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18,000 Southern Cameroons refugees undergo UN verification in Nigeria

6, July 2023

18,000 Southern Cameroons refugees undergo UN verification in Nigeria 0

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees, (UNHCR) has began verification of 18,000 Cameroonian refugees in Calabar, Cross River capital.

The refugees who are camped in different locations in Cross River were asked to come with their fact sheets and other relevant documents to be verified as registered refugees.

According to UNHCR, the verification is to improve its data on the economic capacities within the population, identify persons with specific needs and extremely vulnerable persons, It also targets them for life-saving interventions, including food assistance, non-food items and livelihood support.

Speaking to journalists on Wednesday in Calabar, Udama Stephen, a Psychiatric Nurse, working with Red Cross Society, noted that the refugees were in Calabar to renew their identity cards which were issued by UNHCR as a source of identification.

Stephen said that the data the organization had showed that about 18,000 refugees from Cameroon would partake in the exercise and as they brought their cards, they would be treated free of charge.

“What we do here is also basically primary healthcare, we deal with common sicknesses like malaria, typhoid, ulcer, cold, body pains and so on but if it is beyond primary level we refer them to a more complex health facility.

“Some of them are sick because they lack access to healthcare, some are physically challenged and majority of them don’t have jobs, so the duty of UNHCR is to take care of their basic needs which includes their health need.

“Others include their nutrition, financial support and empowerment for the less privilege, basically for Cameroonian refugees in Cross River,” he added.

Similarly, an official of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) who preferred to be anonymous, said the officers were present in the verification centre to provide security.

He also noted that they were also ensuring that people who partake in the exercise were truly Cameroonians.

On his part, one of the refugees, 35 year old Tamfu Theodoni, from North-West Cameroon narrated his ordeal and why he decided to flee to Nigeria.

“I was a University Campus Driver but had to flee to Nigeria after my cousin who was also a driver was shot in the head by Cameroonian soldiers.

“I fled to Nigeria to find succour, I pray for peace and unity between the francophone and anglophone Cameroonians,” he narrated.

By Engelis Okesack Besong

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Amnesty International says ‘Atrocities’ committed by all sides

5, July 2023

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Amnesty International says ‘Atrocities’ committed by all sides 0

Security forces, separatist rebels and ethnic militiamen have committed “atrocities” in a troubled region in Cameroon, including executions, torture and rape, Amnesty International said on Tuesday.

Its report found new evidence of abuses in the country’s Northwest Region – one of two western regions where anglophone militants declared independence from the majority francophone state in 2017.

Their declaration, which has never been recognised internationally, triggered a crackdown by the government in Yaounde.

The new investigation sheds light on militias in the Northwest Region that are drawn from the Mbororo community — Fulani herders with a long history of conflict with sedentary farmers.

Civilians are “caught between the army, armed separatists and militias,” the report says.

“The Mbororo Fulani populations have been quickly targeted by armed separatists, in part because they are perceived as supporting the authorities in power,” it says.

“As the situation deteriorated, militias mainly composed of Mbororo Fulani, supported or tolerated by the authorities, have committed abuses against the population.”

The report also documents what it says are killings, rape and property destruction by the defence and security forces themselves.

“The government has announced the opening of investigations on human rights violations committed by armed forces’ elements,” it notes.

“However, for many cases, there has been no further information release, raising impunity concerns.

“Moreover, the authorities are attempting to silence human rights defenders, activists, lawyers, and the media speaking out against atrocities. Armed separatists also threaten those exposing their crimes.”

The group said it was concerned that Cameroon’s partners — including Belgium, Britain, Croatia, France, Israel, Russia and Serbia — were continuing to supply arms “which highly risk” being used by the various groups to commit crimes.

The conflict in the Northwest and neighbouring Southwest regions has claimed around 6,000 lives and forced more than a million from their homes, according to an estimate by the International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank.

Amnesty said the report was based on two missions in November 2022 and March 2023 in which its investigators spoke to more than 100 victims of crimes as well as journalists and human rights activists.

