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Amba fighters and Boko Haram pose threat to Africa Cup of Nations

5, January 2022

Amba fighters and Boko Haram pose threat to Africa Cup of Nations 0

There are threats by armed Anglophone separatists to disrupt the 2021 African Cup of Nations which is expected to open in Cameroon on Sunday.

Some armed groups have vowed to disrupt the competition and sent threatening letters to the teams in Group F (Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania and Gambia) who will play in Limbe and train in Buea, the seaside resort and capital of the south-west region respectively.

“The threats are very serious,” said Blaise Chamango, head of the NGO Human Is Right, based in Buea. “On Wednesday, there was an explosion in Limbe in a takeaway, it is a strong message,” he said by phone to AFP.

“The government has deployed heavily armed soldiers on almost all the intersections of Buea and Limbe in particular. The defence and security forces are carrying out arrests and systematic searches in several areas,” Chamango said.

Already, there are speculations of a possible postponement of the tournament due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the new wave of the Omicron variant.

For the past four years, the regions – inhabited mainly by the Anglophone minority – of the South-West and North-West have been in the midst of a bloody conflict between armed groups demanding independence and the security forces, who have carried out a ruthless crackdown.

According to international NGOs and the United Nations, the violence has left more than 3,500 people dead and more than 700,000 displaced in the west, mainly civilians.

President Paul Biya, on Friday, mentioned “several cases of surrender” in the armed groups. But they “continue to engage in criminal activities, multiplying attacks with improvised explosive devices and murders of unarmed civilians”, warned the head of state, who is criticised by NGOs for being absolutely inflexible on the issue of the Anglophone regions.

In the face of the threat, the government repeatedly insists that “security will be ensured”.

– Arrangements” –

In the capital Yaounde, some 250 km east of the border with the English-speaking areas, the atmosphere was relaxed with few security agents observing the final preparations around the brand new stadium of Olembe, built purposely for the CAN.

“The security situation is really only a concern in the North West and South West but I think our defence forces have enough experience to deal with it,” said James Mouangue Kobila, president of the Human Rights Commission and professor of public law.

“The security arrangements are exceptional considering the stakes and we had the African Nations Championship (CHAN) in January 2021 without incident,” he argues.

Cameroon also faces another threat, in the far north, with jihadist attacks, which have however decreased in intensity since the death last May of Abubakar Shekau, the leader of Boko Haram.

Source: Africa News

Southern Cameroons: Amba fighters are no longer afraid of fatigued, helpless Francophone soldiers

5, January 2022

Southern Cameroons: Amba fighters are no longer afraid of fatigued, helpless Francophone soldiers 0

The Vice President of the Ambazonia Interim Government Dabney Yerima has said that French Cameroun military operations in Southern Cameroons particularly in the rural areas under the control of Ambazonia Revolutionary Guards are in decline.

Dabney Yerima stressed that Amba fighters are not afraid of La Republique du Cameroun’s military power as Yaoundé has tested and is well aware of the Ambazonia Revolutionary Guards might on the battlefield.

The Vice President of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government made the remarks on Wednesday, while addressing a zoom forum organized by the Department of Foreign Affairs on the new diplomatic push for the Ambazonian struggle.

“Amba fighters are not afraid of the French Cameroun army because they tower over them. For five years, they have tested our resistant fighters in the field, so Southern Cameroonians are no longer worried about the military power of La Republique du Cameroun,” Yerima said.

“The more I look into the military barracks of French Cameroun army soldiers, the more fatigue and helplessness I see in them, and I  am sure that this process will continue till we get to Buea,” Yerima furthered.

According to Dabney Yerima, the French Cameroun enemy thought that by arresting President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and his top aides, they would be able to break the Southern Cameroons struggle, but the people of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia and their resistance forces have continued this path more earnestly.

By Chi Prudence Asong

Record Covid cases in US and Europe as Omicron variant runs rampant

5, January 2022

Record Covid cases in US and Europe as Omicron variant runs rampant 0

The US, Britain, France and Australia have all announced record numbers of daily Covid-19 cases as the WHO warned Tuesday that Omicron’s dizzying spread increased the risk of newer, more dangerous variants emerging.

