Ten students from GTHS Ombe were killed today following a collision involving a minibus and a truck transporting sand at Mile 16.

Several others were seriously injured when the minibus crashed on the main road linking Ombe to Buea the chief city in the South West region.

Cameroon Concord News gathered that the ten students died at the scene while the truck driver and minibus driver were arrested.

The Mile 16 road was closed for about five hours while police officers gathered evidence.

By Besong Eunice Nchong

At least 14 people from the African nation of Cameroon were rescued from waters in the eastern Caribbean early Tuesday after their boat capsized, but three people were dead and 13 others missing, authorities in St. Kitts said.

The group had departed Antigua early Tuesday aboard a boat carrying 32 passengers that apparently was en route to the U.S. Virgin Islands when it sank near the island of St. Kitts, Anthony Comrie, head of the St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force, said at a news conference. He said the group had been staying on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, but left there a week ago for Antigua.

“My government has been making every effort to be helpful to these brothers and sisters from Africa who were marooned on Antigua, including by granting them residence and the opportunity to work,” Antigua Prime Minister Gaston Browne said.

He said the Cameroonians apparently arrived in Antigua as tourists but intended to migrate to other countries. Browne said his administration has contacted the U.N. High Commission for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration for counsel on how to treat the survivors as refugees, adding that they are welcome in Antigua.

Cameroon has been rocked by conflict since English-speaking separatists in the Central African country launched a rebellion in 2017. More than 3,300 people have died in the conflict, which has displaced more than 750,000 others, according to the United Nations.

The boat was stolen in Antigua, and 16 people aboard it were rescued, including two Antiguans, Comrie said. The nationalities of those who died or missing were unknown, officials said.

Browne said authorities would investigate what he called an “unlawful and dreadful affair,” including the involvement of local residents.

“All of the facts surrounding today’s calamity are not yet known,” he said.

The boat sank about 40 miles northwest of Antigua for unknown reasons, Col. Telbert Benjamin, chief of defense for Antigua and Barbuda’s Defense Force, told the government’s media outlet.

“The vessel went down in relatively deep water, and so recovery … might be a bit of a challenge,” Benjamin said.

Source: AP

Three people are now known to have died from the boat tragedy off St Kitts early Tuesday morning. They are all believed to have been from countries in Africa.

A vessel sank between Antigua and St Kitts this morning, with reports indicating that 15 Cameroonians are missing and one person has died.

Government officials have confirmed that Cameroonians living in Antigua and Barbuda were the majority of individuals on board the vessel, with only half of the 30 passengers being rescued.

The Africans were reportedly trying to get to St Thomas.

Colonel Telbert Benjamin, the Chief of Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force, has confirmed that the boat capsized 40 miles northwest of Antigua, and a search operation is currently underway to locate the missing passengers.

The ABDF Coast Guard is collaborating with its St Kitts and Nevis counterparts, as well as the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre from Martinique.

The ABDF has also deployed its fixed-wing aircraft, Alpha One, to aid in the search effort. Col. Benjamin stated that several details are still being ascertained, including the destination of the vessel.

Most of the Cameroonians arrived in Antigua and Barbuda several months ago on a chartered flight and have been stranded.

They claimed that they were promised a connecting flight to the United States and have no intention of returning to their violent-stricken country.

Source: Antiguanews

Cameroon is plunged under water every rainy season. Greenpeace Africa is calling on the government to put in place an effective disaster risk management plan.

The return of the rains this August has caused several floods in three regions of Cameroon (Littoral, Far North and Adamaoua). Faced with this situation, which seems to be getting worse over the years, the Cameroonian government’s responses do not seem to be accurate.

On Monday night (August 21, 2021), a heavy rain fell in the city of Ngaoundéré (Adamaoua Region) causing flooding, with several material damages. The far north region is not left out, since the beginning of August 2021, cases of flooding are recorded in several departments of the region. The case of the city of Douala is symptomatic of this ongoing situation. The consequences are sometimes very heavy, including loss of life. These floods that are becoming recurrent in Cameroon as in several other countries of the world are one of the strong signs that climate change is a reality and require urgent action from leaders.

Ranece Jovial Ndjeudja, Campaigner at Greenpeace Africa, says, “We need to attack the root of the problem. The floods we are experiencing today are the result of little to no foresight on the part of the government.” 

In 2020 alone, nearly 160,000 people were affected by flooding in the far north of Cameroon, a region already heavily impacted by the exactions of the Boko Haram sect and which like the rest of the world had to deal with the COVID 19 pandemic.

Greenpeace Africa calls on the government of Cameroon to take its responsibilities and reconsider its international commitments in terms of risk management and natural disasters, protection of people and the fight against climate change. “We note that, for cities like Douala and Yaoundé, the outflow of rivers from their beds is partly linked to the clogging of drains by plastic bottles. Where are we with the ban on the use of non-biodegradable plastic packaging decided in 2014?  It is clear that its implementation was limited to the first weeks of the signing of the decree!”, says Ranèce Jovial Ndjeudja. 

It is more than urgent for Cameroon to ensure the implementation of the measures in its contingency plan. It is also important to put in place adaptation measures in order to prevent disasters related to the changing climate but also to protect people and their property, and thus remain consistent with its international commitments in the fight against climate change.

The Ambazonia Interim Government has said that all Southern Cameroons restoration movements including Ambazonian resistance groups will keep up their confrontation against the French Cameroun regime until the complete liberation of the Ambazonia homeland from Yaoundé’s occupation.

Dabney Yerima, Vice President of the Ambazonia Interim Government made the remarks on Thursday during a zoom meeting with Ground Zero commanders, the Interim Government reported.

The exiled Southern Cameroons leader, however, affirmed that the Ambazonian people all over the world would always be united while confronting the French Cameroun occupation until there would be no place for the invaders in the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

“All Southern Cameroons fronts are united throughout Ground Zero,” Yerima said, describing Buea as the arrowhead of the ongoing struggle against the occupying French Cameroun regime.

By Chi Prudence Asong

The Appeal Court in Yaoundé has rejected Francophone businessman, Amougou Belinga lawyer’s request to release him.

Court extended detention of Jean Pierre Amougou Belinga, who is held on charges of murdering journalist Martinez Zogo.

Amougou Beliga is being charged with murder of the much respected journalist and whistleblower Martinez Zogo.

The prosecution indicated that the suspect took advantage of his connection to the security apparatus of the state and killed the radio host.

The CEO of the press group l’Anecdote left Kondengui prison in Yaoundé this Thursday, March 23, 2023 for the Court of Appeal hoping he was going to get a provisional release but the request was rejected.

The hearing lasted a couple of minutes and the Court of Appeal announced the postponement of the case to April.

The disgraced Jean Pierre Amougou Belinga was remanded in custody on Saturday, March 4, 2023 by the Military Court in Yaoundé for “complicity in torture by aiding and abetting” in the case of Martinez Zogo, the whistleblower journalist kidnapped on January 17, 2023 before being murdered shortly after.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai