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6, July 2023

“Separatists” Kidnap students for sitting for public exams ⁰

Parents whose children took official national examinations in the crisis-hit northwest of Cameroon have raised an alarm over a series of kidnappings carried out by separatist fighters on their children.

In 2017, Cameroon separatists banned schools from operating in the two English-speaking regions of the country, warning defaulters would face consequences.

They began clashing with government forces in an attempt to establish an independent nation they called “Ambazonia” in the two Anglophone regions.

Despite the boycott call, many schools continue to operate, though students are asked to wear mufti over uniforms, in order not to be targeted.

Some 27000 candidates sat for the GCE Exams

2023 session in the Northwest region on May 30.

Bui division, one of the most affected communities of the six-year war, witnessed an increased number of candidates from 750 last year to 1260 in 2023. The Divisional Delegate of Secondary Education, Baijong Ezikiel, says this increase is a sign of progressive return to normalcy in the division.

Although these students successfully wrote the exams within three weeks amid strict security, some of them have been kidnapped and regained freedom days later, after their families paid heavy fines.

A local source in Kumbo, headquarter of Bui division said their daughter was kidnapped on her way back from a neighbour’s home and kept away from the family for three days.

“We were so confused because they often see her and know she is going to school. I don’t know why they decided to kidnap her. This has affected her immensely,”she said.

Another parent in Kumbo who reached HumAngle on telephone said he paid $250 to free his daughter from a separatist camp.

“One of them asked me to pay $1663 dollars before my child could be freed. I pleaded and the leader finally said I should pay $500,” he cried.

Separatist fighters are currently making a lot of money from several kidnappings. In February, five students of a secondary school in Kumbo, headquarters of Bui Division, were kidnapped and over $1500 was demanded from each family.

The United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs reported that eight attacks on education were registered in February this year in the North-West and South-West.

Over 700,000 children have been impacted by school closures due to violence.

Source: HumAngle

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

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

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

3, July 2023

Cameroon spent CFAF45.7bln on fish imports in 2021 ⁰

Cameroon spent CFAF45.7 billion on fish imports in 2021, according to the 2021 sectoral note on the animal industry and fisheries sub-segment published by the stats institute INS. That year, fourteen countries supplied 60,554 tons of frozen fish to Cameroon but, there were three main suppliers, the Netherlands, Uruguay, and Mauritania notably. They accounted for over 70% of Cameroon’s fish imports during the said period.

The Netherlands was the leading supplier, accounting for almost 24,500 tons of fish valued at just over CFAF22.8 billion. It was followed by Uruguay, the Latin American country that signed a framework agreement with Cameroon, in 2022, to intensify cooperation -that framework was submitted to be reviewed by President Paul Biya in June 2023. The country supplied Cameroon with over 12,000 tons of fish, worth more than CFAF4 billion.

During the period under review, Mauritania supplied the Cameroonian market with 7,237 tons of fish, valued at a little over CFAF7.5 billion. Two other African countries closed the top5 of Cameroon’s fish suppliers in 2021. These are Angola (6,802 tons for CFAF3.1 billion spent) and Senegal (2,393 tons for just over CFAF1.5 billion).

Although China has become Cameroon’s leading trade partner in recent years, it was the 10th largest supplier of frozen fish in 2021. According to INS data, it exported only 573 tons of fish to Cameroon behind India (1,555 tons), Spain (1,478 tons), Morocco (1,163 tons), Argentina (998 tons), and even Russia (881 tons).

Officials have noted that frozen fish, along with rice, significantly impact Cameroon’s trade balance despite its approximately 400 kilometers of coastline renowned for its fish stock. Unfortunately, this coastline is mainly exploited by foreign fishermen who supply the commercial circuits of their home countries.

Source: Business in Cameroon

3, July 2023

FECAFOOT: Fresh Crisis Hits Football, 24 Refs Suspended ⁰

There appears to be fresh crisis within the Cameroon football circle after 24 referees were suspended.

The suspension according to the Cameroon Football Referees Association in a statement, was effected following their alleged involvement in betting and match fixing.

The statement revealed that the suspended referees include main referees and their assistants in football, futsal and beach soccer.

“The suspended referees are exempted from all refereeing-related activities and throughout the national territory for their direct or indirect involvement in sports betting games and match-fixing, transactions related to competitions and matches,” the release said.

The President of the Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT), Samuel Eto’o is still under investigation after he agreed to be an ambassador to a betting company which is against the FIFA ethical operation.

Since the emergence of Eto’o, a former international and African footballer of the year, Cameroon’s football has been dogged in several controversies.

Source: The Heritage Times

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

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

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

30, June 2023

Yaoundé: Minister accused of corruption wants Biya to stand for re-election ⁰

Health minister Manaouda Malachie currently under investigation by the Special Criminal Court over alleged involvement in a huge Covid-19 corruption scandal has organized a meeting calling on the 90-year-old President Paul Biya to stand for re-election, two years before the next polls are due.

The move interpreted by many political commentators as a cunning manoeuvre by the politician from the Far North has also generated a lot of under-the-table talk in the nation’s capital, Yaoundé.

Investigators have been sending out new summons as part of a probe into the alleged embezzlement of IMF funds given to Cameroon to help with its Covid-19 response. Health minister Manaouda Malachie is among those on the list.

As part of the inquiry into the management of Covid-19 funds, judges at the Special Criminal Court have also issued Minister Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh with a summons. However, his high-level contacts within the security apparatus are currently offering him protection.

By Soter Agbaw-Ebai with files from Rita Akana in Yaoundé