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Africa Cup of Nations: Indomitable Lions wary of giant killing Gambia

29, January 2022

Africa Cup of Nations: Indomitable Lions wary of giant killing Gambia 0

Hosts Cameroon will go into the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals wary of an ignominious exit as they take on giant killers Gambia in the first of the weekend’s matches.

Cameroon have been far from convincing as they have advanced through the group stages and one round of knockout matches while lowly ranked Gambia have thrilled with their attacking approach and improbable run to the last eight of the tournament.

Burkina Faso and Tunisia meet in Garoua in Saturday’s second quarter-final clash while Egypt play Morocco and Senegal take on another upstart in Equatorial Guinea in Sunday’s two quarter-finals in Yaounde.

Gambia are making their Nations Cup debut and are ranked 150 in world football – the lowest of all 24 teams at the Cup of Nations finals – but have yet proven able to win two out of three group matches, and then upset Guinea in the last-16, conceding only one goal, which was from the penalty spot, in four matches in Cameroon.

Cameroon, in contrast, have turned in largely mediocre performances and, although they had all the odds heavily staked in their favour in their last game against the other tournament debutants, Comoros Islands, they laboured through to the quarter-finals in a controversial 2-1 victory.

“We have seen teams ranked as underdogs stand up to high calibre countries and my players have been warned,” said Cameroon coach Toni Conceiçao.

Elimination of the hosts at this stage would come as a blow to tournament already hard hit by the death of eight spectators in a stampede ahead of Cameroon’s last game on Monday.

As a result, Yaounde’s Olembe Stadium, where the final is scheduled to be played on Feb. 6, is not being used this weekend.

Cameroon take on Gambia in Douala where the condition of the pitch at the Japoma Stadium been declared poor and where there will be no further games, the Confederation of African Football decided this week.

On Sunday, both matches are being played at Yaounde’s older Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium.

Egypt’s clash with Morocco will be keenly anticipated and could reveal the identity of the eventual winner although Senegal remain strong favourites, even if they, too, have not delivered any strong evidence of their potential.

Senegal have scored only three goals in four outings at the tournament but have not conceded a goal and will be heavily fancied to end the run of Equatorial Guinea, although Sadio Mane’s participation is unsure after he suffered concussion in their last game on Tuesday.

The quarter-final winners advance to the semi-finals, both to be played in Yaounde, on Wednesday and Thursday.

Source: Reuters

Biya regime forces continue to steal Southern Cameroons oil in SONARA

28, January 2022

Biya regime forces continue to steal Southern Cameroons oil in SONARA 0

Francophone army soldiers deployed to Southern Cameroons have been escorting several convoy of tanker trucks carrying stolen Ambazonia oil from the city of Victoria named by the Biya French Cameroun regime as Limbe.

Last week, the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Ambazonia Interim Government cited local sources from the Fako County as saying that so many convoy of French Cameroun tanker trucks loaded with Southern Cameroons oil were transferred to Douala.

According to the Ambazonia Interim Government report that was made public by Vice President Dabney Yerima, the oil was taken from Southern Cameroons main oil refinery in Cape Limbo in Limbe. Yerima added that Southern Cameroons stolen oil has often been transferred through the Victoria-Tiko Highway to Douala in French Cameroun.

The Southern Cameroons Vice President further said that a convoy of 54 military trucks carrying logistical equipment belonging to the Biya French Cameroun military entered the Bakassi area via Ndian County and have been participating in smuggling Southern Cameroons crude oil.

Soldiers of the Francophone military regularly smuggle Ambazonian oil to French Cameroun. The regime in La Republique du Cameroun has stationed forces and equipment in Fako and Ndian in the Southern Zone of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, with Yaounde claiming that the deployment is aimed at preventing the oilfields in the Bakassi area from falling into the hands of Nigwerian terrorists and Amba fighters.

The Ambazonia Interim Government, however, says the unlawful deployment is meant to plunder Southern Cameroons resources.

By Isong Asu with files from Fon Lawrence in Victoria-Limbe

Southern Cameroons crisis can’t be solved unless Yaoundé ends occupation

28, January 2022

Southern Cameroons crisis can’t be solved unless Yaoundé ends occupation 0

The Ambazonia Interim Government has slammed serious violations of  Southern Cameroons national sovereignty and territorial integrity by the French Cameroun regime in Yaounde during this period of the Africa Cup of Nations, saying that the 5 year-old crisis could only be resolved when French Cameroun occupation ends.

