News

30, December 2016

US: Obama under pressure to prove Russian hacking ⁰

The outgoing administration of US President Barack Obama is under extreme pressure to release evidence confirming allegations of cyber attacks by Russia to influence the presidential election before leaving office.

The Obama administration has only provided little documentation to support its official assessment in October that Moscow was attempting to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. The White House has also failed to confirm subsequent leaks from anonymous officials contending that the CIA believes Moscow’s interference was an attempt by Russian President Vladimir Putin to help President-elect Donald Trump defeat Hillary Clinton.

Obama has ordered the intelligence community to conduct a full review of alleged hacking by the Russians before he leaves office on January 20. The White House has said it will make as much of the report public as it can. But officials have warned that the document will contain “highly sensitive and classified information” and it is unclear how much evidence it will be able to release.

Trump has rejected assertions that the Russian government was involved in the hacks on the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, which published the stolen emails, has denied that the Russian government provided the files. The US claim has also been rejected by Moscow.

On Thursday, Obama ordered a series of economic sanctions against Russia, as well as expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats over hacking allegations. “I have ordered a number of actions in response to the Russian government’s aggressive harassment of US officials and cyber operations aimed at the US election,” Obama said in a statement.

According to statements from the White House and the Treasury Department, the sanctions target Russia’s FSB and GRU intelligence agencies, four individual GRU officers, and three companies who allegedly provided support to the GRU, and two Russian individuals for using cyberattacks to cause misappropriation of funds and personal identifying information.

Presstv

29, December 2016

Boko Haram militants surrender in Niger ⁰

Dozens of militants with the Takfiri Boko Haram terrorist group have surrendered to Nigerien authorities, less than a week after Nigeria announced that its troops captured the group’s last key bastion in the country’s northeast.

“Thirty one young people from Diffa, who were enrolled a few years ago in Boko Haram, decided to surrender,” Nigerien Interior Minister Bazoum Mohamed said. The troubled Diffa region, located in the southeasternmost part of Niger, borders Nigeria’s volatile Borno State, where Boko Haram hides in the dense Sambisa Forest.

One of the deserters appeared on a Nigerien public television program and recounted why they had decided to give themselves up to local authorities. “We have deserted Boko Haram because we found that what the organization stands for is not acceptable. We expect a pardon from the government so that we can participate in the development of the country and help us get rid of the trauma,” he said.

The Nigerien government has reportedly assured that it will grant an amnesty for all the deserters providing that they undergo a de-radicalization program, after which they will be enrolled in socio-economic reintegration projects.

Back in June, tens of thousands of people were forced to abandon their homes in Diffa as Boko Haram terrorists launched a sweeping offensive across the region, and in September, at least five Nigerien troopers were killed by the terror group near the village of Toumour, about 65 kilometers northeast of Diffa.

Niger has been one of the countries affected by the more than seven years of Boko Haram militancy in Nigeria. The Takfiri terrorist group has routinely launched attacks across Nigerian borders into Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

Presstv

28, December 2016

Minister Fame Ndongo to Anglophone teachers: Anglophone and francophone subsystems are condemned to coexist so long as Biya is Head of State ²

The Cameroonian government was on Tuesday, December 27, at the negotiating table with the leaders of the Anglophone teachers trade unions. The Bamenda meeting was a complete and total failure and the unions have announced a continuation of the strike. The interministerial committee set up by Prime Minister Philemon Yang accused the trade unionists of “extremism”. The Francophone government delegation criticized the unions for making claims that had no connection with education.

The three Francophone ministers responsible for Basic Education, Secondary Education and Higher Education presented an empty government plan to the Anglophone teachers which included the recruitment in progress of high school teachers for deployment in order to fill the deficit observed in Southern Cameroons.

After three hours of very intensive dialogue at the governor’s office in Bamenda, the Anglophone trade unionists of the North-West stated that trade unionists of the South West should and must be included in the talks. The North West leaders also demanded the release of all protesters arrested in Southern Cameroons. For the government, such claims “have no connection with education”. The government, which wished to work with all the stakeholders, called the demands of the English-speaking trade unionists “manipulation”.

The Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo government says it has taken the failures of these negotiations seriously and will use all means possible for the normal resumption of the schools in the North West and South West regions. The anti Anglophone minister of higher education boasted that so long as Biya is in power and they Francophones are the majority, the Anglophone and francophone subsystems are condemned to coexist in Cameroon. The Francophone authorities have promised to severely crush the Anglophone teachers trade unions for making demands that are unrelated to education.

