Ottawa will have to show a little more patience before attempting to initiate talks again about the Southern Cameroon Crisis. Its assistant deputy minister for global affairs, Peter MacDougall, was expected in Cameroon at the end of March, but Yaoundé ended up cancelling at the last minute, reports Africa Intelligence.

All known peace initiatives including those led by the United Nations, the Catholic Church and regional and international governments – have either stalled or failed.

That has included the “Swiss process”, a behind-the-scenes move by the Geneva-based NGO Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue to host a series of “pre-talks” — capacity-building sessions with separatist leaders. It ran aground in 2019 after the Cameroon government rejected the approach.

Secret bilateral negotiations, led primarily by the office of Prime Minister Joseph Ngute and a group of imprisoned separatist leaders known as the “Nera 10” , also stumbled after two exploratory rounds – the result of infighting among secessionists and a perceived lack of will within the government to make the necessary political concessions.

That lack of control over fighters has encouraged a sense of lawlessness, which has undermined the appeal of the separatist cause.

In some cases, tired of the war – and what is often the high-handedness of the armed men in the bush – communities have demanded that secessionist fighters leave their villages, or have attacked separatist camps. That does not necessarily mean a vote of confidence in the government; rather, it’s likely a sign of frustration over the disruption caused by the conflict.

Yet, the perception of the fighters is that they are local champions, risking their lives for a legitimate cause.

Edited by Nelly Epupa

At least 25 people were abducted during a week of attacks by armed men in Cameroon, local officials said Thursday.

The kidnappings by gang members took place in several villages in Ako district along the Nigerian border, Patrick Kernyuy Tah, the top official in Ako, said.

“Several hundred people fled the attacks by unidentified gunmen in Abafum, Akwancha and Abutu villages,” he said. The government has deployed the military to rescue those abducted and help the injured, he said.

Local residents have been calling on Cameroon authorities to increase security in the area, as armed gangs operate on both sides of the border. While it’s unclear who is responsible for the abductions, officials believe it could be ethnic Fulani herders from Nigeria, a largely Muslim semi-nomadic group who regularly cross into Cameroon with their cattle and clash with farmers.

The Central African nation has been plagued by fighting since English-speaking separatists launched a rebellion in 2017, with the stated goal of breaking away from the area dominated by the French-speaking majority country and setting up an independent, English-speaking state. The government has accused the separatists of committing atrocities against civilians. The conflict has killed more than 3,300 people and displaced more than 750,000 others, according to the U.N.

Ako, where the abductions took place, hasn’t been prone to attacks and many people fleeing the separatist violence have sought refuge there.

Those who fled the fighting, which began last week, said people were tortured if they refused to give the attackers money, while many were taken away from their families.

“I am not very concerned about the several bags of rice which were looted from my shop. My main worry is the whereabouts of my two children,” said Cyprain Meme. “I do not know if they are hiding in the bush or if they were abducted.”

Source: Fox News

Suspected members of the terror group Boko Haram have abducted a traditional leader in Cameroon’s Far North region, according to security and local sources.

The traditional leader of Hidjelidje village was abducted after militants of the terror group raided the village late Monday, a military official in the region said.

“They did not shoot. They just came and kidnapped the leader. Obviously, it was a targeted attack. Villagers are progressively fleeing the village,” the official who asked not to be named told Xinhua by phone.

Raids on civilian communities in the region in recent weeks have displaced several families, especially in the Logone and Chari division where the attacks have become frequent, according to security reports by the local police.

The terror group has been active in the region since 2014.

Source: Xinhuanet

Preparations are underway in Cameroon for family members and friends to pay their final respects for some of the African migrants believed to have died in the March 28 boat tragedy.

The family of Mofor Verdo, Observer can confirm, has made arrangements in his homeland to celebrate his life.

His brother Fedelis told our newsroom yesterday that the family had been able to confirm from a survivor of the incident that Verdo was one of those killed.

Verdo was one of 30 Cameroonians who lost his life when La Belle Michelle capsized near the coast of St Kitts and Nevis, after the overcrowded fishing vessel ran into difficulty.

Verdo’s wife, according to his brother, has taken ill since hearing the news.

When Verdo left Cameroon in November, he had promised his wife that once he arrived in the US, where he had intended to end up, life would be better.

Hundreds of thousands of Cameroonians have fled violence in the Central African nation, where Anglophone separatists and government forces have been fighting each other for six years.

Several other distraught relatives are still waiting to confirm the status of loved ones believed to have been on the boat which was heading from Antigua to the US Virgin Islands.