Speaking exclusively to Cameroon Concord News Group late on Tuesday, Southern Cameroons Secretary of the Economy, Tabenyang Brado noted that the territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia continues to be seriously violated either through the Africa Cup of Nations or by acts of aggression carried out by French Cameroun army soldiers loyal to the Biya regime in Yaounde.

Secretary Tabenyang Brado also opined that the crisis between the two Cameroons has no military solution and furthered that the conflict cannot also come to an end without French Cameroun ending its occupation.

The Southern Cameroons front line leader said military deployments, aggression and targeted killings teleguided by the French Cameroun regime have created continuous sufferings for the people of Southern Cameroons, adding that all Francophone and uninvited Atanga Nji Boys must leave the Federal Republic of Ambazonia without any precondition or further delay.

The Yaounde government has quietly acknowledged that though untrained, Southern Cameroonian fighters have proven that they are a force to reckon with. The country’s military is still not believing that a ragtag military could bring such destruction to a trained military. 

Today, instead of using conventional methods, Southern Cameroonian fighters are employing explosive devices which are wreaking havoc on government military equipment and on army soldiers. A small disagreement between citizens of a country has been allowed to snowball, ruining the country’s economy and making secession a possibility. Southern Cameroonians have lost the love they once had for a country they once called theirs.  

The success scored by the fighters in Ground Zero could also be attributed to the leadership structure which Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe and his collaborators had left behind following his arrest and repatriation to Yaounde in circumstances which clearly defied international law.

By Chi Prudence Asong with additional reporting from Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Southern Cameroons: Yerima reiterates Ambazonia right to freedom and independence from Yaoundé

28, January 2022

Southern Cameroons: Yerima reiterates Ambazonia right to freedom and independence from Yaoundé 0

The Federal Republic of Ambazonia has reiterated its right to freedom and complete independence from La Republique du Cameroun through all possible means guaranteed by international law, emphasizing that all measures taken by the occupying Yaounde regime to change the legal status of Southern Cameroons-Ambazonia are null and void and have no legal effect.

Speaking on Wednesday on the state of the Southern Cameroons revolution, the Vice President of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government, Dabney Yerima lambasted the colonial activities and other marginalization practices in Southern Cameroons by the French Cameroun regime.

Yerima added that it is highly deplorable that some so-called Southern Cameroons front line leaders are overlooking repeated French Cameroun acts of aggression on Ambazonia territory– the latest of which took place Bamenda when Francophone soldiers killed a prominent Senator.

Dabney Yerima pointed out that the Ambazonia Interim Government has sent several letters to key Southern Cameroonians in the USA and other relevant Southern Cameroons prominent figures in the diaspora to inform them of developments in Ground Zero and Ground One and the urgent need for a united and well-coordinated front against the French Cameroun occupation. The Vice President of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government noted that he was a loss to see the distraction coming out of the US.

The exiled Southern Cameroons leader stressed that the Ambazonia Interim Government strongly condemns flagrant violations being committed by the French Cameroun regime in the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

Yerima reiterated Southern Cameroons inalienable right to complete and total independence from La Republique du Cameroun through all possible means, which are guaranteed by international law and not subject to some kind of Grand National Dialogue or prescription from an 88-year old dictator.

By Toto Roland Motuba

US: Biden pledges to nominate Black woman to Supreme Court within weeks

28, January 2022

US: Biden pledges to nominate Black woman to Supreme Court within weeks 0

President Joe Biden on Thursday said he plans by the end of February to nominate a Black woman to replace retiring U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, a historic first that he called “long overdue.”

Biden appeared with Breyer, whom he has known since the 1970s, at the White House after the 83-year-old justice formally announced his retirement in a letter to the president. Breyer wrote that he plans to depart at the conclusion of the court’s current term, typically at the end of June, assuming his successor has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Biden, who won the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential nomination in large part because of strong support from Black voters, noted that he committed during that campaign to name a Black woman to a lifetime post on the high court and would keep his promise.

“Our process is going to be rigorous. I will select a nominee worthy of Justice Breyer’s legacy of excellence and decency,” Biden said, calling the selection of a Supreme Court justice one of a president’s most serious constitutional responsibilities.

“While I’ve been studying candidates’ backgrounds and writings, I’ve made no decision except one: the person I nominate will be someone with extraordinary qualifications, character, experience and integrity – and that person will be the first Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court. It’s long overdue, in my view,” Biden said.

