After four years of civil war in Anglophone Cameroon, state and rebel forces have refused to engage in serious dialogue while citizens and children suffer in crossfire. DW’s Adrian Kriesch reports from western Cameroon.

“Drive on!” a soldier shouts at us in the middle of Bamenda, the economic capital of northwestern Cameroon. We have stopped because a large pool of blood, next to a pair of plastic sandals, blocks our way. “Maybe it’s just animal blood. We’re still investigating,” says the soldier dismissively. Meanwhile, around us, soldiers go house-to-house. A street further on, they load young men onto a lorry because they cannot show proof of identification. “We’re scared of the army. They make us very angry,” a young motorcycle taxi driver tells us. Violence has escalated in Cameroon since 2016. Lawyers in the city of Bamenda had taken to the streets, protesting the neglect of the English-speaking minority in the western regions of Cameroon. Soon, other branches of civil society joined. Cameroon became an independent country in the 1960s by merging a former French-speaking mandated territory and an English-speaking one. To this day, formally there are two official languages (English and French), two education systems, and two legal systems. But, in reality, the English-speaking minority in western Cameroon has felt disadvantaged, neglected and oppressed by the central government in the capital Yaounde.The state reacted to the peaceful protests in 2016 with force. At least six people were killed, and soon afterward, armed resistance groups formed. The security situation remains out of control.

The absent father figure

Bamenda’s mayor Paul Achobang is a member of President Paul Biya’s party. Biya has been in power in Cameroon for almost 40 years. But since the beginning of the crisis, the 87-year-old strongman has failed to visited the region once. Instead, he is said to spend weeks Swiss luxury hotels, booking entire floors. Bamenda mayor still supports Paul Biya, and blames his towns problems on its people Still, Biya — whose portrait hangs in the mayor’s office — is seen by some, including Achobang, as a father figure. According to the mayor, Biya wants the best for everyone, has offered amnesty to all, and, if the region is neglected, it is down to lazy parliamentarians, or there are not enough resources to go around. The government would like to repair the disastrous roads, but no company has tendered for the contract, because it is too dangerous. “Is Paul Biya at fault?” asks Achobang before answering himself: “No, it’s the people of Bamenda.” Besides, he claims, Bamenda has improved dramatically due to “Operation Clean Bamenda,” a military maneuver that has the army greatly increase its presence in the city. “Sooner or later we won’t hear any shots being fired here,” declares Achobang. But just a few hours later, shots ring out across Bamenda, and an explosion is heard. Two days later, 8-year-old Nsoh Macpeace is buried. Separatists and soldiers battled in front of his home, and when the child left the house, a grenade exploded. Nsoh Macpeace died in crossfire between separatists and government soldiers “The boy is so experienced with this conflict over four years. He knew where to hide when people were shooting,” says his aunt Gladys Kum, as she struggles to hold back tears. On this day, he hid with his grandmother. “This explosion with the grenade — they were lying there, waiting for the child to come out, it happened,” Kum says. “I don’t know why God allowed this to happen How long will this go on?!” Aunt Gladys Kum breaks down.

City of fear

Bamenda is filled with fear of attacks by soldiers and separatists. Everyone knows someone kidnapped for ransom. Schoolchildren only wear uniforms during classes because they fear being kidnapped by separatists if they wear their school uniforms in the town.

Cameroon separatists target schools

In the countryside, most schools have been closed for the past four years. Separatists target schools to pressure the government. In October, a shocking attack killed seven children in the town of Kumba.

Drunk soldiers, armed separatists

We travel to Numba. The road is a procession of checkpoints, where security forces openly drink liquor and demand bribes. Further along, a gang of separatists armed with hunting rifles and machetes holds us up. Their leader, Kevin, says he was a former student at the University of Bamenda, while another member of the gang counts money collected from passing cars. A separatist shows his hunting weapons near Numba town. Gangs claim to recieve donations from passing travelers Kevin claims the locals willingly give money to the fighters. The soldiers are the evil ones, he says: “They rape, burn houses. They commit so many crimes. They rape young women.” In Numba, Pastor Roland Arrey says he is tired of hearing the same thing. “Everyone wants to tell their story and show they are winning,” he says, “but nobody wants to engage in dialogue. They are playing peoples’ lives.” Both the military and the separatists are accused of profiting financially from the conflict. Any peacemaking dialogue seems a long shot: The government has incarcerated an important separatist leader. Meanwhile, separatist groups do not speak with one unified voice.

