A Cameroon Catholic priest kidnapped on Aug. 29 by separatists was freed two days later in a rare piece of good news in a country suffering from increasing internal conflict that is tearing this nation apart.

Msgr. Julius Agbortoko Abbor, the vicar general of the Diocese of Mamfe, was released after being abducted from the residence of the bishop emeritus of the diocese by a group of young separatists who entered the major seminary compound and kidnapped him, according to ACI Africa.

Just days before the kidnapping, Catholic bishops in Cameroon’s Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province renewed an appeal to end the protracted five-year conflict in the country’s two Anglophone regions in the nation’s northwest and southwest.

“A lot of violence, insecurity, kidnappings, torture, and senseless killings, sometimes of innocent people and children” is continuing in Cameroon, the bishops said, and they appealed to all warring parties to stop the ongoing violence “with immediate effect.”

Cameroon’s internal conflict, which began in 2016 and has worsened since 2018, revolves around marginalization of the Anglophone minority in the country (20% of the population) and its grievances against the majority Francophone population and administration.

Anglophone lawyers had complained in the mid-2010s that the English legal system was being undermined and overwhelmed by the civil law system, dominated by Francophone jurists, lawyers and magistrates. Meanwhile, teachers in the Anglophone part of the country grew resentful that non-English-speaking educators were being sent to teach students in English.

These and other resentments, coupled with inadequate leadership from President Paul Biya, 88, led to a brutal military crackdown by the government in 2017 of peaceful demonstrations. Violence was also perpetrated against lawyers, there were incidents of torture and rape, including of students at the nation’s Anglophone university, along with the arbitrary arrests and detention of peaceful protesters, many of whom remain in prisons around the country.

These injustices led to the growth of of more than 30 Ambazonian militia groups, known locally as “The Boys,” in the historically English-speaking regions. Formed in 2016, they are pushing for a new autonomous region called Ambazonia, covering territory that had been the former British colony of Southern Cameroons, but which became part of unified Cameroon in 1961.

The Ambazonian separatists have since embarked on destroying everything that belongs to the Francophone government — houses, markets and goods, and have killed some of those who fail to respect them and their objectives.

Particularly damaging has been the closure of schools in the two regions since the beginning of the crisis. Only a few of the schools manage to operate, and they are vulnerable to attack at any time, with teachers and principals at risk of death and school buildings set on fire. One was gutted last week just before the start of the new academic year by unidentified persons.

An Ambazonian fighter told the Register he joined the separatist cause, “because of the torment Anglophone citizens have been suffering from La Republic [Francophone] government.”

“I therefore decided to join the fight for independence,” he said. “I have been fighting for over four years now.”

Others told the Register they joined because the army had destroyed their houses, killed family members and committed acts of torture, and so they joined to retaliate.

Humanitarian Crisis

More than 3,500 people have been killed since the current conflict began in 2016 with killings taking place on daily basis, according to humanitarian organizations.

Over 67,000 people have fled across the border and are now living in Nigeria or remain as refugees there. According to a U.N. report, 4.4 million people are threatened by the war, while 2.2 million are directly affected. Thousands have been internally displaced, living in unbearable conditions in other French-speaking regions.

Emmanuel Lampaert, operations coordinator for Doctors without Borders (MSF) in Central Africa, said that many of those in hospital are suffering from malnutrition.

“We cannot stay any longer in a region where we are not allowed to provide care to people here,’’ Lampaert said in reference to the government suspending MSF activities in the region last December after accusing it of supporting the armed groups.

“The suspension significantly reduces access to medical services in an area where communities are badly affected by armed violence,” he said. “Those who have fled the violence often take refuge in the bush, far from any health facilities, vulnerable to malaria, infections or snakebites, in locations often inaccessible for emergency vehicles such as ambulances, or even motorcycles.”

“When two elephants are fighting, the grass suffers” goes the old African saying and it is particularly apropos to this five-year old conflict that has brought great suffering to the local population, caught as it is between the military and secessionist fighters. It also shows no sign of ending, as the government continues to be reluctant to build a general consensus and truthful, inclusive national dialogue with all the protagonists to find a lasting solution.

The Catholic Church has been deeply concerned about the crisis. Christians represent the majority in the region and have been badly affected. The bishops of the Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province wrote a memorandum in 2016 outlining the cause of the conflict and proposing solutions but it received no response from the Biya administration.

The late Cameroonian Cardinal Christian Tumi, who died in April aged 90, tried to convene an all-Anglophone conference but it required government and international support which were not forthcoming. Church leaders, meanwhile, have used their pulpits and give interviews to local TV channels to make their voices heard.

In an interview with a local TV channel on Feb. 24, 2020, Archbishop emeritus Cornelius Fontem Esua of Bamenda — who was once taken hostage by secessionists — said, “The position of the Church is that we are neutral, neither for the government nor the Amba boys. We tell them: no violence, no killings, that God’s law is ‘Thou shall not kill’ whether it’s the military or the Amba boys.” To resolve the conflict, he said there should be a total amnesty: “Let the military go back to their barracks and the Amba boys should put down their arms.”