Potential nominees include Ketanji Brown Jackson, a former Breyer law clerk confirmed by the Senate last June to serve on an influential U.S. appellate court, and Leondra Kruger, who serves on the California Supreme Court. Another potential contender is Michelle Childs, a federal district court judge in South Carolina who Biden already has nominated to the U.S.  appeals court in Washington.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Biden believes that being a sitting judge is not prerequisite for his nominee and that whether a candidate could draw support from Republicans is not an influencing factor.

Biden said he wants the Senate, which his fellow Democrats control by a razor-thin margin, to “move promptly” once he chooses his nominee. Democrats can confirm a nominee without a single Republican vote because Republicans in 2017 changed the Senate rules to no longer require 60 of the 100 senators to allow Supreme Court nominations to move forward.

While Breyer’s retirement after 27 years gives Biden his first chance to fill a vacancy on the nine-member court, it will not change its ideological balance. The court’s 6-3 conservative majority has shown a growing willingness to reshape the law on contentious issues including abortion and gun rights. Biden’s Republican predecessor Donald Trump appointed three justices during his single four-year term in office.

Breyer, the court’s oldest justice, often found himself in dissent on a court that has moved ever rightward. He spoke at the White House of the importance of a diverse nation like the United States resolving its deep divisions by adhering to the rule of law.

“People have come to accept this Constitution and they have come to accept the importance of the rule of law,” Breyer said, holding a copy of the 18th century foundational document in his hand.

White House reaching out to candidates

White House officials expect to begin reaching out to and potentially meeting with candidates as soon as next week, according to a source familiar with the situation. Biden is expected to work with a list of 10 or fewer people.

Senate Democrats aim to quickly confirm Biden’s nominee in a time frame similar to the one-month process that the chamber’s top Republican, Mitch McConnell, used in 2020 to approve Trump’s third appointee, Amy Coney Barrett, according to a source familiar with planning.

Republicans are seeking to regain control of the Senate in the Nov. 8 congressional elections, underscoring the need for speed from the perspective of Democrats. McConnell has indicated he would block any Biden nominations to the court if his party regains the Senate majority.

McConnell said in a statement: “The president must not outsource this important decision to the radical left. The American people deserve a nominee with demonstrated reverence for the written text of our laws and our Constitution.”

Trump’s three conservative appointees who McConnell pushed through the Senate came from a shortlist prepared with the input of outside conservative legal activists associated with the Federalist Society.

Biden said he was expressing the nation’s gratitude to Breyer for his “remarkable career in public service” and noted past rulings the justice authored upholding abortion rights, voting rights, environmental measures and religious liberty.

“This is a bittersweet day for me,” Biden said. “I think he’s a model public servant in a time of great division in this country.”

Source: REUTERS

Africa Cup of Nations: Eto’o denies Cameroon manipulating COVID results of opponents

27, January 2022

Africa Cup of Nations: Eto’o denies Cameroon manipulating COVID results of opponents 0

The President of the Cameroon Football Federation( FECAFOOT) Samuel Eto’o says Cameroon does not control COVID-19 testing at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).

Eto’o is saying this after claims the host nation is manipulating testing in favour of the Indomitable Lions.

Comoros had more than 10 of their players return positive COVID-19 results ahead of their round of 16 game against Cameroon on Monday, leaving them without a recognized goalkeeper with a defender keeping the posts as they lost 2-1.

Burkina Faso also had more than four of their players test positive for the virus prior to the 2021 Afcon opening game against Cameroon.

People have used these to accuse Cameroon of disadvantaging their opponents with COVID-19 testing ahead of meetings but Eto’o is not having any of that.

He said: “I have never accepted cheating, the agency chosen to do COVID-19 tests is 100% under Caf control, the Cameroonian government does not manage COVID tests, I humbly wish my country is respected.”

Source: Footy-Ghana.com

Nigerian Federal High Court jails French Cameroonian for human trafficking

27, January 2022

Nigerian Federal High Court jails French Cameroonian for human trafficking 0

A Federal High Court in Kano has sentenced a Cameroonian, Wamba Jean-Gaston, 41, to five years in correctional centre, for trafficking three young women and four men from Cameroon enroute Nigeria to Europe.

The three female victims are: Belinga Ovanda, 19; Koussene Agnes, 21; and Meye Uwono, 27; while the male ones are Thomas Ange, 21; Ovanda Rodrigue, 21; Boris Kouass, 20; and Yannick Poudjom, 18.