Cameroon in mourning after deadly school attack

Many used to sympathize with the separatists, but now that has changed. Pastor Arrey looks downcast as he walks through the remains of the village school. Torn schoolbooks litter the floor, broken desks stand aside. Schools should have reopened in September, but separatists threatened the teachers. “The school symbolizes a lot for every community that aspires for development and growth. How does a community like this build a future with children that have never gone to school?” he asks in a hollow voice. Schools rarely open outside urban centers in western Cameroon for fear of attack

Dialogue?

The German government said in 2020 that gross human rights abuses and atrocities have been committed by both actors in the conflict. Only dialogue, Berlin said, would solve the crisis — and Germany welcomed new laws to decentralize Cameroon’s government as “an important signal in their readiness to compromise and engage in dialogue.” In the town on Numba, Pastor Arrey has provided a ray of hope by building a youth learning center. Young people can train to become tailors or barbers. An alternative school program is available to children three times a week. Pastor Roland Arrey’s youth center in Numba gives youngsters a space to learn Youngsters sit in an overcrowded classroom. Two volunteers from the village take the classes: in one corner, a woman teaches the older children to write. In another corner, younger children listen as they are taught to read. This kind of center is a blessing, says a smiling Pastor Arrey. For him, life is worthless without hope. Culled from Deutchwelle

After four years of conflict in Southern Cameroons, the US Senate finally passed a strongly-worded resolution paving the way for punitive sanctions on those Biya Francophone government officials responsible for atrocities in the breakaway region.

Yaoundé is reportedly in a panic situation and the regime has annulled its usual end of year dinner at state house citing Covid-19 as reason for the cancellation.  

In two communiqués signed on Monday, January 4, 2020, the Minister Director of the Civil Cabinet of the Presidency, Samuel Mvondo Ayolo informed the heads of diplomatic missions accredited to Cameroon, members of national constituted bodies, as well as their wives that the respective ceremonies of presentation of wishes to the Head of State and his wife for 2021 have all been cancelled.

In a rare bipartisan motion, the US Congress slammed the Biya Francophone-dominated government, accusing it of repressing Anglophone citizens both politically and economically for decades. The Senators also cite the Yaoundé administration’s corruption and allegedly fraudulent elections.

The resolution calls for targeted smart sanctions against armed actors implicated in human rights abuses, it demands unfettered humanitarian access to the conflict zone, it calls for the Biya government to participate in mediated talks to address the root causes of the conflict, and it commits the US to continue to limit its security assistance to Cameroon.

Lord Alton of Liverpool has raised the Anglophone issue in Parliament since the outbreak of the conflict. Commenting on the US Congress resolution he said, “This now puts additional pressure on the British government, as the former colonial power in the Southern Cameroons. The UK must apply targeted smart sanctions against armed individuals implicated in human rights abuses in this devastating conflict. It is no longer possible for Britain to maintain a detached position while millions of Africans who cherish their English legal and school systems, and the English language, are asking for our moral support. The UK must exercise its diplomatic influence to press the regime of President Biya to attend mediated peace talks.”

In an interview with Independent Catholic News, Dr Chris Fomunyoh, senior director for Africa at the National Democratic Institute in Washington DC, and a native of Cameroon, commented, “It is remarkable that the US Senate adopted such a bipartisan resolution, given the very polarized nature of current US politics. There is a reason to believe that the resolution will significantly shape or influence US policy toward Cameroon under the new Biden/Harris administration.”

Dr Fomunyoh continued, “One of the innovations with Resolution 684 is its reference to targeted sanctions against perpetrators and proponents of violence, whether in uniform or among civilian leadership or among the armed groups. Certainly, the killings and atrocities that have become the hallmarks of this conflict can no longer be condoned.”

The Congressional resolution condemns the excessive force used by Cameroon armed forces in crushing peaceful protest against the imposition of French laws and schooling in the Anglophone regions. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights reports that 700,000 are internally displaced by the violence, and another 60,000 have fled to Nigeria. The US resolution notes the burning of villages, live ammunition used against non-violent protestors, and the arbitrary arrest, detention and torture of opposition leaders. The UN Children’s Fund reports that 855,000 students have been unable to attend school for the last four years.

The Biya regime responded to increasing international pressure by holding a Major National Dialogue in October 2019. However, many Anglophone leaders were afraid to attend in case they were detained and jailed. Since the meeting, the security situation has deteriorated, with massacres, including the killing of seven schoolchildren in Kumba in October. The Catholic Church has been foremost in rallying moderate civil society opinion against the violent extremes of all sides to the conflict. Its members have faced intimidation and kidnapping, and the murder of several priests.