Britain breached 200,000 cases for the first time on Tuesday, Australia posted almost 50,000 and France registered more than 270,000, all three countries easily topping their previous records.

But dwarfing even those numbers was the 1,080,211 reported by the United States on Monday, a global record.

The country’s Monday figures are usually higher due to delays in weekend tallying – and were likely inflated further after a three-day New Year’s holiday weekend.

The rolling average over seven days – which experts see as more reliable – was 486,000 cases per day as of Monday evening, Johns Hopkins University said.

The heavily mutated Omicron variant, the most transmissible to date, accounted for around 59 percent of US cases near the end of last year.

Omicron’s rates of deaths and hospitalisations have been lower across the world, raising hopes the virus could be evolving into a relatively benign seasonal illness.

But the World Health Organization in Europe sounded an ominous note of caution on Tuesday, warning the soaring infection rates could have the opposite effect.

“The more Omicron spreads, the more it transmits and the more it replicates, the more likely it is to throw out a new variant,” WHO senior emergencies officer Catherine Smallwood told AFP in an interview.

“Now, Omicron is lethal, it can cause death… maybe a little bit less than Delta, but who’s to say what the next variant might throw out,” she added.

“Even in well-capacitated, sophisticated health systems there are real struggles that are happening at the moment.”

‘War footing’

Such a scenario was feared in Britain, where the government said Tuesday that hospitals have switched to “war footing” due to staff shortages.

After the UK hit a record 218,724 cases in 24-hours, Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised action to plug staffing gaps in the worst-hit areas, including drafting medical volunteers backed by army support.

Johnson also defended his decision not to increase restrictions over Christmas in England – unlike in other parts of the UK – and ruled out another nationwide lockdown.

Australia, which had previously successfully suppressed infections for much of the pandemic, also smashed its previous caseload record with 47,738.

The surging infections have driven a rush on increasingly scarce self-administered rapid antigen kits and created hours-long queues at centres providing more reliable PCR tests.

“I think at this point we all know somebody who has either got Covid or we have got coworkers off work because they are quarantining or isolating,” Australia’s deputy chief medical officer Sonya Bennett said.

Cyprus also posted a new record of 5,457 cases on Tuesady and now has the highest infection rate per capita, according to AFP figures.

Wealthy nations have rushed to give their population third booster shots to counteract the rising cases, while many in poorer nations have not yet been able to receive a first.

Ahead of the pack, Israel began rolling out fourth doses last week. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Tuesday that a small Israeli study indicated that fourth coronavirus vaccinations increased antibodies “fivefold”.

More restrictions

In China, which has pursued a “zero Covid” approach, just three asymptomatic cases prompted 1.2 million people in the central city of Yuzhou to be confined to their homes.

Daily infections have hit a two-month high in the Philippines, which will expand restrictions in Manila from Wednesday to include more than 11 million people living near the capital.

Omicron is also fuelling surging cases in India, where authorities said the capital will lock down over the weekend.

The sprawling megacity’s new restrictions came the same day as its chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, announced he had been infected and was suffering “mild symptoms”.

Also testing positive on Tuesday were Sweden’s king and queen, as well as Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, none suffering serious symptoms.

Omicron has also sent the sports world – only just back on its feet after previous Covid restrictions – reeling, with many leagues forced to cancel or postpone games.

Tennis world number Novak Djokovic – who has repeatedly refused to confirm whether he has been vaccinated – said Tuesday that he was heading to the Australian Open after being granted a medical exemption.

Source: AFP

Football: RCD Mallorca unveils mural dedicated to Samuel Eto’o

5, January 2022

Football: RCD Mallorca unveils mural dedicated to Samuel Eto’o 0

Club legend Samuel Eto’o has been immortalised at the Visit Mallorca Estadi with the unveiling of a personalised mural.

The former striker was in attendance with RCD Mallorca, FC Barcelona and LaLiga directors for the unveiling of our tribute painted by local artist René Mäkelä ahead of our hosting of La Blaugrana.