Without mincing his words, Cardinal Tumi said in 2019 that most of the killings in the regions are by the military because they are the ones with sophisticated weapons. The separatists do kill, but their targets are the military and those whom they suspect are enemies of the Ambazonia, be they Anglophone or Francophone. For example, five police officers were given a state burial last month after being killed by a mine laid by separatists on Aug. 10 in Bafut, in the northwest region.

Last week, 15 soldiers were killed in an ambush by the separatists fighters led by a commander of the Bambalang Marine Forces who calls himself “General No Pity.” Separatists have also recently burned down a market, the office of a local mayor, and the residence of a senior law enforcement officer in Balikumbat, northwestern Cameroon. These acts of violence have even led to some Francophones calling on the army to step up their fight instead of calling for peace.

Many civilians continue to perish regularly. On Aug. 20, a 7-year-old girl, a pupil of St Therese Primary School in Kumbo, was shot and killed in crossfire. Two weeks earlier, seven civilians were killed by the military in Meluf, including local citizen Jude Thaddeus, a nephew of this correspondent.

In July 2018, Mill Hill Missionary Father Alexander Sob Nougi was accidentally killed by a stray bullet on Church premises. In May 2018, many people mistaken as separatists were fatally shot by the military in Pinyin, while what has become known as the Ngarbuh incident, which took place on Feb. 14, 2021, 21 civilians, including 13 children, were killed in their sleep by Cameroon soldiers and Fulani militia, a predominantly Muslim group better known in Cameroon as “Mbororos,” who claim to be victims of separatist groups.

According to a report from Human Rights Watch, 350 people have been kidnapped since October 2018, including 300 students and released after a ransom was paid in most cases. Cardinal Tumi was also kidnapped in 2020, as priests and religious seem to be targets. The report also condemned regular use of torture and secret detention from Cameroon authorities.

Cameroonian Voices

Father Gaston Yuven, a curate of St. Paul’s Parish, Kikaikom Kumbo Diocese, a stronghold of the armed secessionist group, told the Register, “It’s disastrous but this doesn’t stop people going about their daily activities. One just needs to enquire before taking any step. Then you’re safe.”

“There is an increase in faith; more people come to Church,” he added. “Those who want to come always make it but when it is not safe, the liturgies go ahead while the others keep themselves safe. More people turn to put God at the center, but a few seek protection elsewhere.”

“The present situation is getting worse because more casualties are being registered,” Deacon Doh Lawrence of the Diocese of Kumbo said. “Many innocent civilians are killed, and gun battles have intensified. Nearly everything is at a standstill because many roads are blocked, and battles continue. Poverty has increased, people are dying in houses because of no medical attention. Churches are empty because people have been displaced. Many schools remain closed because of threats from separatists, economic activities are experiencing a heavy downturn. Kumbo market is nearly empty since many people can’t sell their goods.”

A separatist fighter told the Register that “right now the situation here is not calm. We have been losing lives here about a week now. A child of 7 years was shot in Kumbo by the military and they’ve also been raping our women, burning down people’s houses, stealing from people’s houses, keeping military bases in villages. The situation is getting worse and worse.”

A military source who spoke on condition of anonymity said a lot of uniformed men have been lost since last month in the two regions, with daily reports of them being killed either during confrontations or setting off mines laid by the separatist. Some reports even mention 3,000 military deaths since the beginning of the crisis, and the number could be higher.

To make matters worse, the blockage of roads is forcing civilians to cover miles on foot to either get to the hospital, markets, etc., since no vehicle is allowed. Bishop George Nkuo of the Kumbo Diocese once had to trek many miles with his Mass kit for his pastoral mission to a neighboring village.

But despite all these difficulties, faith in the region remains robust: thousands of Christians hold firm to the belief that God is the one to bring an end to this war. Thus their unflinching trust in God persists through all the difficulties they are going through.

The unwavering faith of Christians is something to behold — they constantly pray for a return to peace. The pain is great, the damage irreparable. Enough blood has been shed, and human life has lost its value in the troubled regions. There is fear, insecurity looms all over the conflict-torn regions. The end of the war is not a matter of today nor tomorrow. The government vehemently refuses to adhere to numerous proposals, instead offering solutions that are far from bringing an end to the conflict.

A so-called “grand national dialogue” between the warring parties took place Sept. 30 -Oct. 4, 2019, but it seems to have been a place to squander billions rather than to discuss a path to peace, the result being that after the talks, atrocities increased, with the number of killings more than ever, and schools still closed in most areas.

As Archbishop Esua of Bamenda said during his interview, some topics like the form of the state were considered taboo during the national dialogue, which is the major concern of the Anglophones. This has led people to question the seriousness of the government in finding a lasting solution to this problem. The creation of a national disarmament, demobilization and reintegration committee (DDR), the special status of the two English regions, and a special fund for the reconstruction of the two destroyed regions are merely dormant measures that have yielded little fruit because the situation on the ground remains chaotic.

Epilogue: A Correspondent’s Analysis

Speaking as a Cameroonian who has witnessed this conflict first-hand, I can say that never in the history of this nation has it been on such a divided course. People are divided more than united, opinions are opposed, clergy are against clergy, politicians against politicians, Francophones against Anglophones, Anglophones against Anglophones.