Dr Fomunyoh says the US resolution may now put pressure on other world leaders to follow suit. “Friends of Cameroon and of humanity can no longer be indifferent to ongoing mayhem and utter destruction. The government of Cameroon and the armed groups have to understand what the world is saying, as captured by the US Senate Resolution 684: there is no military solution to this conflict. What is needed is a mediated negotiated solution that addresses the root causes of blatant Anglophone marginalisation and alienation in Cameroon.”

Independent Catholic News with additional reporting from Camcordnews

Three members of a self-defense group were shot dead by suspected members of Islamist group Boko Haram in the north of Cameroon.

Local authorities reported that the casualties were member of the Kaliari Vigilant committee

These self-defense groups is usually composed of civilians and are responsible for providing information or serve as scouts to soldiers.

Boko Haram attacks have killed nearly 2,500 Cameroonians between 2014 and 2017, according to the country’s defense ministry.

The UN Refugee Agency estimates approximately 26 million people in the Lake Chad region have been affected by the Boko Haram violence, and more than 2.6 million displaced.

The Boko Haram insurgency began in 2009 in northeastern Nigeria before spreading to neighboring countries. Since then, more than 36,000 people (mostly in Nigeria) have been killed and 3 million have fled their homes, according to the UN.

Source: Africa News

The Vice President of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government, Dabney Yerima has once again censured the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime in Yaoundé for committing craven acts of terror against innocent Ambazonian civilians in Kumba, Muyuka, Ngarbuh, Buea and Bamenda vowing to prosecute the French Cameroun culprits including the Francophone Senior Divisional Officer for Meme.

In a televised speech on Sunday January 3, 2021 some two days away from the 3rd anniversary of the abduction of President Julius Ayuk Tabe, and 11 of his associates at the NERA Hotel in Nigeria in a flagrant disregard of international law, Vice President Dabney Yerima said French Cameroun’s continued terrorist acts in Southern Cameroons are being carried out in blatant violation of international law.

“Ngarbuh Massacre of 24 women and children in February by French Cameroun military, the torture, and murder of Journalist Samuel Wazizi whilst in detention in June, the beheading of Comfort Tumassang in Muyuka in August by French Cameroun militia, the October execution of seven schoolchildren in Kumba- a diabolic crime organized by the colonial SDO of Meme, the December outbreak of xenophobic violence in Fako County sponsored by rogue chief Monja Monja, were some of the low points of a gloomy year.”

“The Interim Government must continue efforts to establish concrete diplomatic breakthroughs with friendly and sympathetic governments. On Friday, 1 January 2021, US Senate Resolution 684 was passed calling on the government of La Republique du Cameroun to respect human rights and pursue genuinely inclusive dialogue towards ending the crisis between our nations. The Resolution was robust and a move in the right direction. We shall continue to explore all diplomatic tools available to us over the next twelve months. I want to register my appreciation to our comrades in the US who worked tirelessly to get this resolution to the Senate floor” Yerima added.

Emphasizing that all the Biya French Cameroun acts of lawlessness in Southern Cameroons are full show, the Ambazonia Vice President furthered that, the Southern Cameroons Interim Government won’t rest until it brings all those French Cameroun criminals responsible to justice.

Dabney Yerima also stated that “With regards to the forthcoming Africa Cup of Nations, Ambazonia Intelligence Service (AIS) has briefed the Interim Government on sophisticated new strategies that would be employed to defend our national interest. We have informed French Cameroun and nations participating in this tournament that any attempt to bring its activities to Ambazonia would be considered a deliberate violation of our sovereignty, and our response will be prompt and definite.”

By Isong Asu

A Cameroonian soldier serving with the MINUSCA mission was killed over the weekend after his car crashed in the Central African Republic, the UN mission to the country (MINUSCA) has confirmed.

There is ongoing engagement within the mission and with mission commanders to ensure that rotations can take place as close as possible to the original planned dates in accordance with the directives of the UN secretary general.

Peacekeepers serve in harsh conditions and at great personal risk. Tragically some make the ultimate sacrifice.

The incident is another example of the risks that Cameroonian peacekeepers face in their engagement in the Central African Republic often at the risk of their lives.

MINUSCA currently has nearly 13,000 uniformed personnel serving the country’s five-year-old peacekeeping mission, aiming to restore security, and provide support for human rights efforts, following years of political upheaval in the Central African Republic.

However, the same military that is seeking to engineer peace in faraway Central African Republic is the same military that is killing its own citizens back home with impunity.

In the country’s northern region, army soldiers are killing young men and women under the guise of fighting Boko Haram insurgents.

In 2018, it took a BBC investigation for the government of Cameroon to admit that its soldiers were killing its own citizens indiscriminately when a video of how a woman and her baby were gunned down point blank by power-drunk soldiers.