“It’s incredible to come back home and see all this,” Eto’o told club media. “It brings back beautiful memories and it seems like it all happened yesterday. The truth is that RCD Mallorca gave me everything, everything I am.

“My love has always been for RCD Mallorca – everyone knows that. I love Barcelona very much but Mallorca comes before all the other clubs in the world.”

Club president Andy Kohlberg was also in attendance for the visit paid by the recently nominated president of the Cameroon Football Federation to witness the super-imposed image of Eto’o come to life on a 10 by seven metre mural.

“Samuel Eto’o is an icon for our club,” Kohlberg said. “I am very happy and proud to present this tribute to him. It is a great honour to have him here with us. The mural by René Mäkelä was an idea we had several months ago and here we are now – it’s wonderful.”

Mäkelä is a renowned artist who has painted contemporary personalities and celebrities around the world, but could not resist the opportunity to create something with his local club.

“This work is a gift from all Mallorquinistas to one of the most important icons in the club’s history,” the artist said. “It has been a complicated challenge due to the size and weather conditions, but I think that the mural captures the idea that we wanted to transmit.”

“We are very proud that René Mäkelä has collaborated with us,” added Alfonso Díaz, CEO of Business. “We think that he has been able to represent in this mural the importance that Samuel Eto’o has had for RCD Mallorca.” 

Culled from RCD Mallorca

Amid French gov’t sabotage: Tickets for Africa Cup of Nations go on sale in Yaounde

4, January 2022

Amid French gov’t sabotage: Tickets for Africa Cup of Nations go on sale in Yaounde 0

Tickets for the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon officially went on sale on Tuesday amid French government diabolic harsh ploy to sabotage the Africa Cup of Nations with lame and ridiculous claim that a new ‘Covid variant’ IHU has been detected in Cameroon.

Cameroon’s Minister of Sports and Physical Education Narcisse Mouelle Kombi, who is also president of the competition’s organizing committee, said tickets will be sold online and in established kiosks across the country.

“We have taken adequate measures to avoid trafficking. We understand that our stadiums have limited capacity. All we can do is to assure Cameroonians that tickets will be on the basis of first come, first served,” Eric Binfon told reporters.

Tickets will be priced between 3,000 XAF and 20,000 XAF (5 USD to 35 USD) depending on the category and stage of the competition, Binfon said.

The tournament, which features 24 teams, begins on Sunday with hosts Cameroon taking on Burkina Faso at the 60,000-seat Olembe stadium in the capital Yaounde.

The biennial competition will end on February 6.

By Xinhuanet and Cameroon Concord News

Logone and Chari Rivers Crisis: There are now around 100,000 French Cameroonians in Chad as violence spreads

4, January 2022

Logone and Chari Rivers Crisis: There are now around 100,000 French Cameroonians in Chad as violence spreads 0

Over the past few weeks thousands of people from Cameroon have crossed the Logone and Chari rivers to find refuge in Chad due to ongoing violence. There are now around 100,000 people, the vast majority of whom are women and children, living in around 20 informal sites. We are mobilising teams in response, to provide care for people in need.

“The first inter-communal conflicts between Mousgoum fishermen and Arab herders in Cameroon began in August this year,” says Jessie Gaffric, MSF head of mission in Chad. “For a few weeks, we organised mobile clinics to provide basic healthcare to 11,000 refugees in Chad, before the situation calmed down.”

However the violence resumed suddenly and brutally, as it did on 8 December in Kousseri, a Cameroonian town on the border with Chad’s capital N’Djamena due to tensions over agricultural, pastoral and fisheries resources, which have not been resolved.

Forty-three people were injured by knives, bullets or arrows. Twenty-five of them had to be hospitalised in N’Djamena because of the lack of appropriate care in Kousseri.

Source: reliefweb

Paul Biya: A toothless bulldog

4, January 2022

Paul Biya: A toothless bulldog 0

Since the Southern Cameroons crisis hit the global stage, Cameroon’s President, Paul Biya, who opted for a military solution, has made fire and brimstone speeches, announcing that the insurgents who have grown in experience and confidence over the last five years, will be rolled back by the country’s military in no time. But each time he delivers his long, meaningless speeches, the situation only gets worse. 