By Rita Akana

28, December 2016

Anglophone Nationalism: Barrister Eyambe says “hidden plans are at work” ¹²

I am minded to give you a synopsis of what has transpired since the setting up of this ad hoc committee by the Prime Minister. You all know those who were named in the committee and how myself and Balla were left out. On the 24th I received a call from an attaché in the prime minister’s office informing me of our inclusion in the list. I considered it a non event. Because of the teachers meeting in Bamenda on the 27th a consortium meeting was summoned for the 26th. I left my family on Christmas day traveled to Buea and met Balla and we both left for Bamenda at 8.30 pm. We arrived Bamenda at 5pm. We had a heated meeting that lasted almost 8 hrs. It was in the said meeting that the consortium agreed that we should attend the ad hoc committee meetings in Bamenda and Yaounde but with guidelines. We were to table a preliminary objection on certain issues and stage a walk out.

Gentlemen you all saw the communique. We were asked by the teachers to be part of an enlarged meeting with the teachers who had some issues to sought out. Because the meeting rose late the communique of the consortium could not be ready that same day. We had to travel to Yaounde early morning at 3 am. The ad hoc meeting started late because we arrived late and those who were there informed the minister that the meeting cannot start without I and Balla. When the meeting commenced we raised the PO agreed on by the consortium orally because we could not have the written resolution of the consortium. All common law lawyers spoke on the PO like one man. We told the minister the meeting can not continue until the composition of the committee is adjusted to our satisfaction, the children who are under arrest release unconditionally, the ban on Mela, Fakla and Nowela uplifted and many others. The meeting rose for a break because the minister wanted to make some consultations. We could not stage a walk out as planned because the government was bending towards our pressure. We were in contact with the other members of the consortium with regards to the situation.

Upon resumption the minister said the government was ready to give us our demands except federation. Meanwhile we were presented with an agenda which we amended to be able to raise the PO. The minister kept insisting on going ahead with the agenda. I am the one who kept on hammering the fact that in our Anglo Saxon tradition once a point is raised, the threshold issues must be ascertained before we can move forward. I move for the meeting to be adjourned to a further date until when this issues had been resolved.

Gentlemen the minister got upset and asked me not to speak again until the end. Pressure now came from the others. The minister excused himself for 20 mins. Upon return he conceded to my motion but pleaded that we adjourn to this morning. As I post there are words that the children arrested and taken to Yaounde are being released. When we resume today, we have our next plan of action which I can not post here for security reasons. Gentlemen I took this pains to give you these details because I want you to trust and believe in your leaders. The strike continues and there are no plans to call it off despite the fact that the government seems to be playing into our game. We shall soon get on the negotiations table where the topic will be FEDERALISM.

Aluta Continua.barrister Eyambe MELA

27, December 2016

Anglophone teachers strike to continue as Bamenda meeting enters deadlock ⁰

The consortium of Anglophone teachers trade union have demanded the inclusion of South West representatives in the dialogue and the released of all detainees before any talks could go ahead. The presence of the anti Anglophone Minister Fame Ndongo reportedly made the situation in Bamenda more intractable. The teachers have made it clear that the strike will continue until a return to the 1961 federal structure.

This story is still developing

27, December 2016

Anti Anglophone Minister in Bamenda for talks ⁰

The members of the Francophone interministerial committee responsible for dialogue with Southern Cameroon teachers are presently in Bamenda for the resumption of the so-called dialogue scheduled for Tuesday, December 27, 2016.

They include the Minister of Higher Education Jacque Fame Ndongo- noted for his anti Anglophone stance and Ministers of Secondary Education and Basic Education. They are led by a certain Paul Ghogomu, who some French speaking media outlets have revealed is the Director of Civil Cabinet at the Prime Minister’s office.

The union of Southern Cameroon teachers has already warned that it will not back down if its main demands are not taken into account. Among these demands initially linked to the improvement of the conditions of teachers has been grafted the return to the 1961 federal status.

The Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime has made it public that federalism is not on the agenda. The regime’s controversial Minister of Communication and spokesman reiterated recently that Cameroon is “ONE and INDISIVIBLE”. Our cream of reporters in the North West region have all opined that there are no signs of an exit from the crisis.

On the ground in Bamenda, where the resumption of dialogue is set to begin, the Yaounde regime has ordered the reinforcement of security for fear of any overflows.

