News

28, March 2018

Ghana: Thousands of protest controversial military deal with U.S. ⁰

Thousands of people protested in Ghana’s capital Accra on Wednesday against the expansion of its defence cooperation with the United States, in a rare public display of opposition to the growing foreign military presence in West Africa.

Demonstrators blowing vuvuzelas and beating drums filled Accra’s business district, holding placards criticising a new deal with Washington that they say threatens Ghana’s sovereignty.

“As a right-thinking citizen, I am here to fight for my country. I am against selling our peace and security for $20 million,” said Gifty Yankson, a 49-year-old trader.

“They (the American military) become a curse everywhere they are, and I am not ready to mortgage my security,” Yankson said.

Police estimated the crowd size at about 3,500 protesters. While officers in riot gear were present, no violence was reported.

International powers including the United States and France are looking to extend their presence in the remote Sahel region in particular, where al Qaeda and Islamic State militants have gained a strong foothold in recent years.

But Washington is struggling to mend its image in Africa, which was damaged by reports President Donald Trump described African nations as “shithole countries” in a discussion on immigration. The White House later denied he used that language.

Under the deal approved by Ghana’s parliament last week, the United States will invest around $20 million in training and equipment for the Ghanaian military this year. Opposition lawmakers boycotted the parliamentary vote.

In return, the U.S. military will be allowed to deploy troops and import military equipment tax-free, use an airport runway that meets U.S. standards, and have free access to Ghana’s radio spectrum.

Ghana has had a long-standing military and trade ties with the United States, but many say the latest agreement was a step too far.

Responding to local press reports concerning the deal, the U.S. Embassy in Accra underscored in a statement last week that it had no plans to establish a military base in Ghana.

It said the existing 20-year-old cooperation agreement “does not cover the current range and volume of bilateral exercises and assistance.”

Four elite U.S. soldiers were killed in Niger alongside local troops in an Islamist ambush in October, sparking a fierce debate back home about covert U.S. actions in West Africa.

The United States has about 7,200 U.S. Defense Department personnel, including soldiers, stationed in Africa. Over half of those are stationed at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, with the remaining personnel scattered across 32 other smaller locations.

REUTERS

28, March 2018

Atanga Nji in Southern Cameroons: But is anyone actually listening to him? ⁰

The government of Cameroon will accept dialogue as part of measures to end the Anglophone crisis, Interior Minister Paul Atanga Nji is reported to have said.

He however stresses that the sole condition to the dialogue being that it will be held with persons who are advancing the unity of Cameroon as a nation.

His view effectively means that the Central African country is not going to engage armed separatists whose activities continue to threaten members of the security forces and disrupt life in the Northwest and Southwest of the country – the Anglophone regions.

“We can still solve the problem without burning, looting, raping, destroying. The government is ready to dialogue with those who seek the oneness of Cameroon,” the Minister said in a visit to Buea, capital of the Southwest region on Tuesday.

Atanga is one of two Anglophones who were handed positions in the government following a cabinet reshuffle carried out by long-serving leader, Paul Biya.

What has become known as the Anglophone crisis, has riled the country’s two English-speaking regions. A previous cry against discrimination and marginalization from French-majority Cameroon has now taken a violent turn.

Secessionists under the so-called Ambazonia Republic continue to push for a breakaway from Cameroon – a move the government has flatly rejected. After a crackdown on protests in October last year during a planned symbolic independence declaration, the secessionists turned to arms.

They have since attacked and killed over twenty members of government forces – police, soldiers and gendarmes. They have also kidnapped two government officials. A soldier after burning his vehicle and a government official who appeared in a video begging to be rescued.

The call for dialogue has continually been made by several countries and groups but has yet to be seriously pursued. A number of the separatists leaders have been arrested and deported from Nigeria since January but they have yet to appear in court.

The humanitarian crisis arising from the situation has also led to Cameroonians fleeing the Anglophone regions in their thousands. The United Nations refugee agency has openly tasked parties to use dialogue to avoid further escalation of the crisis.

Source: Africa News

28, March 2018

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Sisiku Ayuk Tabe showing no signs of surrender ⁰

A well-placed source in Yaoundé has hinted Cameroon Intelligence Report that the Interim President of the Federal Republic of Southern Cameroons/Ambazonia who was abducted alongside members of his government in Nigeria and forcefully extradited to French Cameroun, Sisisku Ayuk Tabe has no intention of giving up his struggle for the independence of Southern Cameroons.

Sisiku Ayuk Tabe is currently being held in a presidential bunker in Yaoundé and has been refused contacts with legal representation hired by the Interim Government. Our source indicated that the Ambazonian chief executive has been questioned by French Cameroun Secret Service officials a couple of times but he would never surrender in the face of pressure on him to give up his push for independence of Southern Cameroons.