Initially, the corrupt Yaounde government claimed that those soldiers were Malian soldiers, adding that the military fatigue and landscape were not Cameroonian.

But superior BBC technology clearly demonstrated that the government of Cameroon was replete with liars, criminals and assasins who would stop at nothing when it comes to sticking around the corridors of power.

But it is in Southern Cameroons that the country’s military has, indeed, demonstrated that it is an army of butchers.

Since 2016 when the country’s English-speaking minority started complaining about marginalization, some 6,000 Southern Cameroonians have been butchered by the thugs who make up the country’s military.

In certain cases, like in Kwakwa, army soldiers have killed old people in their homes as they resorted to a policy of scorch earth designed to intimidate the insurgents.

But their destructive and inhuman actions in many Southern Cameroonian towns and cities have only radicalized many, making it impossible for the military to bring about a fast, conclusive and emphatic victory it thought it would achieve in two weeks.

In Santa and Ngarbuh, the military clearly demonstrated for the international community to see that it had savages in its mist.

In Santa, the country’s territorial administration minister, Paul Atanga Nji, an ex-convict and a con man, engineered the slaughtering of 26 young men, hoping that the truth will not be found and the local population would rise up against the professionally trained Southern Cameroonian fighters.

His Machiavelian scheme fell flat on its face and the world condemned, in no uncertain terms, the brutality of the government.

But it was in Ngarbuh that Atanga Nji’s primitive bestiality was witnessed by the international community when 23 women and children were slaughtered by their own government just to prove a point.

The world reacted swiftly and its condemnation of such primitive behavior was fast. Again, the wretched and inhuman government falsely alleged that the killing of pregnant women and babies in Ngarbuh was the handiwork of Southern Cameroonian fighters.

The truth never hides. Once the pressure of the international community kicked in, the chronically corrupt government once more admitted that its unholy operations in that region were responsible for the deaths of 23 innocent women and children.

This is a government that is wont to speaking from both sides of its mouth. It is a government that sees the truth as a foreign concept. Its love of violence and falsehood has made it hard for genuine peace to return to Southern Cameroons.

It is, indeed, a miracle to see that the wild animals that make up Cameroon’s military are even sent to keep peace in foreign countries.

If their performance abroad is commendable, it is purely because they are guided by international law and the United Nations has a reliable surveillance system that ensures that those serving in its missions conduct themselves in a particular way.

Generally, Cameroonian soldiers cannot be trusted to engineer peace in any part of the world. They are a mirror image of the wicked and violent (mis)leaders who have simply outsourced violence to them. The world needs to keep a special eye on the Cameroon army.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

In the boldest repositioning since the start of the Ambazonian revolution, VP Dabney Yerima will be announcing three new policies later this evening. In his address, the exiled leader is expected to call on his people to be bold and adopt the responsibility to protect as a creed to shield their people and nation from the French Cameroun CPDM crime syndicate.

In his speech to the nation, the exiled Ambazonian leader would say “Today January 3, 2021, is two days away from the 3rd anniversary of the abduction of our leader President Julius Ayuk Tabe, and 11 of his associates at the NERA Hotel in Nigeria in a flagrant disregard of international law”. The Ambazonian leader would call on his people to stay focused in the months ahead and trust in the IG’s new course of action.

The Ambazonian Vice President will appeal to all Southern Cameroonians to remain calm in the face of xenophobic attacks sponsored by the regime in Yaoundé. He will say “the December outbreak of xenophobic violence in Fako County sponsored by rogue Chief Monja Monja, is one of the low points of a gloomy year.”

The speech is expected to be watched by an estimated 900,000 and will see the exiled leader rally the nation for a huge advance towards freedom. VP Yerima will also speak of unity observing that “The question in front of our nation during our lifetime is one of independence or extinction” and he will add that “this is a war that if our enemy wins, our subjugation is ensured forever.”

On the issue of the forthcoming African Cup of Nations, the Ambazonian Vice President will be strong and unequivocal with the French Cameroun regime in Yaoundé and the tournament’s organizers.

With the Ambazonian struggle into its fourth year, the exiled leader will call on his country’s diaspora to support his new project aimed at supplying sophisticated equipment to the nation’s self-defence forces. He will say “Let the regime in Yaoundé and France know that we shall pay any price and meet any hardship to succeed. This much, the diaspora must pledge.”

The speech which is rich in content and bold on policy will be delivered live at 8pm Amba Time today 3 January 2021 on SCBC TV, Facebook, YouTube, Android and IOS app and Apple TV. It is expected to be followed by a panel discussion with five of the brightest minds in the Southern Cameroons political story.

By Isong Asu with files from VP Dabney Yerima’s Communication and Strategy Team