Requests to meet government ministers did not receive a reply, it said.

Source: AFP

Southern Cameroonians cannot fight off French Cameroun except through use of force

5, July 2023

Southern Cameroonians cannot fight off French Cameroun except through use of force 0

The Ambazonia Interim Government has asserted that the people of Southern Cameroons could achieve their goals against La Republique du Cameroun only through the use of force, as the regime continues its unabated onslaught on nearly all the rural areas in the entire Southern Cameroons territory.

Professor Carlson Anyangwe told Cameroon Intelligence Report late on Tuesday that all in the Southern Cameroons diaspora should be ready to help Ground Zero win over La Republique du Cameroun regime through use of force.

The renowned Southern Cameroons academic who also moonlights as a key figure in the Southern Cameroons Interim Government told our chief political man Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai that based on assessment by the department of foreign affairs that was put in place by the jailed President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, the people of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia cannot regain their seized rights from the French Cameroun regime in Yaoundé through negotiation.

“Therefore, all Southern Cameroonians in the diaspora should get involved in the liberation process and support any request for assistance from the Vice President of the Ambazonia Interim Government Dabney Yerima,” Professor Anyangwe added.

The Cameroon government military and its proxies have assaulted several villages in Southern Cameroons.

However, in a new report titled “With or Against Us. The population caught between the army, armed separatists and militias in the English-speaking North-West region”, Amnesty International lists “extrajudicial executions”, “torture”, “rape and other sexual violence” perpetrated by both sides. The report is based on the testimony of “more than 100 victims “leaders of local NGOs and journalists.

By Asu Isong

London Bureau Chief

Cameroon Concord News Group

Putin, Xi, Modi welcome Iran as 9th member of Shanghai Cooperation Organization

4, July 2023

Putin, Xi, Modi welcome Iran as 9th member of Shanghai Cooperation Organization 0

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have welcomed Iran’s accession into the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as the ninth full member of the influential security and trade alliance.

Iran gained full-fledged membership of the SCO on Tuesday, during the 23rd virtual summit of the SCO hosted by India, becoming the ninth member of the bloc, which also includes China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran will now participate in our organization in a full-fledged format. I would like to extend congratulations on this occasion to the president of Iran, Mr. Ebrahim Raeisi, and sincere greetings to him,” Putin said during his address to the one-day-long summit.

“In less than two years, our Iranian partners completed all the necessary procedures and now our shared task is to help our colleagues to productively join in the multifaceted activities taking place within the framework of the SCO,” the Russian leader added.

Being a Eurasian political, economic, international security and defense bloc, the SCO boasts to be the world’s largest regional organization in terms of geographic scope and population, grouping around 40 percent of the world population in approximately 60 percent of Eurasia.

Source: Presstv

Douala: Six crew kidnapped from Panama-flagged cargo vessel

3, July 2023

Douala: Six crew kidnapped from Panama-flagged cargo vessel 0

A Panama-flagged general cargo vessel was boarded by criminals last Friday at the Douala anchorage in Cameroon, resulting in six crewmembers being kidnapped, according to maritime security consultancy Ambrey.

The vessel was approximately 0.8 nautical miles offshore at the time and had a 1.84m freeboard. The ship remains in the anchorage.

The waters around the Gulf of Guinea have become a hotspot for piracy in recent years with multiple attacks reported by Splash in the first half of this year.

Source: Splash 247

Sisiku Ayuk Tabe’s continued stay in Kondengui, a sweet lesson of resistance and sacrifice

2, July 2023

Sisiku Ayuk Tabe’s continued stay in Kondengui, a sweet lesson of resistance and sacrifice 0

The Vice President of the Ambazonia Interim Government says President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe’s continued detention in the Kondengui Maximum Security Prison in Yaoundé is teaching every Southern Cameroonian the sweet lesson of resistance, sacrifice and martyrdom.

Dabney Yerima said on Thursday that the occupied Federal Republic of Ambazonia has over the last six years been defending itself against French Cameroun, CEMAC and French aggression and will continue to do so until Southern Cameroonians get to Buea.