Justice Abdullahi Muhammed-Liman convicted Jean-Gaston, after he had pleaded guilty to the two-count charge levelled against him.

Liman expressed concern over the implication of the convict’s conduct to general regional insecurity affecting many countries.

He described the convict’s act as a calamity and hazard that could befall not only the victims, but could contribute to banditry and kidnapping.

Earlier, Counsel to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Mr Abdullahi Babale, told the court that the convict was arrested in Kano on Dec. 10, 2021.

Babale said the Cameroonian was arrested with the seven victims on their way to Algeria.

He said the convict was illegally processing entry documents for the trafficked persons to travel to Algeria and Europe through Nigeria and Niger Republic, without having a resident permit or visa.

The counsel said the offence was contrary to, and punishable under Section 26 (1) of Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement Act, 2015.

Source: NAN

Olembe Stampede: Cameroonians grieve after eight were killed and dozens injured

27, January 2022

Olembe Stampede: Cameroonians grieve after eight were killed and dozens injured 0

Before Veronique Djilo headed to the Olembe Stadium to watch Cameroon – nicknamed the Indomitable Lions – take on Comoros the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), she updated her WhatsApp status as “Lion 4 life”.

And that was the last time her niece, Leokam, whom she lived with, would hear from her.

Djilo, a 41-year-old woman living with disability, was one of the eight people killed in a stampede that occurred outside the Olembe Stadium, in Cameroon’s capital city Yaounde, in which the hosts beat Comoros 2-1 to reach the quarter-finals of AFCON.

Security officers had reportedly delayed letting fans enter the gate via the southern entrance of the 60,000-seat venue before a crush developed as impatient fans tried to enter the stadium.

Tournament organisers had said only 80 percent of stadium capacities would be made available for fans wanting to see Cameroon’s games and 60 percent for other teams because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But officials said about 50,000 fans had tried entering the stadium during the game.

At least 38 people were also injured during the stampede, according to a statement from Cameroon’s ministry of communication.

Leokam said she had received a call telling her that Dilje was badly hurt and being treated in a hospital in Messassi, a neighbourhood near Olembe

“When I went there, she was already dead. I wondered, how can somebody who left home to enjoy [football] in the stadium did not return home?”

“Her corpse is still with the police who are investigating the incident. She was my mother, my everything, because she took care of my education and wellbeing,” Leokam said.

The incident at the brand-new stadium has shocked the football community.

In a news conference on Tuesday, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) President Patrice Motsepe said the institution was devastated by the stampede and has requested an investigation.

“The CAF family is deeply hurt,” he said. “We have a duty to find out exactly what happened and more importantly to put in appropriate measures to ensure that what happened never happens again. When people lose their lives, we all should be angry.”

CAF also said a quarter-final match set to be held at Olembe Stadium would be moved to a different venue. The stadium had been scheduled to host three further matches, including the final.

The deaths have left Cameroonian football fans deeply upset, with some saying they no longer feel safe attending games.

Therese, who survived the crush said, “Next time I see a crowd, I’ll change my direction.”

Samuel, who is a motorcycle rider and a die-hard Indomitable Lions fan, had already stopped attending matches in stadiums due to the behaviour of some fans – including one time when he was urinated on.

“The incident at Olembe has only reminded me not to attend games. The AFCON is good, but I prefer watching at home.”

Meanwhile, others said they would still be prepared to attend matches.

“What happened at Olembe was just unfortunate,” Paul, a shopkeeper, opined.

“If I have the chance to watch a game in the stadium, during this period, I will go. We just need to be careful and I believe COCAN (the local organising committee) and CAF will improve safety and security.”

But while CAF has said the tournament will go on as scheduled and that all games will have a minute of silence for the people who lost their lives, Paul believed the matches should have been put on hold for at least a week.

“These are people who have lost their loved ones. CAF needs to halt these games to honour the grieving families,” he said.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA

Bundes: Holocaust survivor urges nation to fight ‘cancer’ of hatred

27, January 2022

Bundes: Holocaust survivor urges nation to fight ‘cancer’ of hatred 0

In what was expected to be one of the last addresses by a Holocaust survivor to the German parliament, Inge Auerbacher appealed Thursday to keep alive the victims’ memory.

