9, November 2018
Southern Cameroons Crisis: Students Kidnapped Are Freed, But Questions Remain 0
Nearly 80 children who were kidnapped by armed assailants from a school in northwestern Cameroon have been released by their abductors and are being reunited with their parents.
But it remains unclear who the kidnappers were and why the children were taken. The government has blamed the abductions on separatists, who in turn say the government is responsible.
The students, kidnapped Sunday night from a Presbyterian school in the northwestern city of Bamenda, were released at another school 12 miles away, The Guardian reports, noting that it’s also unclear how they were transported given a curfew that was in effect at night.
A principal and a teacher who were abducted along with the children are still being held, Reuters reported.
“They look tired and psychologically tortured,” Fonki Samuel Forba, moderator of Cameroon’s Presbyterian Church, told The Associated Press.
Forba asked the parents of children at the boarding school to take them home, as their safety could not be guaranteed.
“It is unfortunate we have to close the school and send home 700 children,” he told the AP. “Their security is not assured by the state and armed groups constantly attack and kidnap them.”
The school suffered a separate kidnapping incident on Oct. 31 in which 11 students were taken and later released, according to the Guardian.
Cameroon has a majority of French speakers, with a significant minority of English speakers in the country’s western portion. Originally colonized by Germany, the country was split into English and French portions following World War I, and both French and English are official languages of Cameroon.
Tensions have been growing in the country since late 2016, as initially peaceful protests by the Anglophone minority over perceived marginalization turned into a secessionist movement in northwestern and southwestern Cameroon, in opposition to the Francophone-dominated government.
Hundreds of people have been killed in the country as the separatist movement has taken hold, and the government has put down any efforts to secede.
The country’s 85-year-old, French-speaking president, Paul Biya, was inaugurated into his seventh term on Tuesday. In an address, he promised to increase decentralization: “Measures will be taken as soon as possible to broaden the powers of local authorities in order to provide them with the means for greater autonomy. Bilingualism and multiculturalism will continue to be promoted by the commission set up to that end.”
Biya asked people in the Anglophone regions to “lend all possible support to the action of the authorities aimed at restoring peace. They know, better than anyone, what their life would be like under the yoke of extremists who have been spreading terror and desolation in their regions for some months now.”
On Tuesday, the U.S. State Department condemned the kidnapping and expressed concern over what it deemed the “burgeoning Anglophone Crisis.”
“We urge an immediate halt to the indiscriminate targeting of civilians and burning of houses by Cameroonian government forces and to attacks perpetrated by both Anglophone separatists against security forces and civilians,” the department said in a statement from spokesperson Heather Nauert. “The systematic intimidation based on ethnic and religious affiliation, including in Yaoundé and Douala, must stop.”
An American missionary was killed inside his car in Bamenda last week when he apparently was caught in crossfire.
Source: National Public Radio
Now that you are here
The Cameroon Concord News Group Board wishes to inform its faithful readers that for more than a decade, it has been providing world-class reports of the situation in Southern Cameroons. The Board has been priding itself on its reports which have helped the world to gain a greater understanding of the crisis playing out in Southern Cameroons. It hails its reporters who have also helped the readers to have a broader perspective of the political situation in Cameroon.
The Board wishes to thank its readers who have continued to trust Southern Cameroon’s leading news platform. It is therefore using this opportunity to state that its reporters are willing to provide more quality information to the readers. However, due to the changing global financial context, the Board is urging its readers to play a significant role in the financing of the news organization. It is therefore calling on its faithful readers to make whatever financial contribution they can to ensure they get the latest developments in their native Southern Cameroons, in particular, and Cameroon in general.
Bank transaction: Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai
Banking IBAN: GB51 BARC 2049 1103 9130 15
Swift BIC BARC GB22XX
SORT CODE 20-49-11, ACCOUNT NUMBER – 03913015 Barclay PLC, UK
The Board looks forward to hearing from the readers.
Signed by the Group Chairman on behalf of the Board of Directors
Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai
Email: soteragbawebai@gmail.com





















9, November 2018
Southern Cameroons Crisis: The real fighting begins! 0
The fighting in Cameroon’s two English-speaking regions has entered a new phase. After more than two years, Southern Cameroonian fighters have finally got a good arms shipment that may wreak more havoc on government forces.
The fighters, who have been using den guns, have finally received their cherished weapon, the AK-47, and they have been celebrating. The shipment, which came through Nigeria’s Niger Delta, has already brought down more than ten army soldiers in the North West region alone.
The news about the arms shipment was delivered to the Cameroon Concord News Group’s global headquarters in the United Kingdom by a member of the armed separatist group’s inner cycle in a telephone interview.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the fighter who identified himself as Captain Destroyer said they had had been longing for these weapons and now that they have them, they would make Southern Cameroonians proud.
“We have been dreaming of this day. The government’s fire power has been superior because of the type of weapons its soldiers have. We will be reversing things now that we have got this weapon of mass destruction known around the world as AK-47. With our den guns, we have succeeded to bring down more than 1,300 army soldiers. I think they are in for real trouble. We are very happy with the efforts of our brothers in the Diaspora, especially the efforts of the Interim Government that is not relenting in his efforts to ensure that we liberate our land,” Captain Destroyer said.
“We will keep them busy. They have been working hard over the last two years just to keep us in check. With this weapon, we will tell them that we can make them bite the dust. We know they have killed many of our people. We have seen many houses being burnt. Some of our people have been roasted. But we are not giving in. We must revenge the deaths of our brothers,” he added.
