News

11, February 2018

Ambazonia War of Independence: 3 Francophone gendarmes killed in Kembong ⁰

Three French Cameroun gendarmes have been killed in Kembong village in Eyumojock Sub constituency in Manyu today Sunday the 11^th of February 2018. The three were killed as the Francophone dominated army was conducting operations following reports of “imminent attacks” by the Ambazonian Defense Force.

The so called Cameroon military spokesman Colonel Didier Badjeck confirmed the news earlier today and stated that the perpetrators of the crimes have already been arrested. On Friday, an internal memo from the Cameroon Ministry of Defense reported threats of “imminent attacks” by the Ambazonian Defense Force against “several cities” in Southern Cameroons. A curfew has been introduced in the territory.

Since the beginning of the Ambazonian crisis, the Biya regime has reported that only 26 members of the security forces have been killed by suspected separatists. However, no record of the number of civilian deaths has been established from an official source since the beginning of the crisis. Nearly 40,000 Southern Cameroonians, mostly villagers have fled to Nigeria.

By Rita Akana

11, February 2018

La Republique imposes curfew in Southern Cameroons ⁰

Cameroon imposed a week-long night curfew from Saturday in its restive English-speaking west citing fears of an “imminent” attack by separatists but long-serving President Paul Biya claimed the volatile situation had “stabilised”.

Dozens of people have been killed in the two English-speaking regions since October after a violent crackdown on protests against the mainly French-speaking government.

Many English-speakers have accused the Francophone majority of discrimination and that has fuelled a separatist movement.

Army spokesman Colonel Didier Badjeck said the curfew would come into force Saturday. It will last from 8:00 pm to 6:00 am and is due to concerns of an “imminent attack” in “several cities” by separatists, backed by “mercenaries” from neighbouring Nigeria, a defence ministry memo said.

The curfew can be renewed, said a note from the governorate of the English-speaking north-west region, seen by AFP.

Cameroon’s southwest and northwest regions are home to an English-speaking minority that accounts for about a fifth of the population.

In October, separatists declared the two regions as the self-proclaimed republic of “Ambazonia”, prompting a forceful reaction by the government.

Police say 22 police and soldiers have been killed in the violence but officials in the capital Yaounde have not released figures for the number of separatist or civilian losses.

The spiralling violence has prompted an estimated 30,000 Cameroonians to flee to neighbouring Nigeria.

Biya, 84, who has held power since 1982, on Saturday called on young Cameroonians to be “patriotic internet users” and said the situation in the Anglophone areas had improved after “troubles which sometimes sparked acts of violence.”

It comes after a string of grisly video clips circulated online alleging atrocities against separatists by Cameroonian soldiers.

On Friday, the Cameroonian army denied its troops were responsible for the alleged gruesome killings in English-speaking regions in the unverified video.

“These accusations of atrocities are dreamt up. We are victims of disinformation and fake news,” said army spokesman Colonel Didier Badjeck.

(AFP)

11, February 2018

Southern Cameroons Crisis: South West Governor suffers a stroke ⁰

Cameroon Intelligence Report has been reliably informed that the governor of the South West Region of Cameroon, Bernard Okalia Bilai, has moved out of his official government residence in Buea for fear of his life. The governor and his family have taken up temporal residence in Douala where he now commutes to Buea for work. The man who went on record for calling Anglophones dogs and terrorists had a strange manifestation at his official residence in Buea before he moved out for his safety.

We gathered that the “Odeshi Boys” stormed his residence last month and cautioned him to leave or face death within seven days. The loudmouth self-made macho pleaded for his life and spinelessly complied. The ailing governor who recently suffered a stroke has left his official abode which is currently being occupied by his kitchen staffs, security guards and cleaners.

It’s a massive setback for the government of La Republique as he is regarded within as a colossal figure who has the clout to impart fear and terror on the people in his region. As the resistance in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon continue to gain momentum and direction, his poor health and sudden fear for his life is a grave concern to Yaoundé. Some of his staff say they have noticed a considerable change in the governor’s countenance. “The thug who drilled considerable fear and verbal abuse into us when he was around the office has been suddenly very pleasant” said a worker who elected anonymity.

