Three separatist fighters, including a key commander, were killed when government forces struck their hideout on Sunday in Cameroon’s war-torn Anglophone region of Northwest, according to local and security sources.

The crackdown, as confirmed by a military official in the region who requested not to be named, was launched in the early hours of Sunday in the Ngoketunjia division of the region.

Among those killed was a key commander who referred to himself as “General Sagon.”

“General Sagon” was among the first to take up arms in 2017 to fight the government. In 2021, he was the second in command when separatist fighters ambushed and killed 15 soldiers in a single combat in Ngoketunjia division, according to security reports by local police.

An official in the region who asked not to be named said that his physical elimination is a “major” setback to the separatist insurgency in the region.

Fighting between government forces and separatist fighters has persisted in Cameroon’s two English-speaking regions of Northwest and Southwest since 2017 when separatists attempted to establish an independent nation in these regions.

Source: Xinhuanet

Cameroon has climbed eight spots to 130th out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index, according to the annual report released on Friday, May 3, by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Despite this improvement from its 138th position in the 2023 edition, RSF underscores that Cameroon remains one of Africa’s most perilous countries for journalists, despite the proliferation of media outlets, including over 600 newspapers, around 200 radio stations, and more than 60 television channels. The NGO points out that journalists operate in a hostile and uncertain environment.

RSF strongly criticizes the political pressures journalists face. The NGO states that journalists who adopt a critical and independent editorial stance are exposed to significant threats and pressures, particularly when the interests of those in power are involved. This situation is worsened by the head of state’s control over all institutions, promoting self-censorship and causing media alignment with the authorities or certain influential figures.

Journalists in Cameroon frequently encounter verbal and physical assaults, arbitrary arrests, detentions, gag orders, abductions, and risks of assassination. RSF specifically cites the tragic case of Martinez Zogo, the head of private radio station Amplitude FM, who was abducted, tortured, and found dead in January 2023. The NGO also expresses regret over the lack of decriminalization of press offenses on the agenda, as well as the absence of guarantees for access to information and source protection.

Moreover, RSF emphasizes the precarious conditions under which Cameroonian journalists, particularly those in private media, work, compromising their independence.

Each year, RSF publishes its World Press Freedom Index, evaluating the conditions under which journalism is practiced in 180 countries and territories. This year’s report reveals a significant drop in the political indicator, affecting even top-ranking countries like Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. At the bottom of the ranking, countries like Afghanistan, Syria, and Eritrea have seen their political index fall, replacing Asian nations such as China, Vietnam, and North Korea in their previous positions.

Source: sbbc

A scuffle ensued and blows were exchanged when thousands of university graduates in Cameroon swamped the University of Buea (UB) campus to apply for the French language proficiency test, Test de Connaissance du Français (TCF), a requirement to obtain a Canadian visa.

Canada has become a new destination for thousands of graduates from Cameroon, in particular, and Africa in general, following the 2022-24 Canadian government immigration plan that provides opportunities for skilled workers.

Apart from graduates seeking jobs, information from the Canadian immigration service also says international students are a top priority in the country’s new immigration targets, and the immigration streams that their applications feed into will contribute more than half of new permanent residents.

But, to benefit from these opportunities, applicants are supposed to show proof of mastery of the French language, according to the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s 2024-25 Departmental Plan.

Information from the university language examination centres in Cameroon indicated that graduates and other applicants who are successful in the exams that will be written in May 2024, will be eligible to continue the processes to obtain visas.

Chaotic scenes

The UB authorities were ill-prepared to accommodate a crowd which, according to estimates, included up to 4,000 people.

“We were surprised by the huge crowd, because Buea University is just one of the [exam] centres. The other two include the French Institute in Douala, and Yaounde. You can just imagine the numbers at the other centres,” Professor Apuge Michael Etuge, the dean of the faculty of arts at UB, told University World News.

The registration process, the authorities say, requires applicants to register their names at the designated centres, thereby obtaining a code which they need to pay their registration fees of about XAF210,000 (about US$343) per person at the bank, before returning to the centres to deposit their receipts.

Following the unexpected crowd turnout, the process became rowdy, with applicants tussling for space to get served first.

“There was scrambling as a result of poor organisation by the school authorities. There was no security to control [the applicants] and restore some order,” Peter Ngole from the University of Bamenda, and one of the applicants, told University World News.

According to Etuge, the registration process was on a first-come, first-served basis, but some applicants wanted to outsmart their mates, which led to some disorder.

Cameroon higher education authorities condemned the chaotic scene, blaming it on poor organisation.

“The registration process in all state universities in Cameroon is done online. The organisers of this language exam should have followed the same procedure,” Higher Education Minister Jacques Fame Ndongo said over state radio in reaction to the incident.

However, the organisers of the language exam said the application process had no intermediaries to avoid the scamming of applicants that often characterised such examination procedures, a notice at the application centre noted.

Graduate unemployment

The scramble for this language test to obtain visas, academics say, shows the high rate of graduate unemployment in the country, which has increased during the past two years. As a result, many are seeking to leave Cameroon for greener pastures.

“When graduates can’t find jobs in their [home] country they are obliged to seek elsewhere. This is the same scenario all over Africa,” Professor Emmanuel Yenshu of UB’s department of sociology told University World News.

An estimated 23.6 million young Africans (aged 15-35), including graduates, are unemployed, with this figure projected to grow to 27 million by 2030. The need for jobs elsewhere is, therefore, critical, an article in The Conversation stated.

Canada as a study destination

Apart from graduates seeking jobs, information from the Canadian immigration service says international students are a top priority in the country’s new targets.

The report says Canada is seeing a surge of international student applications for higher education after a period of enrolment declines during the COVID pandemic, with a good number coming from Africa.

“Canada’s expanding immigration programme means more opportunities for international students in the country to remain after graduating from Canadian higher education institutions,” a December 2023 news release by the Canadian government stated.

“We recognise the significant social, cultural and economic benefits that international students bring to Canada, and for those benefits to continue, we must address challenges to the integrity of the International Student Program,” the release noted.

It recognises that international students “are talented, bright and deserving of a positive experience as they pursue their studies in Canada”.

Eight of Canada’s top-10 fastest-growing student populations are from African countries with Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Algeria among the top-10 on the list, according to a news report in Business Insider Africa.

This is despite the challenges – including racial prejudices – that students appear to face during their visa approval processes.

In the five years between 2018 and 30 April 2023, officials at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada reportedly rejected 59% of the visa applications from English-speaking Africans and 74% from French-speaking Africans seeking to study in Canada’s colleges and universities.

In 2022, the disapproval rates were ere 62% for applicants from English-speaking African countries and 66% for applicants from French-speaking African countries, University World News reported.

Apart from Canada, African students constituted nearly half of all foreign students in France in 2023, University World News reported on 25 April.

The report said, of that number, the Sub-Saharan African region led with 95,285 students, almost 24% of all the foreign students (412,087) in France. The 95,285 figure represented an increase of 34% over the past five years.

The reasons for the popularity of France among Africans seeking university education in Europe is attributable to a number of factors, including language and the search for quality education abroad, the report said.

Source: University World News