We gathered that the Sisiku was recently allocated 15 minutes daily by the Biya regime to sit outside and get some sun shine. Our informant further pointed out that “he looks like a man who will continue fighting and is aware that this is going to be a long fight but it will be a fight that Southern Cameroonians will win.”

The Yaoundé regime is preparing a case against the former Minister of Transport, Edgard Alain Mebo Ngo’o and other CIR sources have revealed that documents are being concocted to paint a political link between the former baron of the ruling CPDM crime syndicate and President Ayuk Julius Tabe.

Moderates within the Biya government are reportedly saying that the war on the people of Southern Cameroons was ill-advised and that Southern Cameroonians have the right to express their willingness for independence and a republic in West Cameroon.

Lawyers representing the abducted leaders in the Federal Republic of Nigeria received an objection from the Cameroun embassy in Abuja to travel to Yaoundé and meet their clients who were extradited without any legal process.

President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe was abducted in Abuja, Nigeria by a joint French Cameroun and Nigeria operation after the French Cameroun army launched a sweeping crackdown to block his declaration of independence for Southern Cameroons. He has mostly been based in Nigeria and has managed to get re-elected in snap elections staged by the various legitimate groups fighting for the independence of Southern Cameroons/Ambazonia. Yaoundé is expected to charge him, along 46 others for sedition and rebellion. We also got intelligence that 20 of the young Southern Cameroonians arrested in Taraba in Nigeria and sent back to French Cameroun were killed recently.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

28, March 2018

Israeli prime minister Netanyahu rushed to hospital ⁰

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been rushed to hospital, say Israeli media sources.

According to several media sources on Tuesday, Netanyahu was transported to Haddassah Hospital in Jerusalem al-Quds after suffering from a high fever and severe coughing.

His personal physician has said that Netanyahu is suffering from lack of rest following an illness he contracted around two weeks ago.

“The prime minister is suffering from a high fever and is coughing,” confirmed his spokesman.

Source: Presstv

27, March 2018

Southern Cameroons War: Interim Gov’t says La Republique Forces Burnt St. Benedict’s Comprehensive College ⁰

Soldiers from La Republique du Cameroun regular army, its elite Rapid Intervention Battalion (Bataillon d’Intervention Rapide, BIR) have burned St. Benedict’s Comprehensive College (SABECC) alongside a nearby Government Technical School in the territory of Ambazoania on Monday, 26 March 2018, sources close the school administration have confirmed.

His Grace, Mgr. Archbishop Cornelius Fontem Esua, Bamenda Archdiocese is the proprietor of St. Benedict Comprehensive College, within the St. Mathias parish in Widikum Local Government Area, Momo County, Northern Zone of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

Since February, BIR soldiers were using the campus and classrooms as their military base from where they planned attacks, kidnapped unarmed civilians, confined civilians in dark rooms doe days without food, ferried many blindfolded civilians to Yaounde under the cover of darkness and released others after payment of ransom ranging from 500,000 – 1,000,000 Frs CFA.

In the early hours of Tuesday, Ambazonia self-defence forces in Widikum carried out operation “flush out” of the campus that resulted on the dead of fifteen (15) BIR soldiers. During the exchange of fire power, unfortunately, we lost one student who was in the custody of the BIR soldiers. The surviving few BIR soldiers burned the campus and their whereabout is still unknown.

By the Communications Secretary

Federal Republic of Ambazonia

27, March 2018

Nigeria uncovers over 80,000 ‘ghost’ policemen on govt payroll ⁰

There are over 80,000 ghost police officers on Nigeria, data from the office of the Accountant -General of the Federation has revealed.

According to local media reports, the disclosure came after staff count and full integration of payrolls across the country’s 42 police commands and formations into a federal information structure.

The federal government had instituted the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) last February. After its implementation, the formerly known 371,800 figure of police officers fell to 291,685.

The revelation means that an estimated 80,115 police officers have until now continually drawn salaries and benefits running into billions of naira. The government did not disclosed exactly how much money had been saved by the measure.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation continues to operate a federal police structure with all police officers deployed by central government. Some states have pushed for state police but the idea has repeatedly been shot down.

The Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun, is on record to have disclosed that staff count under the IPPIS has also revealed similar ghost workers in other para-military agencies like the Immigration Service, the Prison service and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps.

There were series of protests in the capital Abuja and southeastern Port Harcourt State when government announced the move to implement IPPIS, the protest was hinged on the fact that integration will lead to delays in payment of salaries.

The government through the Finance Ministry insisted on going ahead with the move leading to the disclosure. Nigeria has also been dogged with a corruption problem across its public and private sectors.