Some who are radical want total independence while the majority want a complete federal system of government, separate from the current centralized system of government. But even with decentralization, it still doesn’t answer the wish of the Anglophones.  

As division continues while more blood is shed, the majority of government workers — teachers and other public workers — have fled the regions but continue to earn their monthly salary. Some have not taught for the past four years. They are targeted by separatists. The region has gone backwards by 20 years — economically, socially and spiritually. Those areas that have been the most resilient, such as Kumbo, which is one of the biggest and more active parts of the region, has become a shadow of itself.

As long as both sides are unwilling to discuss the issues fairly, a compromise will remain elusive. People are afraid to talk, even some bishops have forbidden their priests from speaking publicly on the issue. Because the truth is hidden by lies, the military and separatists are unable to accept responsibility for the atrocities they commit.

The international community needs to act so these atrocities will stop. Mere words of condemnation are not enough; they need to act. Young people are frustrated, some becoming armed robbers or prostitutes in other towns. Hundreds have joined the separatists because their future has been destroyed by the brutal government. Their homes, businesses, means of transport have been confiscated.

Only God knows the end and how long this will go on. One particularly regrettable fact is that since the beginning, this crisis has never even been considered an important issue in both houses of the parliament, serving to only increase the anger of the oppressed. But another thing is certain: If the damage that has been caused and is still being caused is never redressed, the conflict will only increase hatred between the oppressed and the oppressor.

Source: National Catholic Register

Four years ago, nobody thought the whole notion of Southern Cameroons independence could ever be taken seriously.

For many in government, those who called for the separation of Cameroon, a country touted as an oasis of peace in a desert of chaos, were adventurers who were playing with fire.

The Yaoundé government which is known for its penchant for repression declared the angry Southern Cameroonians terrorists and immediately proceeded to implement its strategy of repression in the pious hope that future adventurers would think twice before calling for any independence.

This wrong assessment of the situation pushed bureaucrats in Yaoundé  onto the airwaves to pontificate on things they had very little knowledge of, confidently telling the French-speaking majority that the military’s mission in the two restive regions of the country would be swift and short.

In less than two weeks after the country’s president, Paul Biya, declared war on two English-speaking regions of the country, the government dispatched hundreds of its outdated tanks to many remote parts of Southern Cameroons not knowing that the outcome could be the reverse of what many in the country’s bureaucracy were sure about.

Little did the government and its poorly trained soldiers know that they were treading on dangerous terrain. The government was confident that it was going to roll back the “adventurers” right back to where they came from, but it did not know that behind the ragtag military, there was massive financial and moral support which will help the fighters to give the government’s military, a run for its money.

For years after, the ragtag military has morphed into a very dangerous force that is wreaking havoc on the military and its expensive equipment.

The last couple of months have been particularly tough for the military. The various factions seem to be ganging up against the military and the northwest region in particular has become a graveyard for many soldiers and their military equipment.

Last week was indeed one of the bloodiest with Ndop fighters demonstrating that they can hit the military anywhere, anytime and where it hurts the most.

 Southern Cameroonian fighters are no longer interested in exchanging fire with the fear-filled soldiers. They are now employing a more sophisticated and effective method to hit the military in its soft underbelly.

Soldiers are now being blown up like dilapidated buildings with many bursting like rotten tomatoes. The use of IEDs by Southern Cameroonian fighters is one game changer that has left the Yaoundé regime in the grip of mobid fear and in a cul-de-sac.

The government seems to be frozen in its position. The country’s president, Paul Biya, had vowed that there would never be talks on the form of the state, but things are changing on the ground and if care is not taken, Southern Cameroons’ independence might come sooner rather than later.

The fighters on the ground are determined and the massive flow of cash from many parts of the world is giving the fighters a morale boost.

The government is confused. The Southern Cameroonian crisis has become a hot potato in the government’s mouth. The government must decide. It must change its position. Time is of the essence in this situation. Cameroon is falling apart.

The government must come back on its decision. It will never win this war. Its soldiers are deserting and this is rendering the military more vulnerable.

Despite numerous recruitment drives for more gendarme officers and soldiers in the country, the Yaoundé government is still concerned as its hope of winning this dirty war is diminishing by the day.

Most of the soldiers being killed are young men from the South and Center regions and the numerous body bags heading to those regions are gradually convincing the president’s supporters that he had engaged in a journey that might not be ending anytime soon.

The Cameroon Concord News Group has been talking to some soldiers in Yaoundé and many say they are permanently in fear. Many have lost their mental health and the mere thought of being sent to the warfront has transformed the stomachs of these soldiers into butterfly tanks.

More than three thousand soldiers have been killed and a similar number has been maimed. Most of those who get deployed to Southern Cameroons usually visit their doctors and they feign illnesses just to obtain either exemptions or 6- monthly sick-notes.

Young recruits are quitting the military daily. Many in the military are now handing themselves in to be imprisoned for 6 months (customary prison term for disobeying war orders) instead of going to Southern Cameroons.

The much-touted Cameroon military is gradually falling apart, especially as thousands are deserting and heading to neighboring countries.

