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5, January 2017

Nigeria: 3 female bombers killed in a crowded market ⁰

Pro-government anti-terror fighters in Nigeria have managed to kill three radicalized girls before they could detonate their explosive vests in a crowded market in the country’s northeastern province of Adamawa, officials say.

The incident occurred on Wednesday when civilian fighters spotted the three girls and became suspicious that they were wearing explosive vests as the three were trying to pass a checkpoint in a village near the town of Madagali, said local council chairman Yusuf Muhammad Gulak. He said the girls ignored the fighters’ commands to stop and began running, prompting fire from the forces.

According to Gulak, the girl in the lead was shot first, and her explosives were activated as a result. The blast killed her and another one of the would-be terrorists. The third girl was also gunned down as she tried to escape the scene. Officials blamed the Takfiri Boko Haram terrorist group for the attempted attack.

In recent months, army troops and civilian fighters in Nigeria have managed to foil many bomb attacks involving terrorists wearing explosive vests before the assailants were able to reach heavily-populated targets and detonate their bombs of their own accord.

Last month, however, two women, with the Boko Haram, killed 57 people and injured 177, including 120 children, after they detonated their explosive vests at a bustling market at Madagali, some 20 kilometers from the Wednesday shootings scene. Boko Haram later claimed responsibility for the massacre. On December 24, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who came to power in 2015 with a pledge to eradicate Boko Haram, announced that the army had “crushed” the terror group a day earlier by retaking its last key bastion, deep inside the thick Sambisa Forest in the northeastern province of Borno.

Boko Haram terrorists started their reign of terror in 2009 with the aim of toppling the Nigerian government. In their heyday in early 2015, they managed to control an area in the country’s northeast as vast as Belgium, but they lost most of that territory over the last year as the Nigerian government, along with troops from some affected neighboring countries such as Chad and Cameroon, launched a joint military campaign to eradicate the militant group. The group, whose name means “Western education is forbidden,” has pledged allegiance to Daesh, a Takfiri terrorist group mainly active in Iraq and Syria. Boko Haram terrorists have so far killed more than 20,000 people and forced over 2.7 million others from their homes.

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5, January 2017

Gunmen have killed 2 peacekeepers in the Central African Republic ⁰

Gunmen have killed two Moroccan peacekeepers with a UN mission in the southeast of the Central African Republic (CAR). MINUSCA, or the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic, said in a statement on Wednesday that the peacekeepers were attacked while they were escorting fuel trucks on Tuesday afternoon about 60 kilometers west of the town of Obo.

MINUSCA said two other peacekeepers were injured in the attack. The attackers “fled into the bush.” Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, the head of MINUSCA, denounced the attack, saying, “No claim can justify individuals directing their grievances against peacekeepers whose presence on CAR soil is only aimed at helping the country emerge from the cycle of violence.”

In March 2013, the Central African Republic toppled into chaos when then President Francois Bozize was ousted by the mainly Seleka rebel alliance and was replaced by Michel Am-Nondokro Djotodia, the first Muslim to hold the presidency in the generally-Christian nation.

The coup, however, caused a series of deadly retaliatory attacks between the Seleka rebels and the Christian militia known as anti-balaka, who reacted by engaging in large-scale attacks against the minority Muslims. Some 13,000 peacekeepers have been deployed to the country by the UN as part of MINUSCA. Civilians, however, say it does not do enough to protect them against scores of armed groups.

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4, January 2017

Southern Cameroons to begin ghost town operations soonest ⁰

The leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium, CACSC, have signed an important document declaring the beginning of ghost town operations on Monday the 9^th of January in British Southern Cameroons.

In a statement jointly signed by the President Barrister Agbor Felix Nkongho, Dr Fontem Neba of SYNES University of Buea and Wilfred Tassang of Cameroon Teachers Trade Union, the Anglophone leaders appealed to all Southern Cameroonians residing in the North West and South West regions to see themselves as one person and stage a ghost town operation to counter what they termed governments attitude to undermine the will of the Anglophone people and to get schools start without solving the problems raised by Anglophone teachers and the Common Law Lawyers.

Said the leaders “We must stand together and continue our peaceful resistance until the demands of the Lawyers and teachers tabled relating to our existence have been satisfactorily addressed.”

The Consortium observed that all teachers, lawyers, taxi drivers, commercial bike riders, business operators and all Southern Cameroons citizens should stay at home on Monday January 9, 2017. The leaders have demanded a total shut down of schools, markets and businesses. They have also requested Southern Cameroonians to stay away from street marches, public demonstrations and avoid any confrontation with the forces of law and order including the army.

The decision was made public some few minutes after some political elites from the North West and South West regions in a joint press release called on Anglophone parents to send their children to school on Monday January 9, 2017.

Culled from Cameroon Intelligence Report

4, January 2017

South West CPDM barons have declared their unflinching support for the Southern Cameroons struggle ³

Highly placed government officials from the South West region have declared their unflinching support for the Southern Cameroons nationalism. The political elites based in Yaounde the nation’s capital have reportedly addressed an anonymous letter to the Anglophone teachers and the Common Law Lawyers consortium. Our senior political correspondent in the Center region reported that tension seems to be mounting deep within the ruling party for Biya to resolve amicably the Anglophone problem. Below is a copy of the document as sent to our London news desk:

To Southern Cameroonians and

Particularly To The Consortium.

We want to applaud the efforts put forth already by the southern Cameroonians in the fight for our liberation. We understand that as CPDM militants our efforts might be hindered by party lines but with what a few of us have seen and experience these days in Yaoundé has made some of us to start having a rethink thereby choosing the liberation movement over party bonuses. We want all of you to first of all understand that this fight is legitimate as it is backed by our constitution. We all as Southern Cameroonians have been marginalized and manipulated irrespective of our political affiliations. The future of our grand and great grand children is in jeopardy.

During the last presidential address, the president ignored all our advices given to him which were aimed at either organizing a referendum for a federal state or putting the decentralization model into practice. We also asked him not to be harsh when addressing the Anglophone problem but because his believes in what Prof. Fame Ndongo tells him, he went on to call us extremist. How can he then call for dialogue with people termed as “Extremist”?.

Our main aim of writing is to encourage all southern Cameroonians not to give up now. Yaoundé the capital is in serious dilemma. If we relent our efforts and go back to school or courts it means we will NEVER be taken seriously. This is the period to double our efforts so that our demands can be made instantly. For this to be achieved we call on the various Teachers Trade Union Leaders and Lawyers. Parents most understand that this fight is for a more propitious future for their children because if we allow things they way there are now, our children will not have any voice in this Union in the next thirty years or so.

Most ministers, directors, and corrupt government officials have build many hostels in Buea and they are afraid of their investment being destroyed. Also most of their children are in Anglophone boarding secondary schools and Universities thus they will want our grievances to be resolved at all cost. We should understand at this point that the president hardly fulfils his promises. If we don’t double our efforts his promise of creating a permanent “National Institution” to look into our problems will just die a natural death just like other previous promises. What we are saying in that the STRIKE MOST CONTINUE in full swing. We have gone far and many people have died for this struggle to end without concrete solutions. We are happy because with your expertise in social media as we have experienced, this message will be rapidly spread for everyone to be aware of some of our positions to this struggle.

4, January 2017

Vice Chancellor of the University of Bamenda hosting anti Anglophone meeting ⁰

We have gotten intelligence that there is a meeting presently going on in the University of Bamenda grouping all heads of government establishments, directors and top management called by the Vice Chancellor of the university under the instructions of the most anti Anglophone cabinet minister ever, Fame Ndongo.

The so called minister for Higher Education has reportedly given standing orders to the Anglophone heads that they should diverse a method to call off the strike and students should resume classes. (This story is developing and was culled from a sister publication Cameroon Intelligence Report)

4, January 2017

New UN Secretary General says he is not a miracle maker ⁰

The new United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned that he is not a “miracle maker” and that the global body faces “very challenging times.” Guterres made the remark on Tuesday before starting his first official day of work at the UN headquarters in New York after succeeding Ban Ki-moon as secretary general on January 1.

“I think it is useful to say there are no miracles…I am sure I am not a miracle maker,” he said. He went on to underscore the large number of complex crises around the world the United Nations must deal with, adding that the world body should have no “illusions” over the “challenging times” it faces.

“We see everywhere in the world conflicts that multiply and are interlinked and have triggered this new phenomenon of global terrorism,” he added. Guterres stressed that despite easing the sufferings of some people, “we still fail in the prevention of conflicts and conflict resolution.”

He went on to add that there is a large amount of resistance around the world and a large amount of skepticism over the UN’s role. “We need to be able to recognize our shortcomings, our failures…get rid of the straightjacket of bureaucracy,” he added. “The only way we can achieve our goals is to really work together as a team and serve the values enshrined in the Charter and that unite humanity.”

Guterres was elected for the post by the UN General Assembly for a five-year term on October 13 last year. He was the prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 to December 2015. In his first message as the UN chief, Guterres called on all people across the globe to put “peace” above all else. “Let us resolve to put peace first,” he said.

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4, January 2017

Multiple secret visits to Bamenda by Francophone officials ⁰

The National Executive Secretary of Cameroon Teachers Trade Union, CATTU, Wilfred Tassang has revealed that the government of Cameroon is presently in a desperate attempt to forcefully get schools to resume come Monday Jan 9. Wilfred Tassang opined that “Huge sums of money were dulled out to traditional rulers this Christmas through governors to first class rulers, SDOs to second class and DOs to third class rulers to pressure the teachers.” Cameroon Intelligence Report understands the money is part of the 24 billion FCFA paid by the Minister of Finance to CPDM business tycoon Baba Danpullo.