We must put on record that he was behind the decision to sever internet services in the Anglophone regions in Cameroon. His arrogance and obstinacy has seen him engage in unapologetic public name-calling of Anglophones. Suffering from a stroke, the ever increasing pressure from strong-minded Ambazonians and the encounter last month might just be proving too vicious a pill for this tyrant to swallow.

Sama Ernest in Buea

10, February 2018

Cameroon’s army denies alleged atrocities in Southern Cameroons ⁰

The Cameroonian army on Friday denied its troops were responsible for alleged atrocities against separatists in English-speaking regions after unverified footage apparently involving soldiers was posted online.

“These accusations of atrocities are dreamt up. We are victims of disinformation and fake news,” army spokesperson Colonel Didier Badjeck told AFP, just days after the appearance of the latest of a string of grisly video clips.

None of the clips could be independently verified by AFP, with Badjeck insisting the army had “a culture of respect for human rights” and accusing the separatists of being “skilled at disinformation”.

Since October, troops have staged a crackdown targeting activists in Cameroon’s restive western regions where the English-speaking minority has staged protests against the government in this predominantly francophone country.

Dozens of people have died. Official figures, though, refer to the 23 police and soldiers killed but do not provide a detailed count for civilian or separatist casualties.

In the absence of any formal acknowledgement of the toll among separatists, eyewitness accounts of brutality against civilians have proliferated on social media and in parts of the press.

On Wednesday, the European Union condemned the violence in Cameroon, referring to the recent deaths of three members of the security forces and a number of civilians as “unacceptable” and calling on the police and army to exercise restraint.

“It remains crucial for the security forces to be proportionate in their use of force while carrying out their duties,” it said in a statement which followed similar condemnation from the US State Department a day earlier.

But the Cameroon army spokesperson said they were at risk of falling foul of a campaign of disinformation.

“It’s important that the bodies with which we maintain good relations don’t just listen to one side,” he said.

‘We are harassed’

Cameroon’s Northwest and Southwest Regions are home to an anglophone minority that accounts for about a fifth of the country’s population and which has long complained of discrimination at the hands of the French-speaking majority.

In October, separatists issued a symbolic declaration of independence for the putative state of Ambazonia, prompting a crackdown by a government firmly opposed to secession.

Anglophone separatists have responded by escalating their own operations against state institutions. The spiralling violence has forced an estimated 30 000 Cameroonians to flee to neighbouring Nigeria.

Badjeck said a soldier had died on Thursday after being stabbed in the eye with a knife in the main western town of Bamenda, with his death raising the toll among the police and security forces to 23.

“Our soldiers are struck down every day. We are harassed. It may happen that there are reactions on the ground, that a soldier loses his self-control. But it hasn’t happened yet,” he said.

And last weekend, at least four civilians were shot dead by troops during several incidents in the Northwest Region, witnesses said. One told AFP that men “in military uniform came and started smashing up houses.”

Source: AFP

9, February 2018

Roman Catholic Church says Ambazonian crisis worsens poverty in Nigeria ⁰

The Catholic Church in Nigeria says the continued influx of Cameroon refugees into Nigeria’s Cross River State was worsening the poverty situation in host communities.

According to Caritas Nigeria, a wing of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN), poor communities were suffering from the burden of hosting fleeing Cameroonians.

Head of Caritas Nigeria, Rev. Fr Evaristus Bassey, in a press statement said the Anglophone crisis in south and northwest Cameroon was beyond the political and security parameters, posing a huge humanitarian condition.

“While Caritas Nigeria has carried out assessments in Cross River State where the refugees have the largest concentration, it is seeking for guidance on other areas where the refugees are located to make necessary assessments in the state.

“The assessment revealed that the Cameroonian refugees in Cross Rivers State were mostly based in the communities within Nigeria that are sharing borders with Cameroon.

“Most refugees lived within host communities with relatives or in abandoned government quarters or uncompleted buildings or any available open space.

“They have been dependent on the generosity of their also impoverished host communities for food and clothing as most of them fled for their lives with only the clothes they had on.”

