As the world races to find a vaccine or a cure for the coronavirus, antimalarial drugs, HIV medications, flu vaccines and arthritis treatments are all being tested. FRANCE 24 takes a look at the latest medical efforts to combat the pandemic.

Teams of scientists across the world are working around the clock to either develop a new drug or repurpose an existing medication to halt the spread of the virus.

Viruses are tiny parasitic bits of genetic material that replicate inside another organism. Vaccines for viruses such as measles are typically made from a weakened form of the virus. But this process can take years.

Scientists are now fast-tracking results and sidestepping normal scientific steps, such as animal testing, to find drugs that will treat and kill the virus that causes COVID-19.

How close are we to a vaccine?

China:

The first country to experience the virus and also the first to start searching for vaccines and cures, China is understandably leading the field in the hunt for a vaccine. On December 31 last year, China alerted the World Health Organization (WHO) to several cases of unusual pneumonia in Wuhan, a port city of 11 million people in Hubei province. The virus was at that point unknown.

To create an original vaccine, the Chinese company Beijing Advaccine Biotechnology is working with a US biotech company called Inovio Pharmaceuticals. They are in the process of developing a “DNA vaccine” called INO-4800.

This vaccine is already in preclinical trial. It involves directly injecting genetic material into a person to trigger a stronger immune response, so they are better equipped to stop an infection.

Japan:

On January 16, Japan became the first country to confirm a coronavirus case outside China.

Fujifilm may be best known for its photographic products, but the Japanese company also makes a drug called Favipiravir (capitalized). This was initially intended to treat new strains of the flu. However, it appears to be proving effective in treating coronavirus patients, particularly those with lighter symptoms.

Europe:

Germany’s BioNTech has been one of the major players in European vaccine developments. It announced on Monday that it is developing an experimental vaccine, working with Fosun Pharma in China. On Tuesday, it confirmed a collaboration with America’s largest pharmaceutical company, Pfizer, to develop the drug outside of China. They hope to be in a position to start testing the new vaccine early next month.

Reuters reported on Sunday that the German government was trying to stop the US administration from persuading CureVac, another German drugmaker working on an experimental vaccine for the coronavirus, to move its research to the United States. This prompted German politicians to insist that no country should have a monopoly on any future vaccine.

Earlier, the Welt am Sonntag German newspaper reported that US President Donald Trump had offered funds to lure CureVac to the United States, and the German government was making counter-offers to tempt it to stay.

Responding to the report, the U.S. ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, wrote on Twitter: “The Welt story was wrong.”

US:

The first human trials of a potential vaccine called mRNA-1273 have already begun in the United States. Their vaccine has been made by biotechnology company Moderna Therapeutics.

Four patients received injections of the vaccine at the Kaiser Permanente research facility in Seattle, Washington, the Associated Press news agency reported.

The early-stage study of mRNA-1273 is being carried out by the US National Institutes of Health.

Instead of creating the mRNA-1273 vaccine from the coronavirus, scientists have copied a short segment of genetic code from the virus.

To test this new drug as fast as possible, they have sidestepped normal procedures such as initially testing on animals. The initial trial is expected to involve 45 healthy adult volunteers between the ages of 18 and 55 years over approximately six weeks. It could take 12 months before any concrete results are produced.

How close are we to a cure?

China:

By the end of January, China was already exploring how existing drugs might be repurposed to kill the virus.

One of the first drugs China explored with some success was an antimalarial drug called chloroquine phosphate. Speaking at a press conference on February 18, Sun Yanrong, deputy head of the China National Centre for Biotechnology Development at the ministry of science and technology, said this drug has already been under clinical trial in more than 10 hospitals in Beijing as well as in Guangdong Province and in Hunan Province.

According to Sun, patients treated with chloroquine saw a greater drop in fever, an improvement in their lung scans and required a shorter time to recover compared to parallel groups.

Among other drugs currently being tested in China is a Swiss-made anti-inflammation drug called Tocilizumab that suppresses overreactions by the immune system. 

Another interesting advance has been made with a US antiviral drug called remdesivir, which has had impressive results in tests with more than 200 extremely ill patients.

Remdesivir was developed by Gilead Sciences to treat Ebola patients. It had good results in laboratories and with animals but was less successful with tests out in the field. Nevertheless, global health authorities deem it the most promising of possible treatments for people with severe cases of the virus.