Cameroun Info.Net reported earlier today that Mr. Wilfred Tassang has sounded a note of caution to all traditional rulers against receiving such money to sell their consciences. “Whilst we caution any of our fathers who have taken this money of wickedness not to further desecrate the throne and their authority by taking the wrong side in this struggle, we appeal to all stakeholders not get give up at this point in time, when victory is so close.”

He added that “Those who are for us are more than those who are against us. That’s the only reason to be advanced for the fact the President’s speech leaked more than 3hrs to presentation. We have friends in very high places.” Wilfred Tassang observed that if the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo government fails to force-start schools on the 9th, Yaoundé will also be forced to face the reality.

There have been multiple secret visits to Bamenda ever since the New Year by very highly placed CPDM government officials indicating yet another sign of desperation. Contrary to a position held by Justice Ayah Paul which called on the Anglophone leaders to give Biya a chance, it is evidently clear that the Biya regime up to now has not announced any measures taken to solve either the problems raised by lawyers or teachers. The Great Wilfred Tassang has appeal to all the teachers not to allow the strike to collapse. “If it does, we shall be greatly spited and the regime will not be under pressure to address these grievances.”

Mr Tassang has also warned union leaders against taking of bribes that will undermine the strike, in his words “For union leaders and others at the forefront of this struggle, beware! It has been revealed in the spirit realms, the release of a huge amount of VOODOO money meant to maim the brain and cause heavy carnage. We hereby call on all to fear God and resist the enemy that he may flee from us.”

The Executive Secretary of Cameroon Teachers trade Union however, reminded parents and the Anglophone student community that teachers and lawyers are not fighting for personal gains but to make Anglophone Cameroon children to be proud of belonging to a nation which they can call their own.

At the time of filing this report, information filtered out that Prime Minister Philemon Yang was en route to Bamenda in a bid to keep his job. The Teachers Trade Unionists say they have not been summoned to any meeting. It was reported that the anti Anglophone Higher Education Minister, Jacques Fame Ndongo was in Kumba to lure teachers back into the classrooms.

Culled from Cameroon Intelligence Report

3, January 2017

5 Cameroonians killed in Azerbaijan ⁰

An Azerbaijan news portal has reported that five Cameroonians lost their lives on the 28^th of December in the country. The Azerbaijani information website, Az made the revelation on New Year’s Day stating that 5 Cameroonians including three footballers and two students were killed in Azerbaijan.

The Azerbaijani online publication did not provide any details but merely observed that the police department had opened an investigation. However, according to information provided by credible Cameroonian diplomatic sources at the embassy in Moscow and quoted by Koaci.com, the Cameroonians would have died from suffocation after a gas leaked at their accommodation center.

By Chi Prudence Asong

3, January 2017

Anglophone teachers are being targeted, trade union leaders make public new guidelines ⁰

The Southern Cameroons trade union leaders have come up with the following. A Joint release will soon be published.

1.) No one for no reason should demonstrate or match during this period. Public demonstrations are cancelled in North West and South West Regions.

2) All Parents, teachers and students are advised not to listen to any publication on social media which is not from the Union leaders of teachers and lawyers.

3) All parents, teachers and students are advised NOT to send their children to school come the 9^th of January. Teachers should stay home and watch over their children.

4) The union leaders are more determined now than before to fight for the demands they had made. A press release to this will soon come. Remember that we are teachers and must be logical in our thinking.

3, January 2017

Israeli police question Prime Minister Netanyahu ⁰

Israeli investigators have questioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his official residence in Jerusalem al-Quds over allegations of corruption. A police vehicle with three officers was seen arriving at Netanyahu’s residence on Monday evening. The investigators spent more than three hours quizzing him before leaving the residence at around 23:00 local time.

The investigators later issued a statement, saying Netanyahu was “questioned under caution on suspicion that he accepted (improper) benefits,” terminology that indicated Netanyahu was a criminal suspect in the case. Earlier in the day, screens had been mounted at the entrance to the property in central Jerusalem al-Quds to block view.

Following the completion of the questioning, attorney general Avichai Mandelblit said that Netanyahu had been accused of ethics breaches. Mandelblit had said earlier that he authorized a full-fledged criminal investigation after his office gathered sufficient evidence.

A string of probes and corruption allegations

Reports emerged over the weekend that the World Jewish Congress’ president and Netanyahu’s long-time ally, Ronald Lauder, had given the Israeli prime minister and his son expensive gifts.

An Israeli police car is seen at the entrance to the residence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem al-Quds as members of the media wait for the arrival of police investigators on January 2, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Netanyahu is already under another investigation over suspicions that he accepted one million euros (about 1.1 million dollars) from accused French fraudster Arnaud Mimran for campaign funds during the 2009 Israeli elections.

There are also calls for Netanyahu to be investigated for his role in a billion-dollar deal to purchase three submarines from German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems GmbH.

Netanyahu’s personal lawyer and one of his closest confidants, David Shimron, reportedly represented the German company behind the submarine contract.

The Israeli prime minister is separately also subjected to accusations that he and his wife, Sara, misappropriated public funds to pay for private expenses, ranging from laundry to ice cream.

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