News

18, August 2023

Cash-strapped Biya regime suspends work contracts, says foreign workers must leave ⁰

Officials in Cameroon suspended the work contracts of several thousand foreign workers, including Africans, Chinese and Europeans, and ordered them to obtain work permits and pay taxes within a month or leave the country.

The Cameroon government said that only about 100 of more than 2,000 foreign workers from China, Nigeria, the Central African Republic and Chad are authorized to work in gold mines and export timber near Cameroon’s eastern border with the Central African Republic.

More than 10,500 of an estimated 11,000 foreign workers in the central African nation do not have work permits, government officials said.

Issa Tchiroma Bakary, Cameroon’s employment minister, said a majority of foreign workers are acting in bad faith. By not paying taxes, foreign workers have deprived Cameroon of more than $25 million since January, he said.

Bakary said that this week government officials in Cameroon’s 360 districts were ordered to make sure foreign workers obtain work permits and pay taxes or leave within 30 days.

Cameroon’s employment ministry said that a relaunch of construction, mining and exploration for gas and oil has caused an influx of Chinese and European engineers.

The government said several thousand foreign workers in northern and eastern gold mines and forests deceived Cameroon consular officers to receive tourist visas.

The government said it cannot afford to allow more than 10,000 illegal foreign workers in Cameroon when more than 70% of its 27 million citizens either lack jobs or are underemployed.

Florent Djounou, who owns a wood company that employs 30 Chinese and eight Europeans, spoke on behalf of foreign workers at a meeting with Cameroon’s employment minister in Batouri, near Cameroon’s border with the Central African Republic.

He said that foreign workers understand they should respect Cameroon’s laws before carrying out economic activity, but that they were surprised when at least 1,000 contracts were suspended even before the Cameroon government publicly asked foreign workers to obtain permits.

European and Chinese workers often are able to obtain work permits, Djounou said, but Africans, especially those displaced by conflicts in their own countries, may not have the financial means to pay for their permits.

Prices of timber and wood have risen 15% because huge quantities of wood cannot leave eastern forests where the government has put a stop to activities of foreign workers, he said.

Bakary said foreign laborers will be allowed to work freely when they obtain their permits.

The employment of foreign workers is subject to special procedures in Cameroon. Potential workers are obliged to declare their wages and allowances, including transportation and accommodation, which are used to determine how much is paid to obtain a visa.

A 2022 law institutes a fee equivalent of two months’ wages for non-African workers and one month’s wages for African workers before work permits are issued. The law went into effect this year.

Source: VOA

17, August 2023

French Cameroun: 11-month-old baby dies of hunger with mum in custody ⁰

Caroline Ngum ‘s 11 -month-old baby has been buried in their family residence in Penja-Moungo division in the Littoral region of Cameroon under the watch of his heart broken mother.

Caroline Ngum, who reportedly lost her baby while on detention at the Penja police district disclosed she was denied the opportunity to breastfeed her baby by Police officers:

“I received a convocation for the police district which I responded to. I was heard but told I will stay longer…I told them I am a nursing mother as my family brought the baby to feed. After that, they sent away my family. I was detained for two days and my baby did not feed within these two days. Now the baby is gone.”

Off Camera, the commissioner of the police unit said they were not informed Caroline had a baby. The aggrieved mother was called up detained following accusations of theft and breach of trust “I know I am owing my in-law F CFA 270,000 that is why they called me at the police station. I know”

Caroline has returned home to mourn her baby with no details on how the case with her in-law ended.

Source: Cameroon News Agency

17, August 2023

Former French president Sarkozy calls for ‘compromise’ with Russia ⁰

France’s former president Nicolas Sarkozy has stirred outrage in Kyiv and Paris by suggesting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could be ended with new referendums in occupied territories.

“The Ukrainians… will want to reconquer what has been unjustly taken from them. But if they can’t manage it completely, the choice will be between a frozen conflict… or taking the high road out with referendums strictly overseen by the international community,” Sarkozy told conservative newspaper Le Figaro on Wednesday.

Speaking particularly about the Crimean peninsula, which Russia claimed to have annexed in 2014, the former French leader said that “any return to the way things were before is an illusion”.

“An incontestable referendum… will be needed to solidify the current state of affairs,” he added.

The ex-president insisted that Russian leader Vladimir Putin was “not irrational” and could be reached with the right kind of diplomacy from Europe, harking back to Moscow’s 2008 invasion of Georgia when Sarkozy said he “convinced (Putin) to withdraw his tanks”.

“Russia is Europe’s neighbour and will remain so,” he said. “Diplomacy, discussion and talks remain the only way to find an acceptable solution. Nothing is possible without compromise.”

Sarkozy added that Ukraine should remain “neutral” and had no place in the EU or NATO.

The remarks drew an immediate response from Kyiv, with Mykhailo Podolyak — a senior aide to President Volodymyr Zelensky — saying they were based on “criminal logic”.

“You cannot trade other people’s territories because you are afraid of someone or because you are friends with criminals,” Podolyak added.

While in office, Sarkozy had “deliberately participated in a criminal conspiracy for Russia’s seizure of Ukrainian territories,” he charged.

The ex-president — who has spent much of his time since leaving office battling a slew of legal cases — was also attacked at home in France.

Sarkozy “should be considered a Russian influencer,” said Julien Bayou, a senior Green Party MP, telling broadcaster LCI the interview was “lunatic” and “shocking”.

Bayou recalled an ongoing investigation into Sarkozy’s lucrative ties to a Russian insurance company on suspicion of influence peddling and concealing crimes.

Sarkozy’s former intelligence advisor Jerome Poirot told LCI that the ex-president’s words were “shameful”.

“He has no perspective on what’s happened or on what he did” during his 2007-2012 term, Poirot said, recalling that Sarkozy was one of the key voices against Georgia and Ukraine joining NATO in 2008 — which did not prevent Russia’s later invasions of both countries.

“What were President Sarkozy’s red lines? What was his vision for France’s security? Just giving in to whatever Vladimir Putin wanted?” he asked.

Source: AFP

16, August 2023

Coup crisis is deepening Niger food insecurity, UN says ⁰

The United Nations warned Wednesday that the ongoing crisis in Niger could significantly worsen food insecurity in the impoverished country, urging humanitarian exemptions to sanctions and border closures to avert catastrophe.

The UN humanitarian agency OCHA highlighted that even before Niger’s democratically elected president Mohamed Bazoum was toppled in a coup late last month, the country counted more than three million acutely food-insecure people.

More than seven million others, who are currently considered to be moderately food-insecure, “could see their situation worsen due to the unfolding crisis”, it warned, citing a preliminary analysis from the World Food Programme.

“We urge all parties to facilitate humanitarian exemptions, enabling immediate access to people in need of critical food and basic necessities,” Margot van der Velden, WFP’s acting regional director for Western Africa, said in a statement.

She also called for more financial support, warning the worsening humanitarian situation in Niger is coming at a time when WFP is being forced to cut rations globally due to lacking funds.

Source: France 24

15, August 2023

Olusegun Obasanjo heading to Yaoundé with Bakassi transfer on his agenda ⁰

Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo is expected in Yaoundé for the celebrations of the 15th anniversary of the transfer of the Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon by Nigeria. The arrival is announced in a letter sent on July 31 by Felix Mbayu, Minister Delegate to the Minister of External Relations, to Paul Atanga Nji, Minister of Territorial Administration. “I am pleased to inform you that the eve of the celebration of the 15th anniversary of the transfer of the Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon by Nigeria (…) will be marked by the presence of the former Nigerian Head of State, Olusegun Obasanjo, as a guest of honor of the Head of State Paul Biya…,” wrote Felix Mbayu.