“Restoration forces are planning a massive self defense operation beginning October 1 to end the illusion of those who had a fixation about the defeat of Ambazonia” Yerima added.

Vice President Dabney Yerima emphasized that Amba fighters have succeeded in making great progress in the hit-and-run strategy implemented by the Interim Government.

Despite the confusion created by some so-called Southern Cameroons front line leaders in Europe and the US, the Ambazonia Interim Government has managed to turn into a solid power bloc and become the only hope for the marginalized people of Southern Cameroons.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

UN Security Council votes to end Mali peacekeeping mission

30, June 2023

UN Security Council votes to end Mali peacekeeping mission 0

The UN Security Council on Friday ended a decade-old peacekeeping mission in Mali, whose military junta has aligned with Russia and demanded the withdrawal of the international force battling jihadists.

Bowing to the principle that peacekeepers need the consent of the host government, the Security Council voted unanimously to start immediately winding down the mission despite fears by Western powers of new instability in the troubled nation.

The vote came two weeks after Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop stunned the Security Council by calling the UN operation known as Minusma a “failure” and urging its immediate end.

Mali’s relations with the United Nations have deteriorated sharply since a 2020 coup brought to power a military regime which also severed defense cooperation with France, the former colonial power.

The junta instead has rallied behind Russia and brought in the Wagner Group, the ruthless mercenaries involved in a mutiny against President Vladimir Putin last week.

“We deeply regret the transitional government’s decision to abandon Minusma and the harm this will bring to the Malian people,” senior US diplomat Jeffrey DeLaurentis told the Security Council.

But he said that the United States voted for the resolution as it agreed with the logistical timeline for the withdrawal, which is set to be complete by the end of the year.

Russia’s deputy ambassador to the UN, Anna Evstigneeva, said the authorities in Bamako were seeking to take “full responsibility” for security and that Russia “will continue to provide comprehensive support to Mali for normalizing the situation.”

Under the resolution led by France, the peacekeepers will cease their main activity from Saturday and focus on a departure by the end of the year.

The peacekeepers will still be empowered to protect against “imminent threats of violence to civilian” in areas surrounding them.

Deadly and costly

Minusma has been the most costly mission for the UN, at $1.2 billion a year, and 174 peacekeepers have died since its creation in 2013.

Despite tensions with the junta, the UN mission had widely been expected to be extended until the Malian foreign minister’s intervention. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres earlier in June had proposed renewing Minusma but streamlining its activities.

In a report, Guterres acknowledged shortcomings but called the mission “invaluable.” He noted that several countries in the region saw extremist groups as an “existential threat” whose violence could spill over and wanted to strengthen Minusma.

With 13,000 troops and police in Minusma, its termination will be a Herculean task with the United Nations needing to take away equipment, helicopters and armored vehicles.

“Securing the constructive cooperation of the Malian authorities will be essential to facilitate the process,” said a spokesperson for UN peacekeeping operations.

While the withdrawal was a given, the timeline was the focus of heated negotiations in recent days, according to diplomats.

Mali, with the backing of veto-wielding Russia, had pushed for Minusma to leave as quickly as possible, while some other nations feared that even six months was too rushed.

Richard Gowan, an expert at the International Crisis Group, said that UN officials feared that Wagner will simply take over Minusma facilities once the mission is completed.

Julie Gregory of the Stimson Center said the end of the mission could have a dire effect on civilians.

“It’s likely that violent extremists will take the opportunity to increase violence” with a potential for increased confrontation with national forces, especially in the north,” Gregory said.

Russia has insisted that its paramilitary forces will continue to operate in Mali and other African nations, notably the Central African Republic, despite the aborted mutiny of the Wagner Group’s chief Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Russia had long insisted that Wagner was a private group but acknowledged after the rebellion that it had been directly funding its overseas operations, which have been widely criticized by the West and human rights groups.

