Cameroon has launched a new security operation in Bamenda, a city in North West, one of the two Anglophone separatist regions marred by violence since 2016, according to security sources.

“Defence and Security Forces (DSF) have initiated a special operation to secure the city of Bamenda and its surroundings code-named “Bamenda Clean” from Tuesday September 8 2020,” security chiefs of army and police said in a joint statement late Tuesday.

The operation came after increased clashes between armed separatists and the military in Bamenda. Two police officers were ambushed in the Small Mankon area last week.

The Central African country has been marred by protests and violence since 2016, with residents in English-speaking regions saying they have been marginalized for decades by the central government and the French-speaking majority.

“This is in response to frequent attacks perpetrated by terrorists and criminals such as kidnappings, robbery of banks and stores, looting, wanton killings of civilians and personnel of the Defence and Security Forces,” the statement said.

The statement urged the population to collaborate with the defense and security forces throughout the operation.

Earlier, the mayor of Bamenda had prohibited the circulation of taxi-motorbikes within the urban perimeter of city.

At least 15 workers from a local company were kidnapped last week by alleged armed Anglophone separatists in a town in the South West region.

In a tweet on Tuesday, the military said it had killed one of the armed group’s “pseudo generals” and recovered ammunition.

In June, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said for a second year running Cameroon topped the list as the most neglected crisis on the planet in 2019.

“Three separate emergencies faced the African nation: an exacerbation of Boko Haram attacks in the north, a violent conflict in the English-speaking west, and a Central African refugee crisis. Ineffective conflict resolution, global news silence and a massive aid funding shortfall all contributed to the country topping this year’s list,” it said.

Violence in the Anglophone regions over the last four years has claimed an estimated 3,000 lives and displaced over 730,000 civilians, according to the Human Rights Watch.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The Anglophone conflict has inflicted deadly violence & human rights abuses against Cameroonians. The int’l community must do more to speak out against these atrocities & engage all sides to pursue an inclusive & constructive path toward peace & stability.

U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Ben Cardin (D-Md.), ranking member of the Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women’s Issues, along with Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Tim Kaine (D-Va.), today introduced a resolution calling on the Government of Cameroon and armed separatist groups from the English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions to end all violence, respect the human rights of all Cameroonians, and pursue a genuinely inclusive dialogue toward resolving the ongoing civil conflict in Anglophone Cameroon.

“The deadly violence and human rights abuses against the Cameroonian people as a result of the Anglophone conflict has crippled the country’s political and economic development. The international community must do more to speak out against the atrocities of this conflict, and engage all sides to pursue an inclusive and constructive path toward peace and stability,” said Risch. “Resolving this conflict will allow Cameroonians to fully realize their own constitutional and democratic ideals, pursue justice for those whose lives have been lost or destroyed, and restore Cameroon’s robust security and economic partnership with the United States.”

“America’s foreign policy should be rooted in our values, including our obligation to support human rights all around the globe. The situation in Cameroon has continued to devolve, and the United States’ Senate cannot be silent in the face of grave human rights abuses,” Cardin said. “This bipartisan resolution marks Congress’ commitment to working with the Cameroonian people to put an end to violence and human rights violations, pursue justice for victims, and support Cameroon in reconciliation, development, and humanitarian efforts.”

Key provisions of the resolution include encouraging all parties of the Anglophone conflict in Cameroon to:

Conclude and uphold an immediate ceasefire.

Guarantee unfettered humanitarian access and assistance to the Northwest and Southwest regions.

Exercise restraint and ensure that political protests are peaceful.

Establish a credible process for an inclusive dialogue that includes all relevant stakeholders to achieve a sustainable political solution that respects the rights and freedoms of all of the people of Cameroon.

Cameroon Concord News Group senior political man, Dr Patrick Ayuk says Barrister Agbor Balla has betrayed the entire Federal Republic of Ambazonia by publishing a “sex dossier” on Ambazonia Restoration Forces. The South African based Southern Cameroons academic also stated that the Agbor Balla betrayal will not last long.

“Barrister Agbor Balla betrayed the Ambazonian nation, its leadership and Amba Self Defense Forces including the important cause of Southern Cameroons” Dr Patrick Ayuk said in a meeting with the editorial desk of the Cameroon Concord News Group on Tuesday.