“They are supposed to be sending the list out of both dead and alive. It is not right that we are kept in such suspense. They treat Cameroonians like dogs, locked in a cage without a name. Even dogs have names. This is painful and hurtful,” one Cameroonian here in Antigua told Observer.

Those who arrived in Antigua on charter flights from Nigeria last November and December were promised they would be transported to South America or the United States.

Instead, they were left stranded.

Meanwhile, 16 survivors who include two Antiguans remain in St Kitts and Nevis at a community centre while arrangements are made to return them to Antigua and Barbuda.

The government has been in dialogue with authorities in St Kitts to determine whether they will be transported by sea or air.

Observer can also confirm that no charges have been laid against against those suspected of organising the doomed voyage, St Kitts police confirmed to Observer. However, investigations into the incident continue in Antigua and Barbuda, along with Guadeloupe where La Belle Michelle was registered.

One of the two Antiguans on board has been released to relatives in St Kitts, according to sources.

It’s now been a week since the search for survivors was called off. And while law enforcement officials search for answers, questions linger over what international implications this matter could have on Antigua and Barbuda.

Akaash Maharaj, ambassador-at-large and former CEO of the Global Organisation of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC), weighed in on that discussion earlier this week.

He said while he has not yet had dialogue with other territories, those who offer visa-free travel for Antiguans and Barbudans are likely considering tightening up travel restrictions as the country could now be seen as a nation linked to illegal migration.

“Now we see a situation where not only has there been a human trafficking situation based out of Antigua and Barbuda but there’s a reason for apprehension. That is one that happened with the knowledge and with the financing of the government.

“The question that the government should be asking themselves and other states would be asking themselves regarding what was a catastrophic error by the government of Antigua and Barbuda is, is it quite likely to repeat itself or is this potentially part of a pattern that they can expect to see happening in the future.

“That is another reason why it is so important that there is a full independent inquiry into these events,” Maharaj said.

Maharaj went on to share suggestions on how the government could help to clean up the country’s image.

“The best way the government of Antigua and Barbuda can reassure the international community that these events will not be repeated and that they need not fear that this is the first in a line of human smuggling activities is for the people within the country who are responsible for complicity to be brought to justice.

“If the international community sees any political actors’ fingerprints who were on this human smuggling operation have been struck from power, have been convicted after an independent, fair and impartial process, and have paid a price before the law enforcement system, then they will feel reassured that this is not going to reoccur, but if the government evades accountability for those who are guilty, inevitably foreign states will ask themselves, well if they got away with it this time, are they not likely to try it again,” he explained.

It is believed that about 30 migrants were smuggled out of Antigua and Barbuda aboard La Belle Michelle.

The 14 migrants who were rescued along with two Antiguans were revealed to have arrived in Antigua and Barbuda between November and December aboard charter flights from Nigeria.

Maharaj referred to last week’s ordeal as a “great tragedy” and a matter that did not need to snowball into such a fiasco.

He said government must take responsibility for it despite claims by government ministers, including Prime Minister Gaston Browne, that they were misled.

He added that the fact that the airline was part-owned by government already implicates them as “they were more than happy to take credit when it was first touted as a great tourist pool for the country”.

Source: Antigua Observer

Suspected Boko Haram terrorists attacked Amchide and Kolofata in Cameroon during the early hours of Saturday, leaving three persons wounded.

Two of those wounded were shot, while the third person suffered a machete attack. Sources say they also made away with kitchen utensils, clothes, and three telephones, amongst other items in the Yaboga neighbourhood.

This is the third attack within two weeks in the locality. On March 21, at least one member of the Cameroonian forces died, and several others got injured in a landmine explosion between Amchide and Kolofata. Another attack occurred on March 18.

Since Boko Haram entered  Cameroon in 2011, it only started attacks in March 2014. The attacks had prompted President Paul Biya to join other neighbouring Presidents at a May 2014 Paris Summit to say, “We are here to declare war on Boko Haram.” Out of all border villages, Kolofata has remained one of the most hit.

Boko Haram has been trying hard to build an Islamic State in Northeast Nigeria. They easily extended attacks to the Far North of Cameroon in 2014, made easy by the region’s proximity to Nigeria.

With rising attacks this year in the Far North, other regional divisional officers are making dispositions to protect their communities from attacks.

Authorities in the Logone and Chari divisions have raised alerts on a possible infiltration of insurgents in their community. The Divisional Officer, Fombele Mathias, issued a letter to all subordinates, urging them to instantly hold sensitisation meetings, rebuild vigilante groups, engage the population and collaborate with church and traditional authorities.

Crisis Group says the Boko Haram crisis in Cameroon has caused over 1500 deaths, 155,000 displaced persons, and 73,000 refugees.

Source: Humanglemedia