To encourage the country’s military, the government recently issued a memo to the army and gendarmerie to the effect that should a soldier die in combat, his or her family would receive a paltry sum of CFAF 5 million.

 Unfortunately, this financial incentive is not helping and many young soldiers are plotting to quit the beleaguered and poorly-paid military.

Soldiers of the rank and file know they cannot win the war, but their bosses are insisting that they must fight to a finish, especially as the war has created a booming war economy that is transforming the military generals into instant millionaires.

Paul Biya seems to have handed the treasury to the military but Southern Cameroonian fighters are clearly demonstrating that this war is not a war of money but a war of courage and strategy.

They have proven that even if the Yaoundé government is given the Federal Reserve (the American Central Bank), it will never win this war.

The dynamics are changing on a daily basis and the power dynamics clearly favor Southern Cameroonians and their fighters who are looking forward to the day the government will swallow its pride and call for real negotiations which will lead to an independent and strong Southern Cameroons with Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe and his colleagues taking the reins of power in their fatherland.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

INTERIM GOVERNMENT STATEMENT:

THERE IS NO LOCKDOWN FROM 15 SEPTEMBER 2021

Fellow Ambazonians,

Over the last 24 hours, the Interim Government of Ambazonia has been inundated with calls and questions from concerned citizens in Ground Zero and the Diaspora regarding a so-called “Gutteres Lockdown” of Ambazonia starting Wednesday 15 September 2021 to Saturday 02 October 2021. After extensive consultation with Generals and Commanders in Ground Zero, and other trustworthy frontline movements of our struggle, your Interim Government now states that it made NO such decision and declaration. Consequently, there is NO LOCKDOWN of Ambazonia, and any such notice should be disregarded forthwith.

Monday Lockdowns remain in place for the foreseeable future.

As a government, the safety and security of our people in Ground Zero is our utmost priority, and your Interim Government would always consult with our self-defence heroes before making public pronouncements that affect the lives of our people in Ground Zero. Daily business and community activities within the territory of Ambazonia must proceed with vigilance and without interruption.

Truth has always triumphed over deception, and integrity must remain our companion in this journey for freedom. Despite the sufferings that the regime in Yaoundé is inflicting upon our people, it is unfortunate that some Southern Cameroonians have decided to join them in their duplicity. Still, despite this, I am calling on the people of Ambazonia to remain hopeful.

We want to use this opportunity to advise our people to go about their daily business but remain vigilant as some major military actions are planned over the coming weeks.

Fellow Ambazonians, this is a difficult journey we have embarked on. No one can say with utmost certainty what the outcome will be, but we must remain focus and keep our eyes on the prize despite the hard work of detractors. We shall not accept anything less than total independence.

Thank You, God Bless Ambazonia. May God bless you all.

Dabney Yerima

Cameroon’s Governors, Senior Divisional Officers, District Heads and even traditional rulers still go around proudly with uniforms that were assigned to them by French colonial officers.

 The uniforms that were introduced by Roland Pre, the French Commissioner to French Cameroon, often provides insight into French Cameroon’s history, especially when it comes to how they position themselves in relation to Southern Cameroonians.

The ultimate measuring stick, it turns out, is excessive use of force. And as the Cameroon government military’s efforts appear to be collapsing—or have collapsed in Southern Cameroons, it is evidently clear that the 88-year-old President Biya and his ruling CPDM crime syndicate are losing the war in Southern Cameroons.

The ruling crime syndicate has always made President Biya look invincible, going into political conflicts aiming high, achieving nothing and then going back to Etoudi with as much dignity as possible.

The war in Southern Cameroons has demonstrated that the Biya leadership experiment has all along been rooted in a national myth and many French Cameroon political elites have now realized that Biya and his gang have not lived up to the stories they have told the Cameroonian people.

Is the country’s military losing in Southern Cameroons? We of the Cameroon Concord News Group think the tides are turning against the military. There’s no other way to characterize the 4-year war as anything other than a failure.

The Biya regime and its Francophone dominated army is not losing the war in the sense that the military has been defeated and chased out of Southern Cameroons, but Yaoundé is losing the war given that the human and material costs are high: some 3,000 Cameroon army soldiers have died, 2,500 have been injured, and millions of dollars have been wasted on things that do not have any economic benefits.

The Ambazonia Restoration Groups now look like they are in total control of Southern Cameroons and this is likely to go down in history as a major Biya regime failure.

But prior to the war in Southern Cameroons, Biya and his political party won nearly all the major political wars that they fought.

There are many reasons for this, but the most important one is that after the Social Democratic Front war with Fru Ndi, the nature of Cameroon’s geo-political wars itself changed. But Biya and his men were not aware.

So, the 88-year-old Biya is now really struggling. And the nature of both the Boko Haram and Southern Cameroons wars has shifted just at the moment when Biya is attempting to market his eldest son Franck Biya as his successor.

Biya has been in power for more than 40 years. Why has he not figured out how to relate with Southern Cameroonians?

There are a few things going on in his mind. Biya thinks he has kept Southern Cameroonians frightened enough to enable him govern the country’s two English-speaking regions the way he and his cohorts want! He therefore thought that recruiting light weights such as Paul Atanga Nji, Paul Tasong, Victor Mengot and Paul Elung including the reckless polygamist Joseph Dion Ngute will lead to progress on the Southern Cameroons battlefield which could end in a capitulation of Southern Cameroonian fighters.

In the words of the late Chief John Agbor Tabi, “Biya got it all wrong” and the armed conflict in Southern Cameroons has become a millstone around his neck.

The country’s army soldiers can destroy anything that it can see in Southern Cameroons towns and villages, but what it can’t see is the Ambazonia Restoration Forces whose experience and time has given them an upper hand in the conflict.

After four years into the war that is tearing the country apart, Ambazonia Restoration Forces and the Southern Cameroons Interim Government are more committed to the struggle than the regime in Yaoundé ever thought, because for the Biya regime, the Southern Cameroons crisis is just one of many different challenges around the so-called one and indivisible Cameroon.

But for the Ambazonia Restoration Forces, it is the only thing that matters. In this Southern Cameroons crisis, we of the Cameroon Concord News Group believe and fervently too that Biya and his military have the watches, but Amba fighters have the time – an indication that the beleaguered regime in Yaoundé has the military capabilities, but Amba Boys have greater commitment.

This is a synopsis of the Southern Cameroons crisis situation report

•There is a recruitment drive for more gendarmes and soldiers in the country, but the ruling  political elite in Yaoundé is concerned that if it recruits more young men from other ethnic groups, there might be a coup against the Biya regime.

• An association (Njangi) of Gendarmerie officers and their wives in Yaoundé has gone from a membership of 210 to 26 as the men have all returned in wooden boxes from Southern Cameroons.

• Most of those who have been sent to Southern Cameroons have visited their medical doctors and have feigned illnesses to obtain 6-month sick-notes.

• Young recruits are quitting daily.

• Many in the military are now handing themselves in to be imprisoned for 6 months (customary prison term for disobeying war orders) instead of going to Southern Cameroons.

• A Memo has been communicated to the army and gendarmes that should they die in combat, their families would receive CFAF 5 million. This financial incentive has not helped.

• The rank and file in the military knows they can’t win the war, but their bosses are insisting that they fight as they (the bosses) are making a fortune from the war.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

The proliferation of illegal arms in Cameroon increases violence and insecurity in a country already grappling with violent extremist attacks and a separatist conflict.

The African Union Commission’s Economic, Social and Cultural Council estimates at least 120 000 small arms and light weapons in illegal circulation in Cameroon, including revolvers, pistols, rifles, assault rifles and machine guns. However the government has granted only 3 800 authorisations to carry small calibre ammunition, according to data provided by Paul Atanga Nji, Minister of Territorial Administration.

On 8 June, Cameroon’s House Speaker of the National Assembly, Cavayé Yéguié Djibril, said illicit weapons held by civilians should be retrieved with urgency amid rising criminality and insecurity.

Evidence suggests a strong link between arms trafficking into Cameroon and an upsurge in crime in the capital Yaoundé and the country’s two Anglophone Northwest and Southwest regions, where there is ongoing insurgency and separatist conflict. Recent increases in Boko Haram attacks on civilians in towns and villages in the Far North are also a factor.

Cameroon and Nigeria have a history of cooperating to combat arms proliferation. These efforts will need to be stepped up in the face of reported advances by the Islamic State in West Africa Province along the borders of Cameroon, Nigeria and Chad. These incursions could increase illegal arms flows into Cameroon.

Conservative estimates by residents in these regions who spoke to the ENACT organised crime project indicate that over 250 footpaths from Nigeria’s Borno, Adamawa and Benue states lead into Cameroon. These tracks are mostly unknown to security forces, including the Multinational Joint Task Force. The routes provide unfettered passage for those smuggling arms into the country.

Cameroon has a long history as a source, transit and destination country for arms trafficking. In September 2013, 5 400 AK-47 rifles were seized in Maroua, the capital of the Northern Region. In January 2014, security forces arrested a man attempting to transport 655 guns to Nigeria. In 2018, the military reportedly raided a warehouse operated by Cameroonian nationals containing a cache of 10 500 rounds of ammunition and an undisclosed number of explosives, guns and cutlasses.

In 2019, Cameroon’s military arrested several men and seized and destroyed 2 500 locally made guns, ammunition and other weapons allegedly being circulated along the northern border with Chad and Nigeria. The illegal weapons were seized from smugglers, hostage takers, poachers and suspected Boko Haram fighters.

Over the past two years, many illicit firearms have been seized from dealers in northern Cameroon coming in from countries experiencing conflicts such as Sudan, Nigeria and Chad, according to a police source in Garoua.

Cameroon has a long history as a source, transit and destination country for arms trafficking

Weapons traffickers in this part of Cameroon include Boko Haram, community militias, separatist rebels and gangs engaging in banditry in the ungoverned border spaces linking Cameroon, the Central African Republic and Chad. Known as the ‘Triangle of Death’, residents are victims of murder, rape, kidnapping and livestock robbery.

The death of Chad’s president Idriss Déby in April 2021 has also raised concerns about increased arms trafficking from Chad into Nigeria and Cameroon. Observers fear for the future stability of Chad’s neighbouring West and Central African states, as Déby’s military provided a bulwark against violent extremist threats in the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin.