The United Nations refugee body, UNHCR, has reported that persons fleeing the security situation in Cameroon were virtually entering Nigeria with little or nothing. They have been offering immediate relief as they continue efforts at registering them.

Back in Cameroon, the Ambazonia group continues its face – off with security forces. Over 20 security personnel – soldiers, police, gendarmes, have so far been killed. President Biya has declared war against the separatists seeking to breakaway from the French – majority Cameroon.

Calls for effective and sincere dialogue has been made severally. Biya hinted that he supported dialogue but no concrete efforts have materialized in that area. A known separatist leader, Julius Ayuk Tabe and over 40 others were recently deported from Nigeria to Yoaunde.

Source: Africa News

9, February 2018

White House warns of another US government shutdown as spending bill stalls in Senate ⁰

The White House has warned that the US government faces a second shutdown in three weeks as Congress encounters obstacles to pass a temporary spending bill before midnight.

The White House’s Office of Management and Budget “is currently preparing for a lapse in appropriations,” an OMB official said Thursday, calling on lawmakers to get the measure to President Donald Trump’s desk “without delay.”

With just hours to go before current federal funding expires, the effort stalled in the Senate when one lawmaker blocked a quick vote on the compromise bill in the upper chamber of Congress.

The legislation, which extends government funding for six weeks and raises the federal debt ceiling, would break the cycle of government funding crises.

Republicans and Democrats agreed Wednesday on a two-year deal to increase government spending. But the bill hit a stumbling block after Senator Rand Paul refused to allow the Senate to act expeditiously to pass the spending measure.

Moving legislation swiftly through the Senate requires consent by all 100 members, but Paul objected.

The legislation is expected to increase the bulging federal deficit which is estimated to be around $440 billion for fiscal year 2018.

“I can’t in all good honesty and all good faith just look the other way because my party is now complicit in the deficits,” Paul said.

If the Republican senator from Kentucky stands his ground, congressional rules dictate that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell can declare a new session at midnight Friday, then hold a procedural vote on the spending bill one hour into the new day. A final vote would follow.

If passed, the bill would then head to the House of Representatives. If it passes, it would be sent to the White House for a signature by Trump, who supports the measure.

But the deal’s fate in the lower chamber is far from certain. Fiscal conservatives in the House may join with Paul in balking at adding billions of dollars to the national debt two months after passing a $1.5 trillion tax cut package.

The US government shut down for two days last month after a failure to pass legislation to fund government operations and agencies.

There have been four government shutdowns between 1990 and 2017. In 2013, government funding lapsed for 16 full days and more than 800,000 government workers were put on temporary leave.

Source: Presstv

9, February 2018

France to spend $33bn on upgrading nukes to meet NATO commitments ⁰

France is planning to spend $33 billion (€27bn) to upgrade its arsenal of nuclear weapons as part of a massive $370 billion (€300bn) military spending over the next few years to meet the NATO military alliance’s requirements, the French defense chief has announced.

Speaking to the media on Thursday, French Defense Minister Florence Parly said Paris wanted to increase its military budget so that it can “hold its own” as a key power in Europe.

“The government’s goal is twofold: reach the target of spending two percent of GDP on defense by 2025, while also ensuring we manage our public finances,” Parly said.

France spends $42 billion (€34bn) or 1.8 percent of its GDP for military purposes, slightly less than the two-percent threshold set by NATO.

Under the new plan, President Emmanuel Macron’s government increases overall spending by $2 billion (€1.7bn) a year starting from 2019 until 2022, when it will reach $53 billion (€44bn). Then the budget would be bumped up by $3.6 billion (€3bn) a year between 2023 and 2025.

By then, Paris is supposed to have completed the expensive revamp of its nuclear arsenal, with work on a third-generation nuclear submarine program and a new generation of airborne nuclear missiles already underway today.

“We are going to make up for past shortfalls and build a modern, sustainable, protective army” that would allow France “to hold its own,” said Parly.

French military forces are currently deployed to West Africa on a declared mission to fight militant groups.

The country is also a main contributor to a US-led coalition that has been targeting alleged terrorist positions in Iraq and Syria since 2015.

The years-long operations have put strain on France’s military forces and equipment.

With thousands of troops overseas, the new program allows the defense department to perform a host of upgrades on equipment, from bullet-proof vests to combat uniforms.

There will also be a 34-percent increase in spending on “modernizing weaponry,” which includes buying new Scorpion armored vehicles, four Barracuda attack submarines and three multi-mission frigates, as well as a new fleet of Griffon multi-role armored vehicles.

There are also plans to develop new spy satellites, light surveillance aircraft, new Rafale fighter jets and armed drones. Air tankers are also on the long list of upgrades.

The development is a major reversal in France’s military strategy over the past years and is expected to please US President Donald Trump, who has put NATO allies under pressure to increase their military budgets.

Source: Presstv

8, February 2018

Biya regime’s crackdown is increasing support for a growing number of armed groups bent on secession ⁰

Daniel was in his home in the village of Bole in Southwest Cameroon on Feb. 2 when he heard gunfire and a commotion. Moments later, his house was ablaze, flames licking the walls.

Despite the fire, Daniel dared not leave. Outside, dozens of Cameroonian soldiers charged with putting down a separatist insurgency had descended from trucks, opened fire on fleeing residents and set buildings alight, he said. Daniel’s brother Ekoda, who was outside the house, said he saw seven dead bodies.

Army spokesman Colonel Didier Badjeck said claims that houses were burned and people shot in Bole last week were “totally false”, and he denied that soldiers were mistreating residents in other villages detailed in this story.

“We are sure that the soldiers are respecting human rights. If we don’t do that we are very foolish,” Badjeck told Reuters by telephone, adding that any misconduct by soldiers is dealt with strongly. “If you want success, you have to have the population on side.”

A government spokesman did not respond to requests for comment. The Bole raid, corroborated by other witnesses, echoes near identical operations by the army in villages across Southwest Cameroon.

The accounts shed new light on the fast deteriorating security situation in Anglophone Cameroon and on the tactics used by the military to quell a growing secessionist movement that has killed 22 soldiers and policemen in a campaign to split Cameroon’s English-speaking minority from Yaounde.

The fighting has become a threat to President Paul Biya’s longstanding rule and to stability in the oil- and cocoa-producing Central African country where presidential elections are scheduled for October.

There are about five million Anglophones in Cameroon, a nation of 24 million. Most of Cameroon’s oil is found off the coast of the Anglophone region, according to the International Crisis Group.

Interviews with a dozen residents and separatist leaders in the English-speaking Southwest and Northwest regions reveal another worrying trend for Biya: the crackdown is increasing support for a growing number of armed groups bent on secession.

“They are fighting against us because they don’t want us to separate from them, but we have already made up our minds,” said Daniel, who spoke from his bed in a nearby hospital, medical gauze covering his left arm, his face charred. Daniel escaped the burning house when the soldiers left, but not before suffering severe burns.

Daniel, like most residents quoted in this story, asked that his full name not be used for fear of reprisals.

ATTACKING WHOLESALE

There have been secessionists ever since Anglophone Cameroon gained independence from Britain in 1961 and voted to join in a federation with neighboring Francophone Cameroon, which had won independence from France a year earlier.

French-speaking politicians held sway in government and the promise of equality for Anglophones faded. They were forced to drive on the right hand side of the road, adopt the metric system and take on the CFA franc currency.

In 1972 President Ahmadou Ahidjo declared an end to federalism, erasing regional autonomy completely. His successor, Paul Biya, centralized things further when he came to power in 1982. He removed the second star from the national flag which represented the Anglophone regions.

The separatist movement remained on the political fringe for decades until late 2016, when English-speaking lawyers and teachers protested peacefully against having to work in French.

The government cracked down hard and civilians were killed in clashes with police. The crowds grew in response, and so did the violence. In October 2017, more than 20 were killed during marches, according to Amnesty international. The military fired live rounds on protesters from helicopter gunships.

By mid-2017, many who had previously wanted just a return to federalism were calling for secession. At marches, protesters waved the blue and white flag of Ambazonia – the separatists’ proposed new state. An armed group called the Ambazonian Defence Force began attacking government soldiers in Anglophone regions.