To date, some 10,000 Cameroonian civilians have been killed in a war that was clearly avoidable and some 4,000 army soldiers have been sent to an early grave with close to 2,000 soldiers living with long-term physical disabilities due to the war. 

As for the economy, it has taken a nosedive, with thousands of Cameroonian graduates hitting the pavement in search of jobs. Things are really looking down for the country, especially as corruption and the struggle for power have become the main challenges that seem to herald the end of a long, corrupt and ineffective era. Mr. Biya, the country’s long-serving president, has nothing to show for his 40 years in power. 

He has divided the country, tribalized the army which now operates like his personal militia. Dissenting voices are swiftly taken to the country’s maximum-security prisons and the Diaspora, which is supposed to play a critical part in the country’s development, is instead viewed as the government’s enemy, making it hard for the country’s huge diasporic community to invest in Cameroon. 

Here below are some of his empty threats that have instead been counter-productive since the conflict that has pitted the government against the country’s English-speaking minority erupted. 

Dec. 2018

“If my appeal to warmongers to lay down their weapons remains unheeded, the Defence and Security Forces will be instructed to neutralize them. I am well aware of the distress these rebels are causing the populations of these regions. This situation cannot be allowed to continue.”

Sep. 2019

“Conversely, those who persist in committing criminal acts and violating the laws of the Republic will have to contend with our Defence and Security Forces and will face the full force of those same laws.”

Dec. 2019

“For those who persist in going down the wrong road and continue to use violence, we will have no other choice than to combat them in order to protect all our fellow citizens. Our Defence and Security Forces will, once again, perform their duty with restraint, but without weakness. I wish to reassure them of my full support and high esteem.”

Dec. 2020

“I hail the patriotic spirit of those of our fellow citizens in the North-West and South-West Regions who are not only increasingly cooperating with the Defence and Security Forces, but are also courageously fighting these armed gangs. They have realized that these gangs are not acting in the interest of the people. I would also like to commend here the bravery of our Defence and Security Forces that have not failed in their duty to protect the integrity of the national territory, the people and property. They deserve the respect and consideration of everyone. I encourage them to keep it up and to remain a republican force that respects human rights.”

Dec. 2021

“I would like, once again, to reiterate Government’s firm determination to restore peace in the regions that are under security threats. It should be clearly understood that wherever the perpetrators and sponsors of such acts are hiding, they will be relentlessly tracked down and will face the full force of the law. In this fierce fight against barbarism, I urge the Cameroonian people to step up collaboration with our defence and security forces in order to neutralize the fanatics of armed violence and to preserve the integrity of our territory.”

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver’s divorce becomes official

4, January 2022

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver’s divorce becomes official 0

A court in Los Angeles has made Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver’s divorce official 10 years after they separated following the actor-turned-politician’s infidelity, US media reported Wednesday.

Celebrity news site TMZ said the pair’s divorce proceedings took a particularly long time because of the number of financial assets to negotiate.

Shriver, a journalist and the niece of former US president John F. Kennedy, first filed for divorce in July 2011.

Weeks later, the “Terminator” star admitted to having an affair with the family nanny, Mildred Baena, with whom he had a son in 1997.

“After leaving the governor’s office I told my wife about this event, which occurred over a decade ago,” Schwarzenegger, who was governor of California from 2003 to 2011, said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times when he and Shriver separated.

Shriver cited “irreconcilable differences” in the divorce filing.

The couple, who met in 1977 and were married in 1986, have four children together.

Source: AFP

France detects new Covid variant IHU, 12 infected

4, January 2022

France detects new Covid variant IHU, 12 infected 0

As the world grapples with the highly mutated Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, scientists have identified a new strain of the Covid-19 causing virus in Southern France.

Known as ‘IHU’, the B.1.640.2 variant has been reported by researchers at institute IHU Mediterranee Infection in at least 12 cases, and has been linked to travel to African country Cameroon.

However, the researchers noted that it is too early to speculate on how this variant behaves as far as infection and protection from vaccines is concerned.