“We are still looking forward to having more sophisticated weapons. The country has very porous borders and their so-called soldiers are poor and easy to corrupt. Many of them are tired and scared of dying. We will deliver them a huge surprise very soon. If we lay our hands on bombs, they will regret a lot. We have seen blood. I have seen comrades being mowed down by army soldiers and this has transformed me into a beast. I am prepared to die, after all, my fate is worse than death,” he stressed.
“In the days ahead, you will be having a huge surprise. Some of our Francophone brothers have crossed the Mungo to join us and they want to take death to their own people. We are still suspicious of them, so we have sent them to Nigeria for training,” he said, adding that “many of them want to engage in sabotage that will bring the government to its knees. The tables are slowly turning. Mr. Biya and his people are in for trouble. They will soon be fighting a war on many fronts. Our partners from East Cameroon say their response will come in the form of a mushroom cloud and they will make sure civilian casualties are minimized,” he said.
“If Mr. Biya thinks it is all over because he has been sworn in, then he is deceiving himself. It is not Prof. Kamto who will be his nightmare, but the population. They may look docile, but when the time comes, the government will not recognize the same people who seem to have been intimidated into silence,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, the fighting has intensified in Kumbo, Bui County, with Southern Cameroonian soldiers destroying all bridges as news is spreading that army soldiers are advancing towards Kumbo. It is therefore challenging now to travel from Kumbo to Bamenda, as the number of checkpoints has increased.
Southern Cameroonian fighters have advised the population in Kumbo to head to the bushes as they prepare for a showdown with army soldiers. The fighters are excited to use their new weapons and they have promised hell to Mr. Biya’s struggling army.
Also, there have been many raids on the homes of Southern Cameroonians living in Yaounde. Many of those suspected by the soldiers have been arrested and taken to unknown destinations. Many Southern Cameroonians who had escaped to Yaounde during the election are already fleeing the capital city due to these raids and high cost of living.
The raids in Yaounde are being orchestrated by Beti soldiers and this has become their stock in trade. They have been arresting young Southern Cameroonians for cash and each person arrested is asked to pay CFAF 200,000 before he is released. Mr. Biya’s army has found a new way to make money and this trade seems to be netting the soldiers lots of cash, especially as the government is looking the other way.
Though Mr. Biya has been sworn in as the country’s president, it is clear that he is not having a good night’s sleep. Cameroon, which was once touted as a safe sanctuary for many people fleeing violence in their countries, has become a dangerous place for its own citizens, especially those who challenge Mr. Biya’s authority.
Journalists in particular have become the government’s fair target. Few days ago, a popular Equinox TV news anchor, Mimi Mefo, was arrested for sharing information indicating that the American missionary, Charles Trumann Wesco, was killed by government troops. This has prompted her arrest and she is currently in the New Bell Maximum Security prison in Douala where she is awaiting trial in a military court.
Mr. Wesco died in October after being shot in the head amid fighting between armed separatists and soldiers in the country’s north-west region, the director of the regional hospital said. Mr. Wesco, a missionary from the U.S. state of Indiana who had been in the region for two weeks, was rushed to the hospital in Bamenda after he was gravely wounded while in his car, hospital director Kingue Thomson Njie said.
From every indication, Cameroon seems to be in a tight spot. The insecurity is increasing by the day and this is driving away investors who are averse to insecurity. Last week, some 78 children were kidnapped by gun men and, ever since, the armed separatists and the government have been blaming each other for the kidnapping.
The kidnapped children in Southern Cameroons said their captors had warned them not to go back to school, recounting their ordeal as parents on Thursday packed up belongings from a boarding school now being shuttered.
The kidnappers freed about 80 school children and a driver in west Cameroon on Wednesday, but kept hold of a principal and one teacher, two days after snatching them in a school raid. The armed men had seized the kids on Monday in Bamenda – a green city nestled in the hills of Southern Cameroons and hub of the country’s troubled English-speaking region.
Cameroon is now in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. If it is not the armed struggle in the two English-speaking regions that is hitting the headlines, it is the insecurity born out of this unfortunate situation that has resulted in the killing of more than 4,000 people, including some 1,500 army soldiers that is giving the country a very bad name.
After more than two years of chaos in the restive regions, the government still holds that only a military solution can help bring peace to the beleaguered country. Despite calls for an inclusive dialogue by the international community, the government has continued to pursue its military operations in the region, though with limited success.
Many parts of the English-speaking regions are under the control of the separatists and schools have been closed for more than two years, with many of the students moving to the French-speaking part of the country to seek education.
By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai in Yaounde
Now that you are here
The Cameroon Concord News Group Board wishes to inform its faithful readers that for more than a decade, it has been providing world-class reports of the situation in Southern Cameroons. The Board has been priding itself on its reports which have helped the world to gain a greater understanding of the crisis playing out in Southern Cameroons. It hails its reporters who have also helped the readers to have a broader perspective of the political situation in Cameroon.
The Board wishes to thank its readers who have continued to trust Southern Cameroon’s leading news platform. It is therefore using this opportunity to state that its reporters are willing to provide more quality information to the readers. However, due to the changing global financial context, the Board is urging its readers to play a significant role in the financing of the news organization. It is therefore calling on its faithful readers to make whatever financial contribution they can to ensure they get the latest developments in their native Southern Cameroons, in particular, and Cameroon in general.
Bank transaction: Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai
Banking IBAN: GB51 BARC 2049 1103 9130 15
Swift BIC BARC GB22XX
SORT CODE 20-49-11, ACCOUNT NUMBER – 03913015 Barclay PLC, UK
The Board looks forward to hearing from the readers.
Signed by the Group Chairman on behalf of the Board of Directors
Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai
Email: soteragbawebai@gmail.com