“In 2016, people were calling for non-violence, and it was the same for most of 2017. But in 2018, people no longer see that rhetoric as holding water. They have to defend themselves,” said Tapang Ivo Tanku, an Anglophone activist based in the United States.

The formal secessionist leadership, known as the Government of Ambazonia, has distanced itself from attacks on soldiers. Its leader, Ayuk Tabe, was arrested last month in Nigeria and was deported to Yaounde. It was a symbolic blow to the movement, and Nigeria’s cooperation with Younde worries some separatists.

But even supporters say the Ambazonian government risks irrelevance as the separatist movement takes on a life of its own.

The ADF has been joined by newer armed groups made up mostly of young men. The Vipers has claimed responsibility for burning government buildings. The Manyu Tigers says its ranks are growing and it has carried out attacks on military checkpoints.

“There are hundreds of us, but we are aiming for 2,000-3,000. We want to start attacking wholesale,” said the group’s financial director, Ambe Simon, in a telephone interview. “We are receiving money from all over the world. We have $50,000 at the moment. We are getting weapons from the black market.”

“IN A WAR”

Faced with this threat, the Cameroonian military in December fanned out into the villages among the cocoa farms and forests near the Nigerian border that have become the separatists’ stronghold.

More than 40,000 have since fled to Nigeria, according to the United Nations, and most villages are deserted. Communications are slow in the rural areas and the internet is frequently shut off, but interviews with residents reveal what they were fleeing from.

Residents of Kembong in southwest Cameroon call Dec. 18 “the day of misfortune”, when troops in search of rebels came to the town. An 81-year-old man, James Oben Ndi, had to flee after his house was burned down.

“All my effects were in that house. There was my daughter’s sewing machine, her clothes. Our whole life was in that house,” he told Reuters during an interview in a church in a nearby town where he has sought shelter.

On Jan. 14, soldiers entered the village of KwaKwa, a few kilometers from Bole, looking for information about a soldier killed there. Villagers fled to nearby cocoa farms as the soldiers opened fire.

A resident named Alex returned under cover of darkness the following evening to assess the damage: most of KwaKwa’s wooden houses were burned to ash and dead bodies lay in the street.

He helped bury more than ten bodies behind a burned-out house. His account was corroborated by two other residents.

“Everybody was running in all directions,” Alex said in a telephone interview. “Things are not going well. We are in a war.”

Source: Reuters

8, February 2018

Fake Biya signature is gradually confirming the population’s suspicion ⁰

There have been speculations concerning the whereabouts of Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya, who has been missing in action for some time now. But yesterday’s establishment of the constitutional council and the appointment of its members is causing more controversy. Yesterday’s presidential decrees established a constitutional council provided for in the 1996 constitution and appointed members of the said council. 77-year-old Clement Atangana, a legal expert of Beti extraction, who has been on retirement for more than ten years, was appointed as head of the constitutional council, while other very old faces were appointed as members of the same council in the same decree. Members of the council are members of the ruling CPDM and people who are personally loyal to the country’s president and his collaborators.

The appointment of these old and retired Cameroonians underscores the fact that Mr. Biya is not yet ready to give Cameroonian youths a place in today’s Cameroon. Besides marginalizing youths, Mr. Biya is still pursuing his policy of Anglophone marginalization by appointing only Francophones to head major government institutions. It should be underscored at this point that all heads of important structures in Cameroon are Francophones despite the ongoing Anglophone crisis which was triggered by the government’s marginalization of the country’s English-speaking minority.

But this is not what is concerning Southern Cameroonians in particular. Southern Cameroonians are still fighting for their secession and they are hell-bent on quitting a marriage that has brought them more pain than gain. There has been serious fighting in many towns in the Southwest region of the country, with many young men being killed in cold blood by army soldiers. Our sources say some of the young men killed had nothing to do with the rebellion that is unfolding in the English-speaking regions of the country.

It should be recalled that some towns such as Kwakwa in the Southwest region have been erased from the country’s map as army soldiers have burnt all the houses and sent everybody into exile. Currently, Mbonge in the same region is being attacked by army soldiers who are killing and maiming any young men they find in the town.