The letter provides no further details on this forthcoming event. The subject of the letter is an incident involving Nigerian fishermen. According to the letter, on July 25 the Mouanko subdivisional officer, Roland Ngah Koa, temporarily suspended the Nigerian community of Mbiako from all fishing activities on the grounds that they boycotted the preparations for the 51st National Day (May 20, 2023).

For Felix Mbayu, this decision is likely to disrupt the celebrations marking the 15th anniversary of the transfer. According to Mbayu, the decision “is bound to give rise to speculation as to the treatment reserved for the Nigerian community living in Cameroon.” He, therefore, asked the Minister of Territorial Administration to take steps to “preserve social cohesion and harmony in this administrative unit“.

The Nigerian army left the Bakassi peninsula in the South-West region on August 14, 2008. This followed a judicial marathon that culminated in October 2002 with the International Court of Justice’s decision to recognize Cameroon’s sovereignty over this oil-rich part of the territory. The shared management of Bakassi -home to many Nigerians- came to an end on August 14, 2013, and the Greentree agreements were implemented with Cameroon becoming the sole authority in that peninsula. Olusegun Obasanjo, President of Nigeria from May 29, 1999, to May 29, 2007, greatly contributed to the peaceful resolution of this dispute.

Source: Stopblablacam

15, August 2023

West Africa military chiefs to discuss Niger crisis this week ⁰

Military chiefs from the West African bloc ECOWAS will meet in Ghana this week to discuss a possible intervention in Niger, a spokesperson for the regional group has confirmed.

The meeting on Thursday and Friday – originally scheduled for last weekend but then postponed – comes after ECOWAS leaders last week approved deployment of a “standby force to restore constitutional order” in Niger, whose president was toppled on July 26.

Their summit, held in the Nigerian capital Abuja last Thursday, also reaffirmed the bloc’s preference for a diplomatic outcome.

Source: France 24

11, August 2023

With Niger war imminent: Rescue ship saves 600 migrants in Mediterranean ⁰

Rescue ship Ocean Viking has saved more than 600 migrants adrift in the Mediterranean over the last two days, the organisation that runs it, SOS Mediterranee, said on Friday.

The rescues took place southwest of Lampedusa, in the waters between the Italian island and Tunisia, the organisation said.

An earlier statement referred to more than 500 people rescued in 11 separate rescue operations.

But a spokeswoman for SOS Mediterranee told AFP Friday evening: “So far, we have rescued 623 migrants since Thursday morning in 15 rescues.”

Among those rescued were 146 unaccompanied minors, five accompanied minors, and two pregnant women, said the organisation, which is based in Marseille, on the French Mediterranean.

Some of those rescued were to be taken to Lampedusa and others to the port of Civitavecchia, northwest of Rome, the group added.

Most of those rescued were from Sudan, which has been caught up in a war between rival generals for the past four months. Others were from Guinea, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Benin and Bangladesh.

The Ocean Viking crew were helped on board the vessel by teams from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said the earlier SOS Mediterranee statement.

The vessel was alerted Thursday by the Italian emergency services and given the coordinates of vessels in distress southwest of Lampedusa, the NGO said.

The central Mediterranean Sea is the most perilous maritime crossing in the world for the migrants.

At least 1,848 people have died so far this year attempting the Central Mediterranean route from North Africa to Italy and Malta, according to the United Nations migration agency, the International Organization for Migration.

That is significantly higher than its figure for the whole of 2022, which was 1,417.

In June, one sinking alone in the western Mediterranean cost the lives of at least 82 people, one of the deadliest incidents involving migrants in the area.

In July, the Italian authorities detained the Ocean Viking for 10 days at Civitavecchia, after questioning the vessel’s safety standards before finally releasing it.

Source: AFP

10, August 2023

US: Man who threatened Biden shot dead in FBI raid in Utah ⁰

A man who posted violent threats against President Joe Biden and other officials online was shot dead during an FBI raid on Wednesday.

Agents were attempting to serve an arrest warrant on Craig Robertson at his home in Utah, just hours ahead of a planned visit to the state by Mr Biden.