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) led by Muhammadu Buhari came to power in 2015 with the promise to restore security, fight corruption and to rescue an ailing economy.

Culled from the Africa News

27, March 2018

Southern Cameroons no-go area – France warns citizens ⁰

The French government has declared Cameroon’s Anglophone regions a ‘no-go’ area for its nationals resident in the Central African country.

In its latest travel advisory dated March 22, the government also warned against all but essential travel to areas like the far north region notorious for Boko Haram attacks and the area along the border with Central African Republic and Chad.

French Ambassador to Cameroon, Gilles Thibault, on Monday tweeted that travel to the Northwest and Southwest (Anglophone regions) is now discouraged for travelers, except for imperative reasons.

His tweet included a link to the French government’s Foreign Ministry website which had a detailed security alert on Cameroon. Except the southern border with Gabon and Congo republic, all other borders were classified no-go areas.

The Anglophone regions of the country have been volatile since October 2017 following a secessionist plan to declare independence under the so-called Ambazonia Republic.

The separatist group under the Ambazonia Defence Force (ADF) has launched guerilla style attacks on members of the security forces killing over twenty of them – soldiers, police, gendarmes.

The government has increased its security operations in the region including the recent creation of a military region to be based in the capital of the northwest region, Bamenda.

The separatists have also adopted the use of kidnappings in recent past. They have kidnapped a soldier and another top government official. Countries like the United States and Britain have all issued travel advisories in the past with respect to the two regions.

Despite multiple calls for dialogue to end the clashes, there has yet to be concrete efforts in that regard. Meanwhile Cameroonians continue to flee the region into neighbouring Nigeria. At the last count, the UN said over 20,000 Cameroonians had sought asylum in Nigeria.

Source: Africa News

26, March 2018

Tale of ADF execution of a suspected traitor: A Warzone Eyewitness Report ⁰

Flasko was smiling when his abductors with guns rode with him back to the village, but few minutes later they shot him dead in front of a multitude of villages on Market Day.

In the morning of Wednesday, March 14, the Secretary of the Traditional Council of Ayong, a village of the Upper Balong clan in Nguti subdivision, was shot dead in cold blood at his home, in front of a multitude of villagers and people from elsewhere who had converged there for the weekly Market Day.

Mr Akum Zaccheus Nangwe, popularly called Flasko, said to be in his 60s, had been taken away only minutes after dawn by unidentified men, believed to be Ambazonia fighters, some of them with dane guns, who came on five motorbikes and surrounded his house. They took him away on one of the bikes. His bewildered wife fled to Manyemen, minutes’ drive away, to report what she called the “kidnap” of her husband, to friends and family members and to seek help from who could offer to secure his release.

Thirty minutes to one hour later, two gunmen returned with Flasko on a bike; one riding, the other sitting behind Flasko who was thus sitting between them. Few minutes later, Flasko was shot dead.

Besides his functions as secretary of the Traditional Council, Flasko was also the local Civil Registry Officer. It is not clear why he was targeted but some accounts say the gunmen accused him of being a “blackleg” who identifies and reports local people to government security and defence forces as collaborators of Ambazonia fighters. Some say he had been accused some three months ago of betraying local bush meat dealers who use the Ayong road which is a branch off between Talangaye and Ebanga villages. Witnesses say the seizure of bush meat which means huge losses for local boys, intensified with the present armed skirmishes.

People said to be familiar with the modus operandi of the Ambazonia fighters say when they take their suspects away, they put them through a trial which is a combination of interrogations and mystical verifications to establish their standing with ADF fighters. Those who have witnessed travelling past their road blocks say they wave a machete in front of the suspect and if he is an enemy to their cause, the machete would turn red or get smeared with blood. They believe that is what Flasko was put through that Wednesday morning before he was brought back to the village. His mortal remains were laid to rest on Thursday, March 22.

Below is the testimony of someone (his identity withheld for obvious reasons) who witnessed the execution of Flasko:

I witnessed the execution of Flasko with my own two naked eyes. That Wednesday was the Ayong Market Day. Word was on every lip that Flasko had been taken away by some men with guns who came on motorbikes at about 6.30am.

Incidentally, all the foodstuff I bought that day, I kept them on Flasko’s veranda which is besides the market. Before I could collect my things to leave, we saw two gunmen on one bike riding back with Flasko. There was great relief at the market. Flasko, sitting between the two men carrying dane guns hanging across their shoulders, was even smiling which to us implied an acquittal from the “trial’. People gathered from the market in joy.

The man behind who looked like the man in charge, asked Flasko to go into his house. Shortly after Flasko went in, the man in charge walked casually to the corner of Flasko’s house. Then he stopped suddenly in his tracks and stepped backwards as if he had seen something dangerous. From the front of Flasko’s house, he called out, “Pa come so, come so.”