“Of course Barrister Agbor Balla’s 50^th birthday party was celebrated and accorded heavy French Cameroun media coverage but this situation will not last long, and the stain of shame will remain on his face including men like Atanga Nji, Paul Tasong, Victor Mengot, Dion Ngute and Elung Paul who forgot the occupation of Southern Cameroons-Ambazonia and the killing of over 35,000 Southern Cameroonians.”

Dr Patrick Ayuk was referring to a report recently released by the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa.

Dr Patrick Ayuk who is also a leading Southern Cameroons figure in the resistance further expressed dismay at Southern Cameroons traditional rulers collaboration with French Cameroun and the wicked elements at the helm of the Biya regime in their brutal actions against the interests of the people of Southern Cameroons-Ambazonia and the entire Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

Dr Patrick Ayuk also advised Barrister Agbor Balla, Dr Ikome Sako and Chris Anu to wake up as soon as possible and compensate for what they have done.

By Isong Asu in London

Fear and hunger stalk the survivors of a suicide bomb attack on a site for displaced people in northern Cameroon, local residents say.

Eighteen people died and 15 others were wounded in the overnight attack on 1 August  at Nguétchéwé, close to the border with Nigeria, where thousands of internally displaced people have sought safety over the past seven years.

Since then, insecurity in Far North region has continued. Attackers killed seven and wounded 14 on Monday when they targeted a Goldavi village, which hosts IDPs.

The 2,000 residents at the site near Kolofata have had to adjust their daily routines since August and this has made their lives even harder.

“We can no longer dig in the fields for fear that armed men will hide in them and attack us. These days, we farmers do virtually nothing,” said Ndonoko, 40, who fled to Nguétchéwé when attackers burned his village in Cameroon to the ground.

Ndonoko is no stranger to violence. His younger brother was killed last year and his niece, Yakadam, died in August’s attack on the site, which is in the Far North region’s Mozogo commune.

Nguétchéwé, which borders a nature reserve, overlooks the frontier with Nigeria and this proximity makes it vulnerable.

“This attack mainly affected women and children.”

The attack has changed life in Nguétchéwé, a village of straw huts topped with tattered tarpaulins, in other ways too. Children still play, women fetch water from a well or go to the local market and some people still work in small fields of rice and corn. But others have set up vigilantes for self-defence and villagers sleep outdoors to be able to escape if attacked again.

“This attack mainly affected women and children and they are in particular need of protection,” said Olivier Guillaume Beer, the representative in Cameroon for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency

“It shows the extreme vulnerability of these displaced populations .… We have a duty to provide them protection and assistance and we are at the disposal of the authorities to help them in this task,” he said.

Violence is rising in the Far North, after a spate of looting, attacks and kidnapping by Boko Haram and other groups. Some 360,000 internally displaced people and 115,000 Nigerian refugees stay in the region.

Overall, around 3.2 million people have fled their homes in the Lake Chad basin region. This includes around 2.8 million who are internally displaced in northeast Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger and roughly 300,000 Nigerian refugees who have fled into neighbouring countries.

“I woke up my children to run towards the bush.”

Memories of the August attack haunt survivors. Suzanne Taramna recalls the sound of gunfire awakening her that night.

“I woke up my children to run towards the bush. In the dark, people were running. It was a complete stampede and in the confusion I lost sight of two of my children who took another direction. I took shelter in a cornfield. Not far from me, I heard a loud explosion. A piece of debris from the explosive device hit my hand,” she said.

“Afterwards, when I went to the scene, I discovered the remains of my two boys aged 12 and eight,” she said.

Witnesses said the suicide bombers themselves were children. Within days of the attack people in the Kordo and Guérédou nearby also fled their homes fearing they too might be targeted.

UNHCR provides protection and assistance with water, food, shelter and other items to more than 400,000 refugees in Cameroon, mainly from Nigeria and the Central African Republic.

“They have lost everything.”

For Mylène Ahounou, head of the UNHCR sub-delegation in Maroua, northern Cameroon, the needs are never-ending.

“They have lost everything: from their material goods to their documents and this exposes them to all kinds of risks from exploitation to impoverishment,” she said.

“These people, who have been displaced more than once, are particularly exposed to bad weather and need blankets, mats, dignity kits for women, latrines and of course access to drinking water, health care and food,” she said.

One sign of hope was a recent food donation from the government the planned joint response of humanitarian actors in the area. Yet problems persist.

“Our operation remains underfunded and it is also crucial that UNHCR and its humanitarian partners obtain improved access so that we can better serve everyone who has been forced to flee,” Ahounou said.

Source: UNHCR