Saudi Arabia has signed preliminary agreements to buy S-400 air defense systems and receive “cutting-edge technologies” from Russia as King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is on an official trip to Moscow as the first Saudi monarch to visit the European country.

Under agreements signed with Russian state-owned arms exporter Rosoboronexport, Saudi Arabia is set to procure the anti-aircraft weapon system, the Kornet-EM anti-tank guided missile system, 220mm 24-barrel TOS-1A multiple rocket launcher as well as AGS-30 Atlant automatic grenade launcher, the state-owned Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) said in a statement on Thursday.

SAMI, however, did not provide any information about the number of the systems or the value of the deal.

These contracts are “expected to play a pivotal role in the growth and development of the military and military systems industry in Saudi Arabia,” the statement read.

The Saudi Arabian Military Industries further noted that the memoranda of understanding also “include the transfer of technology for the local production” of the aforementioned military systems.

“In addition, the parties will cooperate in setting a plan to localize the manufacturing and sustainment of parts of the S-400 air defense system,” SAMI said.

 

Saudi and Russian military officials also agreed on the production of AK-103 automatic assault rifles and its ammunition in Saudi Arabia besides educational and training programs for Saudi nationals.

“These agreements are expected to have tangible economic contributions and create hundreds of direct jobs. They will also transfer cutting-edge technologies that will act as a catalyst for localizing 50 percent of the Kingdom’s military spending,” SAMI said.

A number of other deals have been signed during King Salman’s four-day visit to Russia, which started on Wednesday.

There are reports that Saudi Arabian national petroleum and natural gas company, Saudi Aramco, is discussing several investment opportunities with Russian producers of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

 

“LNG is one of the areas where we are looking for partners in Russia,” Amin H. Nasser, president and chief executive officer of Saudi Aramco, told reporters in Moscow on Thursday.

Nasser noted that there are no current plans to take a stake in the Novatek LNG project, known as Arctic LNG-2. Novatek is Russia’s largest independent natural gas producer.

“We are not discussing this at this stage. We are looking at opportunities for working together with the different companies. But what you mention in particular – nothing from Saudi Aramco,” he said.

Source: Presstv

In a statement issued on October 4, 2017, The British Minister of African Affairs Rory Stewart has stressed that the UK is “deeply concerned” about the various reports of deaths and violence recorded in Southern Cameroons. He appealed to the Biya government and the leadership of the Southern Cameroons Ambazonia Governing Council to restrained.

“We invite both parties to create an atmosphere of trust, avoid provocative acts, to the forces of order to respect human rights and to act in order to ensure the protection of men and their property “Says Rory Steward.

The British Government called on the Governing Council and the Government of Cameroon to reject acts of violence, to dialogue and to take urgent action to find solutions to the demands raised by Southern Cameroonians.

The reaction of the British Government comes after that of the Trump administration. Washington said on Wednesday that “the use of force by the Cameroonian government to restrict freedom of expression and the peaceful assembly and the violence of the demonstrators are unacceptable “. The White House urged the Government of Cameroon to respect human rights and freedom of expression, including access to the Internet.

Chi Prudence Asong, CCN

The death toll from the ongoing unrest in Cameroon’s English-speaking region has risen to 17, as the government tries to quell a separatist movement, a rights group said. Security forces opened fire on Sunday on protesters calling for the independence of the region of about eight million people.

“In order to avoid further bloodshed, the security forces must cease unnecessary and excessive use of force, and protesters should be peaceful if they want to make their voices heard. The government should investigate these killings,” Ilaria Allegrozzi, Amnesty International’s Lake Chad region researcher, said in a statement on Monday.

Internet was blocked in the region for the third day on Tuesday – the second time in less than a year. Earlier this year, the internet was blocked for three months following similar unrest. Electricity was also cut in the area.

“The reported unlawful killing of several people in the Anglophone regions by the security forces coupled with the blocks on Facebook and WhatsApp represent an extremely worrying escalation of the government’s ongoing campaign to silence any form of dissent in the West and South-West regions of Cameroon,” Allegrozzi said.

Analysts have called on the United Nations and the regional bloc, ECOWAS, to intervene in the crisis. “We have seen a government that is not responsive to the demands of the Anglophone,” Hans de Marie Heungoup, Cameroon analyst at International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera on Monday.