When Flasko stepped out, the man motioned him to come to the corner of his house. We were watching. The man pointed at something on the ground, indicating something to Flasko near his room window. We couldn’t see what he was pointing at, but the man then said to Flasko, “Pa just di go so straight and no try for do anything funny.”

At that juncture, the man gave his gun to the other man who was the rider (though he too had a gun) and said to him, “Waste he, waste he.” The other man pointed the gun at Flasko from behind and fired the fatal shot that brought Flasko down and left him dead. At the time the shot went out, Flasko was turning his head to look behind.

I was left confused, with unanswered questions. From hope that all was well because Flasko was smiling when they brought him back, to the sudden order to shoot him dead, I have been wondering what would have happened. What did the gunman see on the ground outside Flasko’s window? Had Flasko flung something out through the window? What was it? By the way, the man didn’t pick up anything from where he was pointing and nothing was found there. Was it something mystical that naked eyes could not see?

When Flasko dropped dead, pandemonium broke loose! Within a couple of minutes, the Ayong market had emptied. Flasko’s body was first taken to the Manyemen hospital and later to the Kumba General Hospital mortuary.

By Franklin Sone Bayen

26, March 2018

British defense secretary says Russia trying to divide Britain from allies ⁰

Britain’s defense secretary says that Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to divide the UK from its allies, yet the world stands united behind the British in a “powerful message to the Kremlin.”

“The world’s patience is rather wearing thin with President Putin and his actions, and the fact that right across the NATO alliance, right across the European Union, nations have stood up in support of the United Kingdom… I actually think that is the very best response that we could have,” Gavin Williamson, who is in Tallinn, Estonia, said on Monday.

Willamson’s remarks come amid escalating tensions between Europe and Russia over the poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal, 66, and his 33-year-old daughter, Yulia, in a British town.

London claims the Soviet-designed Novichok nerve agent has been used to poison the pair and points the finger at Russia.

Moscow has rejected the claims as “absurd,” saying the substance used in the attack could have originated from the countries studying it, including Britain itself. It has offered cooperation with London in probing the case.

Williamson arrived in the Estonian capital on Sunday for a two-day visit to see British troops who are based there as part of a NATO mission in the Baltic states to deter “Russian aggression.”

Last week, EU leaders issued a statement in Brussels, saying it was “highly likely Russia is responsible” for poisoning the Soviet-era spy.

Earlier this month Williamson said, “Russia should go away and shut up” when asked how the Kremlin should respond to 23 of its diplomats, thought to be spies, being expelled from the UK over the poisoning.

In retaliation for London’s “provocative” measures over the alleged poisoning, Russia also said that it would expel 23 British diplomats.

Skripal was found guilty by a Russian tribunal of selling classified information to Britain’s spy agency MI6 and was imprisoned in Russia in 2006. He was exchanged in a spy swap in 2010.

Source: Presstv

26, March 2018

Israeli PM questioned for second time in telecom corruption case ⁰

Police have questioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the second time in a corruption case involving Israel’s largest telecommunication company, Bezeq, as he is embroiled in two other cases.

Police assert that Bezeq owner Shaul Elovitch had instructed the Walla news website, which is fully owned by the telecom company, to provide favorable coverage of Netanyahu and his wife in return for favors from communications regulators.

According to Israeli media, Netanyahu’s spouse and son would be interrogated separately in the telecoms investigation over their relationship with Bezeq’s owner and his spouse.

Police, who have yet to make a recommendation about charges in the case, reportedly questioned the prime minister in his official residence in Jerusalem al-Quds.

Shlomo Filber, the former director general of the Communications Ministry, and Nir Hefetz, a former spokesman of Netanyahu, have agreed to serve as the regime’s witnesses in the case.

Israeli police investigators have also been grilling Netanyahu for corruption over his involvement in cases 1000 and 2000. The final decision about whether to prosecute him rests with the Israeli attorney general, which could take months.

Case 1000 revolves around alleged illicit gifts given to Netanyahu and his family by different businessmen, most notably the Israeli-born Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan.

The Israeli prime minister and his wife, Sara, claim that the value of the items was significantly lower than reported, and that they were only “trifles” exchanged between close friends.

Case 2000 focuses on an alleged clandestine deal made between Netanyahu and Yedioth Ahronoth publisher and owner Arnon “Noni” Mozes, in which the 68-year-old chairman of the Likud party promised Mozes he would support a bill to reduce the circulation of Yedioth’s main commercial rival, the Hebrew-language freebie Israel Hayom, in exchange for favorable coverage of himself in Yedioth.

The political survival of Netanyahu’s four-term prime minister is greatly at risk over the corruption and bribery probes.

Source: Presstv