The government of Cameroon’s multiple approaches and policies to counter arms trafficking and related problems have proven ineffective. A 2016 law made the unlawful possession of a gun in a manner that disturbs the peace or alarms anyone punishable by three months to two years’ imprisonment or a fine.

The military has a major role to play in stemming the flow of arms into the country. However, a shortage of personnel to control the extensive borders that it shares with Nigeria and Chad makes military patrols almost impossible.

Cameroon has made limited resources available for deploying soldiers and police to the unstable north

Cameroon has made only limited resources available for recruiting, training and deploying soldiers and border police to the country’s unstable north. Doing so would enable better surveillance and intelligence. Instead, inaction and corruption in the security sector and among customs officials allow arms to flow uninterrupted through the northern corridors. Police intelligence to identify and track the groups dealing in weapons is also inadequate.

In terms of a regional response, in 2018 Cameroon hosted the first conference of state parties to the Central African Convention for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons. The meeting, known as the Kinshasa Convention, aimed to find solutions to arms trafficking in the region. Given the current dire situation, a review is needed of what has been achieved since the convention was ratified in 2017.

The Multinational Joint Task Force’s efforts to boost border security between Cameroon, Chad and Nigeria are insufficient. A fundamental problem is a lack of resources to recruit, train and support the military and the operational demands of tackling arms trafficking. There is also little evidence of collaboration among defence intelligence units of the three countries.

Stabilising the situation should be a priority for Cameroon. However, it should be handled as part of a plan to invest in human and infrastructural development in the north of the country. Addressing the region’s underlying challenges is essential for long-term stability, which at present seems unattainable.

Source: Issafrica.org

Fellow Ambazonians,

On Sunday, 22 August 2021, despicable cruelty was unleashed by the military of French Cameroun upon our people in Presbyterian Church Ntanfoang, Bali, during a service of worship. Eyewitness reports and videos from worshippers confirm that the French Cameroun army randomly attacked and fired at the Church from the windows. A Southern Cameroons Christian, Grace, was massacred at the scene. The Pastor was injured and taken to the local health centre. Our thoughts and prayers are with Grace’s family at this challenging time in the history of our country-The Federal Republic of Ambazonia. The Interim Government wishes all those who sustained injuries during the Bali attack a speedy recovery.

On Friday, 20 August 2021, the French Cameroun army attacked children at St. Theresa School (STS) Kumbo and killed Sinclair Shalanyuy. Sinclair was young and had a bright future ahead of her. Our thoughts are with Sinclair, too, and what’s more? She will never be forgotten!

Fellow Southern Cameroonians, these savage attacks perpetrated by soldiers loyal to the Biya French Cameroun regime in Yaoundé on our defenseless civilian population have become endemic. These ongoing crimes against humanity are premeditated and designed to terrorize and traumatize our suffering civilian population. Your Interim Government is presently consulting with Ground Zero commanders, and Southern Cameroons Self Defense Forces shall respond to these unprovoked attacks appropriately.

People of Ambazonia, our fight represents an unyielding rejection of colonialism in any form, shape or manifestation. The rejection is consistent with international law, which gives hope to colonized people struggling for their liberation. History teaches us that many nations have won their liberation battles. Consequently, we shall overcome.

Fellow Ambazonians, we will continue to fight until self-determination is achieved. Be neither discouraged nor distracted. Our time shall come. Grace and Sinclair Shalanyuy, like thousands of Southern Cameroonians, have not died in vain. We owe them a debt to make Ambazonia a reality. Attacks on Churches and Schools underscore how desperate French Cameroun has become. It is a nation that has no respect for human lives and international norms. But we must continue our fight for freedom and justice with the belief that we shall overcome.

We have many long years of struggle and suffering before us as the path we have chosen is full of danger, but it is a path worth taking. The cost of freedom is high, but we must pay the price. As a people, one path we shall never choose is the path of surrender. Our task is simple; we must win and live free or die in the process of freeing ourselves.

Thank you,

God bless the Federal Republic of Southern Cameroons/Ambazonia

Dabney Yerima

After a long medical visit to Switzerland, Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya, is currently working on a new cabinet based on an assessment of the country’s military, political and economic realities. Over the last five years, the country has been bleeding money due to the military crisis in the country’s two English-speaking regions. Southern Cameroonian fighters have been inflicting huge damage and losses on the country’s military, and military equipment has been disabled in many parts of Southern Cameroons.

All over the country, the economic situation is pathetic. Unemployment rates across the country are significantly high and corruption has reached lamentable and appalling levels. Many small- and medium-sized enterprises are shutting down due to punitive taxes and this is giving Mr. Biya a very bad name, making it hard for him to shake off the stress that is blighting his life.