By Sama Ernest

27, December 2016

Fear of Nso Warriors: Bamenda is officially a Militarized No-Fly Zone ³

Less than three weeks after French speaking soldiers were deployed to the North West regional capital of Bamenda to “subdue” the riots, the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime has today the 27^th of December 2016 militarized the entire region. Cameroon Concord News can now confirm that large numbers of troops from Yaounde and Douala have taken over the entire city of Bamenda.

Our North West political correspondent reported that police and military personnel including members of the French speaking elite force known as BIR are now monitoring sensitive areas in Bamenda. The roads leading to the localities of Jakiri and Nkambe are closed to traffic. A source at the governor’s office hinted that they will be open again at 6pm.

The youth of Jakiri and Nkambe have launched a movement to prevent the holding of today’s meeting with the Anglophone teachers. The freedom fighters are demanding the release of all those arrested during the riots.

We understand this special deployment of law enforcement is therefore intended to allow the first meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee to examine and propose solutions to the demands of Anglophone teachers slated for Tuesday 27 December 2016. The working session is going to mark the revival of dialogue between government and the striking Anglophone teachers.

By Rita Akana with files from CIN

27, December 2016

Ntumfor Barrister Halle Nico snubs Yang Philemon’s ad hoc Committee ⁰

The Peace Crusader who doubles as president of the general assembly of the Cameroon Bar Association has announced that he will not participate in the committee created to examine and propose solutions to the grievances of Southern Cameroons lawyers.

Barrister Halle Nico is reportedly surprised that the presidents of the Fako and Meme Lawyers Association who championed the strike action are not on the Committee thereby giving the impression that it is a North West and not an Anglophone problem.

The legal luminary is also requesting that the seat of the Committee should be Buea or Bamenda and not Yaoundé. The senior Barrister has also questioned why the Chairperson of the Committee is a francophone who cannot articulate the common law.

Ntumfor Barrister Nico Halle observed that he has already informed the Prime Minister about his decision not to sit on the Committee which is supposed to meet in Yaoundé today December the 27^th 2016.

26, December 2016

2 killed, 5 injured on Christmas Day shootings in New York ⁰

At least two people have been killed and five injured as a result of two shootings in New York City on Christmas Day. In a mass shooting that took place on Sunday morning, a gunman opened fire on people inside the Mansion nightclub in Mount Vernon, killing two and injuring four. Police said O’Neal Bandoo, the club’s owner, was killed during the attack. The name of the second person who died in the shooting was not revealed.

The victims were found in the lobby and on the street outside the club, a sign that the shooter had chased them. The suspect managed to flee the scene, police said, describing him as a Bronx resident with a pending attempted murder case. According to eyewitnesses, around 200 people were inside the club when the shooting broke out.

In another incident on Christmas Day, rapper Roland Collins, aka Troy Ave, survived a shooting in Brooklyn, police said. The 34-year-old performer was sitting in his car at a red light when a gunman approached him and shot him twice. The bullets grazed Collins’ head and injured his arm, police said, adding that the rapper was rushed to a nearby hospital.

Accused of an attempted murder, Collins himself was out on a $500,000 bail following a May shootout at a concert that left a member of his entourage dead. The weekend leading to Christmas has seen similar mass shootings in other major American cities. In Chicago, for example, police said Sunday that 27 people were shot in a 48-hour period, seven of them fatally.

Four more people were killed in Wilson, North Carolina, after a shooting on New Year’s Eve, according to police. Statistics by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that firearms kill more than 33,000 people in the US every year, a number that includes accidental discharges, murders and suicides.

Presstv

26, December 2016

Bamenda: 49 year old man killed in Christmas Day road tragedy ⁰

One person, AGWE Solomon AFI, 49, has died and several others injured in a road accident around Finance Junction, North West regional capital Bamenda. A 70 Seater bus matriculated NW 470 AV belonging to the Moghamo travel agency which left Douala 10 Pm Saturday to Bamenda, upon descending the Finance Junction around 5am missed tract, somersaulted and landed beside the road few meters to Sand Bank.

The tires of the bus were hanging vertically facing the road, the windscreens shattered. Passengers only succeeded to escape through broken windows. As rescue team from the Bamenda Army rescue unit arrived, a certain AGWE Solomon was discovered dead on the spot, dozens of others were injured. Others who were trapped in the bus were finally taken out by rescuers after tedious exercise.

Survivors told reporters that the driver of the vehicle seemed tired and worn and had made several attempts to throw them in the bush. The injured victims were taken to the Bamenda regional hospital for prompt medical attention and the deceased victim taken to the mortuary.

Cameroun Info.net