It is worth pointing out that the greatest concern to many Cameroonians is the whereabouts of their president who has not been seen in public for many weeks. The signatures on the two presidential decrees released yesterday are different and this is causing many Cameroonians to argue that those signatures were forged to give the impression that Mr. Biya who is suspected of either being dead is alive.

Over the last week, there have been rumors that Mr. Biya who is suffering from cancer and a failing heart is gradually heading to his grave. Some sources had even indicated that he had died and that there was commotion among his supporters who are all scared of losing their positions and influence.

A Cameroon Intelligence Report’s source at the Unity Palace, which elected unanimity, had informed our cream of intelligence officers in Yaoundé that everything pointed to the demise of the 85-year-old dictator who has ruled the Central African country for 35 years with an iron fist.

The source added that given the way in which government officials had been visiting the Unity Palace over the last week, it was clear that Mr.Biya was no more. The atmosphere at the presidential palace was tense and government officials had been holding meetings to come up with a common response so as to keep the population in the dark.

Our source added that members of the Cameroon strong man’s entourage were working hard to keep the information from the public place in the pious belief that they could change things to suit their intention.

He stressed that the Secretary General at the presidency had been holding a series of meetings with some of his collaborators who were advising him to issue decrees that would usher in constitutional changes on Mr. Biya’s behalf and the appointment of Clement Atangana is one of the changes the Beti Mafia was advocating.

The calling of senatorial elections next month, our soured added, was one of the moves designed by the Beti Mafia to kick out the current senate president, Marcel Nyat Njifenji, so that it could retain power even after Mr. Biya was dead and gone.

Under the country’s current constitution, the constitutional successor is the president of the senate, Marcel Nyat Njifenji, himself 83 years old and a collapsing figure who has been involved in the corruption and mismanagement that have become the country’s hallmark. Many Cameroonians hold that if the country has to change significantly, figures like the senate president and national assembly speaker have to disappear from the political scene.

By Kingsley Betek with files from Rita Akana in Yaounde

8, February 2018

UN says over 300 child soldiers have been freed in South Sudan ⁰

The United Nations says over 300 child soldiers have been released by armed groups in war-ravaged South Sudan under a scheme to help reintegrate them into society.

According to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), at least 311 children, 87 of them girls, were released by armed groups on Wednesday in Yambio, which is located in the south of the country.

David Shearer, the UN secretary general’s special representative and head of UNMISS, said in a statement that the children would soon begin reintegrating into their communities and learning new skills to support themselves. “This is the first time so many young women have been involved in a release like this in South Sudan,” the statement read.

“They will have endured suffering, including sexual abuse. It is vital that they receive the support they need to rejoin their communities and that they are welcomed home by family and friends without any sense of stigma.”

“Children should not be carrying guns and killing each other. They should be playing, learning, having fun with friends, protected and cherished by the adults around them,” Shearer said.

The integration program in Yambio is aimed at helping 700 child soldiers return to normal life. Of these, 563 are part of President Salva Kiir’s force and 137 are with rebels.

The UN peacekeeping force, acting in unison with the UN children’s agency UNICEF, is negotiating the release of child soldiers in other regions of the country.

“This is a crucial step in achieving our ultimate goal of having all of the thousands of children still in the ranks of armed groups reunited with their families,” said Mahimbo Mdoe, UNICEF’s Representative in South Sudan. “It is the largest release of children in nearly three years and it is vital that negotiations continue so there are many more days like this.”

Women from more than 40 South Sudanese women’s organizations carry placards during a march through the city to express frustration and suffering that women and children face in Juba, South Sudan, December 9, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Civil war broke out in South Sudan in December 2013, just two years after the country became independent, when disagreements between President Kiir and then Vice President Riek Machar turned into an armed conflict between their loyalists. While fighting generally subsided early last year, clashes once again intensified in July 2016.

Tens of thousands of people have died and more than four million people have been driven from their homes, while millions of others are suffering from hunger in a humanitarian crisis expected to worsen as the lean season sets in.

The UN and international rights groups have on numerous occasions accused both Machar’s loyalists and government troops of committing atrocities during their military operations.

Source: Presstv