While cabinet reshuffles are supposed to be conducted under wraps, in Cameroon, it is possible to have an insight into what is happening. A source close to the Presidency of the Republic has hinted the Cameroon Concord News Group that there will be significant changes and many heads will be rolling for the economic and military failures that will forever characterize Mr. Biya’s government. Mr. Biya is very bitter for the failings and wants to take out the dead wood in his government. These dead woods include, but not limited to:

Chief Joseph Dion Ngute: The current prime minister who is so laid back to the point where many think the country can really function without him. Since his appointment some two years ago, he has not succeeded to visit his own village due to the crisis that caused his massive palace to be burnt down. He was appointed on the grounds that he would help to disconnect the South West Region from the North West Region by giving currency to the fake news that South Westerners were a peaceful people who did not want to be part of the war that is still tearing the country apart. But Prime Minister Dion Ngute has not succeeded to bring out any South Westerners from the bushes. The indicators on the ground clearly point to the fact that South Westerners are as angry as North Westerners and that they are actively involved in the war that has resulted in the death of thousands of Cameroonians. In two years as Prime Minister, Joseph Dion Ngute has achieved only one thing – getting married to a very young lady and this has really given him a bad name within government circles. He might be let go to fully enjoy the “ship” he has conquered recently. Will he have the energy to deliver on the mandate he has set for himself? 

Joseph Beti Assomo: The country’s Defense minister who arrogantly declared that he would implement the president’s decision without batting an eyelid. For more than four years, Southern Cameroonian fighters have proven that they are a force to reckon with and this has called into question the quality of soldiers being trained in Cameroon’s military academy. Despite the military’s brutality and primitive approach, Southern Cameroonian fighters have succeeded to kill some 3,000 army soldiers and maimed almost the same number and this is already creating an uprising within the military. Many soldiers have fled to neighboring countries and scandals about the payment of per diem to soldiers fighting in Southern Cameroons and the disappearance of huge amounts of money intended for the soldiers have given Joseph Beti Assomo a very bad name. He is one of those who erroneously think that only a military victory will put an end to the conflict that has been considered by the international community as a conflict that could have been avoided if it had been properly managed. He is also being accused of running a war economy that makes it hard for the conflict to be addressed. Regime insiders hold that he will be cut off following the cabinet reshuffle that is on the horizon because of his hawkish approach to the conflict in Southern Cameroons.

Paul Atanga Nji: The country’s poorly educated Territorial Administration Minister who has made a mountain of mistakes ever since becoming the boss of the territorial administration ministry. His poor mastery of English has transformed him into a laughing-stock. He is known for expressions such as “the boyses in the bushes”, “buring the bereaved”, and “Kumba is the capital of Fako Division”. Paul Atanga Nji, also known as the conman par excellence, was appointed as the country’s territorial administration minister because he had suggested that he would end the Southern Cameroons crisis if given the territorial administration portfolio and it was handed to him. Since taking over this portfolio, he has made multiple mistakes which have only made the conflict worse. He has created death squads just to overcome the brave Southern Cameroonian fighters, but his efforts have come to nothing. He has also tried to pit the different factions against each other, but his tricks have always fallen flat on their faces. He has also been implicated in many financial scandals. He is being suspected of using the war to illegally enrich himself and the “sparrow-hawk” is carefully looking at his file which may be submitted to the president very soon. His role in the disappearance of huge chunks of the COVID-19 resources is one scandal that might send him to the Yaoundé Maximum Security Prison. Ever since he got implicated in this scandal, he has been advised by the country’s security community to keep a very low profile and his has not been seen in public for over three months. His bold display of wealth by building a church and handing it over to the Roman Catholic Bishop of Ebolowa is one action that has proven that he has robbed the country and is seeking to cast himself in very bright religious light. However, he is not fooling anybody. The Sparrow-hawk is hovering over his head and it is waiting for him to be taken out of government before it picks him up and takes him to where he rightfully belongs. 

Jacques Fame Ndongo: The country’s higher education minister, also known as an ethno-fascist, is one of those responsible for the escalation of the conflict in the two English-speaking regions of the country. He is also suspected of stealing funds allocated for the purchase of computers for the country’s university students. Though he sings Paul Biya’s name all over Cameroon, it is becoming very clear that Mr. Biya is sick and tired of a man who has done a lot to split the country with his violent speeches and manipulation. He has led the higher education ministry for almost fifteen years, but his presence at the helm of this ministry has been very destructive, as appointments in the country’s state universities are based on loyalty and not on merit. He is also accused of setting up extortion groups throughout the country and this is giving the government a very bad name that sickens Biya to the stomach. 

Jean de Dieu Momo:   This beggarly lawyer appointed as the Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice some two years ago has been an embarrassment to the government on many occasions. His love of social media and his combative approach to politics are not very much liked by members of Mr. Biya’s inner circle. He was appointed just to demonstrate that the government was inclusive, but he is turning out to be a massive embarrassment to the government. He was caught with his hand in the cookie jar trying to plead with a lawyer in France to secure him residency in France; an incident that did not go down well with his boss and President Paul Biya. He will be released for him to continue living his low life in Douala where he is at ease to drink in very dirty drinking spots. 