The yet-to-be peer-reviewed study, posted on the preprint repository MedRxiv on December 29, revealed that IHU has 46 mutations and 37 deletions resulting in 30 amino acid substitutions and 12 deletions.

Amino acids are molecules that combine to form proteins, and both are the building blocks of life.

Fourteen amino acid substitutions, including N501Y and E484K, and nine deletions are located in the spike protein.

Most currently used vaccines are targeted at the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, which the virus uses to enter and infect the cells.

N501Y and E484K mutations were earlier also found in Beta, Gamma, Theta and Omicron variants.

“The mutation set and phylogenetic position of the genomes obtained here indicate based on our previous definition a new variant we named IHU,” the authors of the study said.

“These data are another example of the unpredictability of the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants, and of their introduction in a given geographical area from abroad,” they added.

The B.1.640.2 has not been identified in other countries so far or labelled a variant under investigation by the World Health Organization (WHO).

According to the researchers, the index (first) case was an adult diagnosed positive by RTPCR performed in a laboratory on a nasopharyngeal sample collected in mid-November last year.

Epidemiologist Eric Feigl-Ding posted a long Twitter thread in which he said that new variants keep emerging but it does not necessarily mean they will be more dangerous.

“What makes a variant more well-known and dangerous is its ability to multiply because of the number of mutations it has in relation to the original virus,” Feigl-Ding tweeted on Tuesday.

“This is when it becomes a “variant of concern” – like Omicron, which is more contagious and more past immunity evasive. It remains to be seen in which category this new variant will fall,” he said.

Many countries are currently experiencing a spike in Covid-19 cases driven by the Omicron variant which was first identified in South Africa and Botswana in November last year.

Since then, the variant of concern has spread to over 100 countries.

In India, a total of 1,892 cases of Omicron variant have been detected across 23 states and Union Territories so far.

Source: Times of India

“How will I enjoy Africa Cup of Nations  while my brothers and sisters are suffering, Every day, they are dying,”

4, January 2022

“How will I enjoy Africa Cup of Nations  while my brothers and sisters are suffering, Every day, they are dying,” 0

Droves of armored vehicles are patrolling the streets of Limbe in Cameroon’s conflict-torn southwest region ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) soccer finals starting on January 9 that separatist militants have vowed to disrupt.

Cameroon is hosting the tournament in six cities, but security is potentially most at threat in Limbe, a city on the tropical Atlantic coast whose surrounding region has been rocked by armed attacks since war broke out in 2017.

The conflict, in which armed groups are trying to form a breakaway state called Ambazonia, has killed at least 3,000 people and forced nearly one million to flee.

Violence has worsened this year as separatists increase their use of improvised explosives.

“My fear … is that the recent phenomenon of bomb blasts which have been happening in other parts … could be a common phenomenon during this AFCON period,” said local journalist Honore Kuma.

Insecurity is just one issue facing the tournament. Concerns about the readiness of stadiums and the spread of the Omicron Covid-19 variant have also made headlines in recent weeks.

Limbe’s Omnisport Stadium will host matches from Group F comprising Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania and Gambia. The group’s first game will be between Tunisia and Mali on January 12.

The nearby regional capital of Buea, where some Group F training will take place, was struck by two explosions in November including one in a university that wounded 11 students.

Authorities have kept security plans under wraps, but promised there will be no disruption to Group F matches.

Armed police, gendarmes and soldiers are already positioned at major intersections. Checkpoints have been set up on roads into the city.

“AFCON will take place in very good conditions. There are no grounds for concern,” said Emmanuel Ledoux Engamba, senior official of Fako territory, which includes Limbe and Buea.

The separatist conflict began in the English-speaking northwest and southwest regions in 2016 when teachers and lawyers protested against their perceived marginalization by the primarily French-speaking national government.

A violent crackdown by security forces radicalized the movement. Armed groups formed amid the regions’ forests and cocoa plantations.

As Limbe readies for an influx of fans, some residents said they are not focused on soccer.

“How will I enjoy it while my brothers and sisters are suffering because of the Anglophone crisis? Every day, they are dying,” said 33-year-old Roland, who lives near the Limbe stadium.

Source: Reuters

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