“There is a need to strengthen and better coordinate the response of the international community since the beginning of this crisis in October 2016. It is time for the international community to act in a very strong way to avoid irreversible deterioration of the situation on the ground,” Heungoup said.

Late on Monday, the UN urged Yaounde to investigate the death of protesters and to show restraint. “The Secretary-General takes note of the calls by the authorities for dialogue and encourages representatives of the Anglophone community to seize the opportunity in their quest for solutions to the community’s grievances,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary-general said.

But some Cameroonians said a government-led dialogue would not solve the unrest in the region.

“The government cannot mediate on this crisis when they are the first people responsible for this escalation. They cannot mediate on the crisis they caused,”  Albert Nchinda, a Cameroonian political blogger, told Al Jazeera.

President Paul Biya, who has been in power for 35 years, condemned the latest unrest and called for calm. “It is not forbidden to voice any concerns in the Republic. However, nothing great can be achieved by using verbal excesses, street violence, and defying authority,” Biya wrote Sunday on his official Facebook.

Cameroon’s English-speaking minority say they are being marginalised by the French-speaking majority. Dissent in the two Anglophone regions – the northwest and southwest parts of the country – has been growing over the past year, with protests taking place intermittently.

Culled from Al Jazeera

As Nigeria celebrated her 57th Independence Day on Sunday Oct. 1, her eastern neighbour Cameroon for the first time in over 30 years also officially marked her 56th year of reunification. However, Cameroonians were deeply divided over the Oct.1 anniversary as the internet was disrupted again in the English-speaking regions and security officials opened fire on Anglophone protesters killing as many as 15 people according to reports.

The killings come after renewed massive resistance against perceived marginalization of English-speaking Cameroon by the majority Francophone-led government.

The crisis stems from the country’s colonial history which created modern Cameroon in an agreement between colonial rulers Britain and France. Former British Cameroons (Southern Cameroons) got its independence on Oct. 1, 1961 by joining already independent (Jan. 1, 1960) La Republique du Cameroun to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. There were two states—West and East Cameroons—operating under the federal system of government which were later fused on May 20, 1972 to form the United Republic of Cameroon.

But over time, citizens of the country’s English-speaking regions, which account for around 20% of the population, have complained to feeling frustrated in the union as they complain of cultural, economic, social and political deprivation.

The long-lingering crisis took a turn for the worst last week when agitators operating under the aegis of the Southern Cameroons Ambazonia Governing Council called for public demonstrations. The mass protests were scheduled to culminate in celebrations on Oct. 1, the day activists had hoped to declare the independence of Southern Cameroons/Ambazonia, a country they clamour to create.

Following up on clashes on Sep. 22, protesters again poured out on the streets on Oct. 1 in villages and towns across the North West and South West regions. Their attempts to hoist blue-white flags of Southern Cameroons/Ambazonia as a sign of independence was met with stiff resistance by armed forces who have been deployed to the troubled regions.

Amnesty International confirmed up to 17 people being kill by security forces during protests in some of Cameroon’s Anglophone towns. International and local media reports said security forces opened fire on protesters in Bamenda, Buea and several other towns. The killings took place despite a call for restraint made by the UN secretary general.

President Paul Biya, who has been in power for 35 years, has yet to return to the country after taking part in the 72nd UN General Assembly in New York last month. He condemned “all acts of violence, regardless of their source and their perpetrators.”

While the troubled regions faced a ban of gatherings of more than four people, restriction of movement and another internet shutdown, demonstrations were organized in other parts of the country to call for unity.

Demonstrators carry banners as they take part in a march voicing their opposition to independence or more autonomy for the Anglophone regions, in Douala.

In the capital city Yaoundé, members of parliament gathered at the Reunification Monument to drum up calls for unity and peaceful coexistence. The celebration which is the first of its kind was largely boycotted by Anglophone opposition MPs.

In Douala, like in Yaoundé, members of the ruling Cameroon’s People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) organized street matches calling for a united Cameroon. The regional organ of the opposition Social Democratic Front party in the economic capital Douala condemned the CPDM outing. The party voiced concerns over the “discriminatory attitude of administrative authorities.”

Source: Quartz Media