The Cameroon Concord News Group is gathering more information on the upcoming reshuffle and it will be releasing it as it comes in. There is a lot of tension in Yaoundé, and many ministers are working overtime just to prove that they are still up to the task. The pressure is real, and the fear is palpable. Many families will soon be in tears and many know that things will change. For Anglophones in the government, many fear that new faces may come onboard as a way of calming tempers in the two English-speaking regions of the country and this implies taking out the old faces which have not delivered on their mandates.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai 

I think it’s a good thing that we are able to operate and rebuild quietly to the point of being classified as having abandoned the fight for our own freedom. I cannot speak for all those whose photos appear on that tabloid… The noise and attention was not helping especially coming from our own ranks and from people we had thought were comrades and who truly wanted to see a veritably Free Southern Cameroons. Time and experience has taught us all lessons. Now cannot be a free for all ride as it was in the past…and so whatever we do must be done with tact and a ruthless determination not to let the ball out of our sight again. And because we do not pull the crowd is significant reason to believe that one has abandoned the struggle.

True many who joined the struggle with a lot of enthusiasm have quietly dropped off out of frustration and shock at what people turned out to be. One cannot fault some as we ended up being our own worst enemy. Many came in good faith but could not stand the filth, especially in the realization that some of our brothers were no better than the enemy regime we are fighting against. As a result they have quietly faded away with all their brilliant ideas, experience, expertise and goodwill.

Then there are those who had expected quick gains and positions. Were quick to take short cuts and betray ideals, thinking that Buea was just a stone-throw away. These ones would indulge in all kinds of deceit and mudslinging with the hope that by eliminating perceived rivals, they would have a smooth sail to Buea. They were instrumental in destroying the social cohesion that was being built, creating enemies where we should have made friends. And then realising that this is going to be for the long haul and they have quietly exited. We will have to live with that reality.

And then the group that joined because of the thrill of it, blewbwith every wind regardless of the direction. Saw the struggle as a path to build social capital and fanfare. In fact some demanded salaries as they thought those in charge were making a living off the struggle. But with thrills come exhaustion especially when when you are standing on the stage and realise that the audience has dwindled. Now with a struggle evidently lacking vision, a clear leadership and a concrete action plan, the thrill has died and they have quietly gone back to their day jobs. That’s why one notices an almost dead social media with increasing propaganda coming from sponsors of the regime instead of our own narrative to educate our people.

And finally the third group of people who joined because they. were hungry and angry. My political mentor had taught me one great lesson. He said “Be careful of hungry revolutionaries. They are often very radical, advocate unnecessary violence as a means of showing off their commitment to the revolution. But it is when the hunger goes, and jaws fill out that you can tell if they are truly revolutionaries or hungry mouths that were spewing angry words”. With the struggle, they managed to find new pastures, moved to new countries, got better jobs and started a family…in the process quietly exiting the scene. Their priorities have changed and that is life. All liberation struggle have gone through these.

In the midst of all this chaos and confusion, we must always be reminded that many did not join for positions and for fanfare. As my mentor said, always be on the lookout for people who have achieved everything in life but chose to sacrifice risk those achievements for the greater good. When I look at the newspaper caption, I think it is an embarrassment to have someone like Hon. Wirba in the same sentence as some of the greedy comedians one has come to know over the years (and I’m not saying everyone on there is a greedy comedian. I can identify one or two other comrades for who whom I have a lot of respect). Wirba is someone who could have selected to quietly frolic and have a comfortable life with the regime but chose to stand up and shout when others were still whispering. In the process went on exile and discovered the true face of some of our people in the diaspora. But such are revolutions. You cannot eat omelette unless you break eggs. There is a price to be paid for every decision you make and sometimes that price is being ridiculed and reduced to the same pedestal as those you would normally not share ice cream with. He must take it in his stride.

Anyway whatever the routes we have all taken, my appeal goes out to the true fighters and believers of our liberation struggle. We must never let a few rotten potatoes spoil the whole pack. We cannot afford to walk away completely when we have our comrades in prison who are paying the price on behalf of us all. When we have children who have been deprived of a normal childhood for over 5 years. There are tens of thousands in foreign lands living as refugees and asylum seekers. And now we are having cases of comrades committing suicide because we abandoned them in hunger and frustration. We have boyses who are in the bushes fighting without equipment, with no political education, have received no training and being killed through the greed and selfishness of those who would rule hook or by crook, by pitting them against each other. These are our brothers, our nephews and our sons. We all have relatives among these boys and therefore cannot afford to look the other way.

Finally there are our brothers, sisters, fathers and mothers who have lost their lives as a result of our struggle to live as a free people. That is true sacrifice and no true freedom comes without sacrifice. What would be most painful is to wake up one morning and realise that we made all these sacrifices in vain…and that we quietly resigned ourselves to our SPECIAL STATUS as glorified slaves in a system that clearly has marked us for the democratic and diplomatic abattoir. Whenever we think of giving up, we must remember that this is not another job from which you can just resign and get another job tomorrow. This is not changing the school of your children because you don’t like the face of the teacher. This is not a decision to change your church and become Pentecostal because you think the catholic church preaches boring sermons and offers no prosperity sessions. Given what some of us have been through since the start of this liberation struggle, the easy way out should have been to down our tools and run long ago. But abandon it to where? To what? A new job? A new car, new school?

THIS IS ABOUT MY EXISTENCE, MY IDENTITY, HOMELAND There are things you cannot abandon. You push on until you succeed. We will triumph or Die trying!

Millan Atam