“Ultimately it is for the Malian transitional authorities to choose its partners,” said James Kariuki, Britain’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations. “But let’s be clear: the Wagner Group, whether operating autonomously or under direct control from Moscow, is not the answer — in Mali or anywhere else.”

Source: AFP

Pope Francis says Ukraine war seems to have ‘no end’

30, June 2023

Pope Francis says Ukraine war seems to have ‘no end’ 0

Pope Francis said on Friday there was no apparent end in sight to the war in Ukraine as his peace envoy wrapped up three days of talks in Moscow.

“The tragic reality of this war that seems to have no end demands of everyone a common creative effort to imagine and forge paths of peace,” the pope told a religious delegation from the Patriarch of Constantinople.

The Vatican said in a subsequent statement that the pope’s envoy, Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, had finished his consultations in Moscow, where he had met one of President Vladimir Putin’s advisers, Yuri Ushakov, and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill.

“(The visit was) aimed at identifying humanitarian initiatives, which could open roads to peace,” the statement said. It added that further steps would be taken, but gave no details.

Source: France 24

Scandal: New Limo and new residence for Ayang Luc creates tension in Yaoundé

29, June 2023

Scandal: New Limo and new residence for Ayang Luc creates tension in Yaoundé 0

The so-called fifth personality of the state, Ayang Luc wants to increase his fleet of cars by purchasing a 120 million FCFA limo for his ceremonial outings.

To satisfy this need, described by many political commentators in the nation’s capital as”folie des grandeurs“, the Minister of State, Secretary General at the Presidency of the Republic, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, requested the Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Alamine Ousmane Mey, to finance the acquisition of the limo.

Cameroon Intelligence Report gathered that the all-powerful Ousmane Mey blatantly refused to comply and in a correspondence on June 20, 2023 told Minister Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh to seek the approval of President Paul Biya.

The Ousmane Mey letter has further fuelled the debate on who actually has legitimate authority deep within the ruling CPDM crime syndicate.

Just last month, the 76-year-old President of the Economic and Social Council, Ayang Luc signed an agreement with a Yaoundé-based company for the construction of a new residence for him and his family at a projected cost of two billion FCFA.

By Rita Akana in Yaoundé

French Cameroun agents, Anglophone traitors can never feel safe anywhere in Ambazonia

28, June 2023

French Cameroun agents, Anglophone traitors can never feel safe anywhere in Ambazonia 0

The Vice President of the Ambazonia Interim Government has warned that all French Cameroun agents and Anglophone traitors will never feel safe anywhere in the Federal Republic of Ambazonia because restoration forces will not tolerate any schemes to undermine the independence of British Southern Cameroons.

Vice President Dabney Yerima made the remarks in a town hall meeting in Belfast city on Tuesday as he addressed Southern Cameroonians as well as a number of Anglophone Cameroon elites in the UK.

“Even after Biya, the Federal Republic of Ambazonia will not allow La Republique agents and Anglophone traitors to conspire against the independence struggle of the Ambazonian nation. Our fighters in Ground Zero will make sure that there will be no safe place for anyone pursuing anti-Ambazonia plots,” Yerima told the sell-out crowd in Belfast.

The exiled Ambazonia leader highlighted that pro Yaoundé Anglophone leaders like John Fru Ndi waged several conspiracies and seditious plots against the people of Southern Cameroons using his so-called SDF party but quitted the political stage in French Cameroun with very negative ratings due to his incestuous relationship with the ruling CPDM party.

“Yaoundé wants poverty and the collapse of everything in Southern Cameroons. This is the sinister scheme that men like Atanga Nji, Victor Mengot, Paul Tasong, Philemon Yang, Peter Musonge have been chasing in Ambazonia, and they will fail” Yerima observed.

Dabney Yerima also pointed to Yaounde’s anger at the unity which now reigns among Southern Cameroons restoration groups, saying Biya regime has been employing all their political and strategic means as well as divisive and destabilizing mechanisms in order to keep Southern Cameroonians divided and underdeveloped.

By Isong Asu, London Bureau Chief Camcordnews

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