A criminal complaint said Robertson posted threats on Facebook against Mr Biden and a prosecutor pursuing criminal charges against Donald Trump.

The FBI declined to give more details.

The raid happened at about 06:15 local time in Provo, about 40 miles (65 km) south of Salt Lake City.

A criminal complaint outlined messages that Robertson made on Facebook including pictures of guns and threats to kill Mr Biden and Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney leading an investigation into a hush-money payment by Mr Trump to an adult film star.

According to the complaint, other messages targeted US Attorney General Merrick Garland and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Robertson posted on Facebook: “I hear Biden is coming to Utah. Digging out my old ghillie suit and cleaning the dust off the M24 sniper rifle.”

It was just one of dozens of violent messages and photos of weapons posted on two of Robertson’s Facebook accounts.

The complaint said Robertson came to the attention of federal agents in March after he posted a threat against Mr Bragg on Truth Social, the social network owned by Mr Trump. The company alerted the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center.

FBI agents then visited the suspect, who told them that the post was a “dream” and ended the conversation by saying: “We’re done here! Don’t return without a warrant!”

Later posts by Robertson referenced his encounter with the agents, showed him in camouflage used by snipers, and repeatedly threatened public officials.

The messages continued as late as Tuesday, when he posted: “Perhaps Utah will become famous this week as the place a sniper took out Biden the Marxist.”

Mr Biden will make his first visit to Utah as president on Thursday, with a visit to a veterans’ hospital and a fundraising event in Park City.

Source: BBC

10, August 2023

Martinez Zogo-Amougou Belinga Affair: Are interrogations going wrong? ⁰

Jean Pierre Amougou Belinga was on Wednesday August 9, 2023 auditioned at the Yaoundé Military Court. The process which began in the early hours lasted till 5:00pm when Jean Pierre Amougou Belinga was taken back to his new home inside the Kondengui Maximum Security Prison.

This came barely days after Reporters Without Borders published new revelations on the Martinez Zogo case – one indicting Amougou as master of the show.

While at the Yaoundé Military Court, Magistrate Aimeé Florence Sikati tried bringing out the truth from Belinga surrounding the kidnapping, torture and murder of Martinez Zogo.

Several other persons were also questioned including Zogo’s wife and some journalists.

Meantime, Zogo’s family has expressed dissatisfaction with the way the case is being handled.

“We are unsatisfied with the way the case is being handled. It is completely slow and we are not in contact with the Judge. We don’t also have any information on how the case is going. What we have noted is that some elements in the case file have disappeared. How come? Do they want to kill the case as they normally do? It hurts a lot. We want that the case accelerates and justice be served to our brother. Those incriminated should be heavily punished for the gruesome killing of Martinez,” Zogo’s sister, Nadege Essala Mbani said firmly.

It should be recalled, it was on March 14, 2023 that Amougou Belinga and others, suspected of orchestrating and executing Martinez Zogo were kept in temporary detention and no verdict has been passed till date.

Culled from Cameroon News Agency with additional editing

9, August 2023

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Funeral held for 5 divisional delegates killed in Ndian ⁰

Cameroon held a funeral in Limbe for the five divisional delegates killed by gunmen in June 2021 in Ndian Division. Mourners paid their respects to the five victims at the Centenary Stadium.

The sight of their coffins, dotted with flowers and lined in front of mourners, drew tears from family members, locals and officials.

No one has claimed responsibility for the killings but authorities say the five were murdered by members of a Southern Cameroons Self Defense group known as Expendables 100.

Last year, a source at the SDO’s office in Mundemba hinted Cameroon Intelligence Report that it suspected the attackers had links to the Atanga Nji Boys, an offshoot of the Cameroon government military which is waging a war against Ambazonia fighters.

Some family members accused Cameroon government authorities of making empty promises to find the killers.

Yaoundé maintains that a former fighter who witnessed the gruesome murder took the military to the unmarked grave.

By Rita Akana in Limbe