Fighting back tears as she recalled the suffering and loss she endured at the hands of the Nazis, Auerbacher told the Bundestag as it marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day that it was essential to fight the spreading “cancer” of hatred.

“I have lived in New York for 75 years and can still remember well this terrible time of terror and hate,” said Auerbacher, 87, who flew to Berlin in the face of the pandemic to take part in the ceremonies.

“Unfortunately this cancer has resurfaced and hatred of Jews is common in many countries of the world including Germany,” she said on the 77th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp.

“This sickness must be healed as soon as possible,” she said to applause from MPs, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his cabinet.

Auerbacher said she had been the last Jewish child born in her hometown of Kippenheim in 1934 before the Nazis’ genocidal campaign.

While her grandmother was deported to Riga and murdered, Auerbacher and her parents were sent to the Theresienstadt concentration camp when she was just seven years old.

She recounted the abuse and horrific conditions she and her family endured, but also her close friendship at the camp with a Jewish girl her age from Berlin, Ruth Nelly Abraham, who was later murdered at Auschwitz.

Auerbacher will on Friday visit the family’s home to place candles at small plaques in their memory.

The speaker of the Israeli Knesset, Mickey Levy, who was also in attendance embraced Auerbacher and wept openly as he recited a prayer for the dead.

“Keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive is a difficult task, a task placed on the shoulders of the every generation,” he said.

Germany has officially marked Holocaust Remembrance Day every January 27 since 1996 with commemorations across the country.

Scholz’s spokesman Steffen Hebestreit noted that Germany would “soon have to go forward without the personal recollections of the last survivors”.

Of the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust, more than one million were murdered at Auschwitz-Birkenau, most in its notorious gas chambers, along with tens of thousands of others including homosexuals, Roma and Soviet prisoners of war.

Holocaust survivor Inge Auerbacher said she had been the last Jewish child born in her hometown of Kippenheim in 1934 before the Nazis’ genocidal campaign

This year’s anniversary is marked by growing concerns about extremist violence and incitement in Germany, particularly among militant opponents of government coronavirus restrictions.

The number of crimes committed by right-wing extremists jumped in 2020 to its highest level ever recorded in the post-war period, an over five-percent rise to 23,604.

Source: AFP

Africa Cup of Nations: Giant killers Equatorial Guinea edge Mali on penalties to reach quarter finals

27, January 2022

Africa Cup of Nations: Giant killers Equatorial Guinea edge Mali on penalties to reach quarter finals 0

Equatorial Guinea continued their giantkilling run as they reached the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations with a 6-5 penalty shootout victory over Mali after a goalless draw in Limbe on Wednesday.

Equatorial Guinea are the final side to advance to the last eight, where they will meet Senegal on Sunday, and had their 20-year-old goalkeeper Jesus Owono to thank for their progress as he made two saves in the shootout which was concluded after 16 kicks.

Mali had been the overwhelming favourites but turned in an underwhelming performance, despite dominating possession and creating most of the chances.

Owono saved the final kick from Mali defender Falaye Sacko although it was checked first by VAR to see whether he had advanced off his line before the kick was taken.

He had indeed moved forward but his back foot was still trailing on the line as Sacko took his penalty and the kick was allowed to stand by the referee, setting off tear-filled celebrations.

Equatorial Guinea had beaten defending champions Algeria and Sierra Leone in the group stage and have now added another major scalp.

They had no real chances in the game but never allowed Mali to get into any rhythm, proving difficult to break down.

Mali were awarded a penalty in the 40th minute when Josete Miranda knocked over Moussa Doumbia.

Yet referee Bakary Gassama was encouraged to look again at his decision and, after consulting the pitchside VAR screen, changed his mind and overturned what had looked a soft penalty award.

Mali striker Ibrahima Kone shot wide on the turn early on and near the end of the first half Amadou Haidara had a good chance to open the scoring but did not connect properly with his effort.

As the game wore on, the clear-cut chances dwindled, with Mali making no progress into the Equatorial Guinea penalty area while the underdogs waited for rare opportunities on the counter attack.

Equatorial Guinea’s shootout win followed similar success for Egypt earlier in the day in Douala after they played out a goalless draw with Ivory Coast.

“It’s historic for us to get this far and it comes after excellent work by my players,” said coach Juan Micha.

His Mali counterpart Mohamed Magassouba, whose country play in World Cup playoffs in March, said: “It’s an incredible disappointment because it should not have even gone to penalties. We deserved more today.”

Source: REUTERS

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