NGOs are exaggerating the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Cameroon’s two war-torn English-speaking regions in a bid “to make business,” an official said on Thursday.

“I read a public document recently published by an NGO saying that we have more than 400,000 internally displaced people in Cameroon. That is total misinformation and I can say it’s fake news,” Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji told a press conference here in the capital city. “It is unfortunate that some partners want to use the situation to make business. Inflating the number of IDPs presents another danger which can even jeopardize the sovereignty of the state,” he added.

Nji’s statement came after Human Rights Watch, a U.S.-based NGO, reported that close to 500,000 people have been displaced internally in the two war-torn English-speaking regions. “Statistics from administrative authorities and serious NGOs working in collaboration with government show that there are about 152,000 internally displaced people in the northwest and southwest regions and about 6,000 internally displaced in the west, central and littoral regions,” Nji said, adding that 75,000 IDPs have been assisted by the government.

Armed separatists have been clashing with government forces in the two Anglophone regions of Northwest and Southwest since November 2017, seeking to secede from French-majority Cameroon and create a new nation called “Ambazonia.”

 Xinhuanet

Cameroon said Tuesday that it firmly opposed what it called “bias” report by the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) on atrocities in its war-torn English-speaking regions.

The HRW report published on March 28 blamed government forces for killing “scores of civilians”, using indiscriminate force, and torching “hundreds of homes” over the past six months.

“The government of Cameroon categorically rejects these allegations against its professional forces who are fighting to preserve the territorial integrity of the country,” Cameroon’s Minister of Communication and government spokesman, Emmanuel Rene Sadi told a press conference here.

The minister accused the HRW of “obvious bias in favor of armed gangs.” He said Cameroon was “really surprised” that the report failed to put stress on kidnappings, closure of schools, burning of hospitals and “other atrocities” committed by armed separatists.

Armed separatists fighting for the “independence” of the two Anglophone regions in Cameroon have been clashing with government forces since November 2017.

The United Nations estimates that at least 430,000 people have been displaced internally by the conflict.

Source: Xinhuanet

The residence of the mayor of the Mamfe Rural Council, Hon. Ayuk John Takunchong was attacked by armed Southern Cameroons militants at exactly 1:45 am on Wednesday. The mayor and his two kids were home at the time of the attack carried out by an unidentified group operating deep within the Manyu County.

Speaking to Cameroon Concord News, Mayor Takunchong said armed Ambazonia militants stormed his residence and burnt all his cars before running away towards unknown destinations. The attack is the second against a senior Manyu CPDM politician after that of Minister Victor Mengot as the Ambazonia group targeted the Mamfe mayor, Bishop Andrew Nkea and Rev Father Tabeson.

A total of 170 Southern Cameroons civilians were killed recently by Cameroon government forces in the Northern Zone, while several hundred were injured according to a report by the Human Rights Watch.

Manyu Odeshi Warriors continue to launch sporadic attacks across Cameroon government troops and pro Biya regime establishments in Manyu. Cameroon government Security reports indicate that Southern Cameroons group still poses threat against stability in the country. The Manyu Warriors still has dormant cells in Mamfe through which it carries out attacks, across the county like it used to do when the crisis started some three years ago.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Southern Cameroons fighters have reportedly blocked a newly built road linking the capital of the Menchum County to Bamenda, Cameroon Intelligence Report has learnt, while CRTV Bamenda reported that troops loyal to the Biya regime in Yaoundé secured a strategic highway between Batibo and Mamfe, the chief town in the Manyu County.

In the Northern Zone of Southern Cameroons, Ambazonia Restoration Forces took over three Cameroon government gendarmerie posts on the truck A road that serves as an alternate route into Wum via Fundong after days of fighting. The Rapid Intervention Battalion built the bypass after Southern Cameroons Self Defense forces cut off the original main route to Menchum.

Meanwhile, the Francophone dominated army say they have been able to secure the highway linking Muyuka and Kumba.  The reports came as CEMAC nations hinted that some of the challenges confronting France-Afrique of which CEMAC is the heart-beat, included the growing debate on colonial security, economic and cultural pacts, the CFA Franc, the Multinational war against Boko Haram, Maritime Security in the Gulf of Guinea, the instability in CAR and the DRC Congo.  The sick French Cameroun despot with a failing memory was chosen recently to lead the group.

The United States so far has balked at the Ambazonia Diaspora sending weapons to the Southern Cameroons Restoration Forces, fearing the arms could end up in the hands of extremists. Over 430,000 have fled in response to the violence. The violence is also compounding poverty in the country, as farmers have been forced to abandon their crops and exports are in decline.

As a result of the violence, earlier this week, the U.S. placed sanctions on over 20 military personnel, civilian actors, and government ministers in Cameroon. Aid programs and military training by the U.S. have been withdrawn. France has kept the faith in the 86 years old Biya supplying his regime with guns.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai