone schools and courts; and the appointment – for the first time since independence – of Anglophones to head the Ministries of Territorial Administration and Secondary Education.

But these measures are seen by many in the Anglophone regions as “too little, too late.”

“If all the measures taken by the government are not helping out the situation, if they are instead making young people to be more radicalized, it means that there is something more fundamental that the government has to do,” Kebei said.

The monsignor said only an inclusive dialogue can help Cameroon go “to the root cause of the problem,” noting that understanding the problem could provide important indications on how a solution can be found.

No talks with separatists, says government

Despite the plea of the bishops for an all-inclusive dialogue, the government has made it clear that there will be no discussion whatsoever with separatists.

Paul Atanga Nji, the first-ever Anglophone to head the Ministry of Territorial Administration, said on state media that “everything we do must be done within constitutional order.”

“Those who wish to operate outside that order can expect nothing else than to be dealt with firmly. We shall not entertain any language, we shall not entertain any action that either threatens territorial integrity of our nation or threatens life,” he said.

He said however that government was ready for dialogue “with those who seek the oneness of Cameroon.”

But the stance has been criticized by the bishops, since it would exclude those advocating independence for “Ambazonia,” what they call the Anglophone regions.

A surge in violence

Meanwhile, the crisis has continued to escalate. Local media continue to file daily reports of fighting between security forces and “Ambazonian” fighters.

The bi-weekly newspaper The Voice reported that on April 11 a police commissioner was killed in the locality of Kom in Cameroon’s Northwest Region, allegedly by separatist forces. In response, the military killed 18 civilians.

Kebei told Crux that the bishops “strongly deplore the insecurity that is going on, perpetrated by people who are angry and – most often – by the military that goes reckless and on the rampage.”

“The military men are still being killed. In retaliation, the military kill the civilians and destroy property, and I think that it has reached a stage that the Head of State… (should) bring all together for an inclusive dialogue… and if a solution can not be reached then it means there is something fundamental that still needs to be done,” Kebei told Crux.

The monsignor said such dialogue must be accompanied by faith in God. He said the power of the Gospel can be employed to resolve the problem. “Christ’s message is the Word, and if this is applied to the existing situation, it will touch on people’s consciences.”

 

Source: Crux


Southern Cameroons Crisis: Three Anglophone troops among several killed in Ekok ambush

22, April 2018

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Three Anglophone troops among several killed in Ekok ambush 0

An ambush on a joint French Cameroun army and Gendarmerie patrol has left several soldiers dead, a Biya regime official has said, as fears increase that the Southern Cameroons crisis is transforming into a full scale war.  Three Anglophone troops were among the dead, according to a Cameroon Concord News file citing Cameroon military officials.

The Francophone dominated army confirmed in a poorly worded statement that a mine explosion claimed the lives of two of its servicemen. But it said nothing about casualties, adding the governor of the South West region and security chiefs are working to confirm details of the ambush. This is not the first time that the presence of Manyu Odeshi fighters has been confirmed in the Ekok and Eyumojock area, which has become unstable due to many attacks attributed to troops loyal to the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime.

Cameroon Intelligence Report sources inside the Manyu Diaspora Advisory Committee revealed that the attack, which took place in the Eyumojock and Ekok, close to the Nigeria border, also claimed the lives of several soldiers. The ambush was “probably a terrorist attack”, a Cameroon government official said. One armored car and 3 Hilux were reportedly destroyed.

By Judith Fon in Mamfe


Southern Cameroons War: Clashes between Red Dragons, Army kill 18 more gov’t troops

22, April 2018

Southern Cameroons War: Clashes between Red Dragons, Army kill 18 more gov’t troops 0

At least 18 French Cameroun government soldiers were killed in separate clashes with the Southern Cameroons self defense forces in Azi, Lebialem County, reports said. A member of the Red Dragons of Lebialem noted that the offensives in the Lebialem County were launched to counter what he described as “intensifying” French Cameroun military attacks.

Our source in Menji said Bisong Cyril Agbor who hails from the Manyu County but serving in La Republique du Cameroun was among those killed in Azi.  Representatives of the Interim Government in Lebialem have written to the Acting President of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, Dr Samuel Sako and complained about alleged threats from French soldiers who are demanding information about the Red Dragons.

The so-called state authority has virtually collapsed in the Lebialem and Manyu Counties.  The attack on French Cameroun forces were carried out in the night after the Southern Cameroons liberation forces destroyed a small generator that electrified the building occupied by government forces.

The Francophone governor ordered the deployment of 30 more soldiers from Menji to Azi late yesterday.

By Judith Fon


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