Europe:

French pharmaceutical company Sanofi has announced it is ready to offer millions of doses of an antimalarial drug to French authorities after “promising” initial trials.

Sanofi said it could potentially treat 300,000 COVID-19 patients with the antimalarial drug Plaquenil, a spokesperson for the laboratory told AFP, adding that the group was ready to work with French health authorities “to confirm these results”.

Sanofi and its partner Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc have also started a clinical trial of their rheumatoid arthritis drug Kevzara as a treatment for the virus, the companies said on Monday.

Testing for patients with mid-to-severe stages of the virus will begin immediately, and the companies anticipate the trial will test up to 400 patients.

United States:

The United States may have had a slow start, but it has now sprinted ahead in the race for a vaccine.

A key development in the battle against the virus has emerged from the Quantitative Biosciences Institute Coronavirus Research Group, based out of the University of California. This team of hundreds of scientists has identified more than 50 drugs already in circulation that may effectively treat people infected with the virus.

The group has taken a different approach from many of their peers. Rather than find drugs that attack the virus itself, they are exploring drugs that will protect the proteins in our own cells that the coronavirus depends on to thrive and reproduce. With this type of treatment, our own systems will fight the virus.

Such a project would typically take a minimum of two years to achieve the results that this working group, which includes 22 laboratories across the US, has managed in a few weeks.

Another major development is the use of the HIV combination treatment lopinavir-ritonavari. This is currently being used in trials in America and other countries across the world, including India.

However, amid all the scientific developments, there are also unfounded rumours. In a statement published on Monday, Johnson & Johnson said there is “no evidence” that its HIV drug Prezista had any effect against the coronavirus in response to unsubstantiated reports that the drug might be a cure.

The company said it was aware that some HIV treatments are being considered as options to treat patients diagnosed with COVID-19.

Johnson & Johnson did say, however, that it was “partnering with multiple organizations to support the development of research programs and fast-track solutions for COVID-19”.

Culled from France 24

On March 18 last year, the United States assistant secretary of state for African affairs, Tibor Nagy, met Cameroonian President Paul Biya in Yaoundé, the country’s capital. The meeting took place after nearly three years of mounting concerns about the violent descent into chaos in Cameroon’s northwest and southwest regions. The central government and separatists from our English-speaking minority have been engaged in a brutal conflict deriving from the latter’s valid grievances about marginalisation and the ongoing, deliberate efforts to dilute their English cultural heritage in the predominantly French culture of Cameroon. 

Several months earlier, in December 2018, before a congressional committee hearing in the US House of Representatives, Nagy raised the issue of Cameroon as among the world’s most dire conflicts, stating: “I fear that [the crisis] could get much, much worse.” He was, indeed, correct. And Nagy’s grim prediction paralleled that of countless Cameroonian activists, journalists and pro-democracy leaders, including my own colleagues, who have consistently raised the alarms — often putting their lives and livelihoods at risk for doing so, and incurring the wrath of Cameroonian authorities.

The United Nations conservatively estimates that the ongoing conflict has killed more than 3 000 people and displaced nearly 700 000 more in the Anglophone regions, a staggering number that comprises about 20% of our country’s population. Most recently, on February 14, about two dozen villagers, including 14 children and a pregnant woman, were massacred in the village of Ngarbuh in the northwest region by suspected members of the Cameroonian army. This state of affairs has led to massive instability inside Cameroon, as well as the surrounding region, including in our neighbour Nigeria, where tens of thousands of civilians — mainly women and young children — have sought fleeting security.

One year after the meeting between Nagy and Biya, nothing has changed for the better. In fact, it has merely metastasised, largely due to government incompetence, ongoing acts of state violence and unthinkable brutality, and a hardened resolve among Cameroon’s Anglophone separatists, who now view violent retaliation as the last and seemingly only option to achieve their demands.

A feasible plan to resolve Cameroon’s worsening conflict (which represents only one of the many symptoms of the long-ruling, long-abusive Biya dictatorship) is long overdue. Last month, I visited Washington DC to raise my concerns and to present an alternative vision to secure a democratic and stable Cameroon. For my efforts, I was greeted with death threats and intimidation, which prompted US legislators to demand my safe return. These hazards, of course, are not surprising in light of my nine-month prison ordeal in 2019, as well as what appears to be an attempt on my life this past weekend while touring Garoua, a town in the north. I will not be deterred, and I will not be silent.

Here is my plan to move Cameroon forward, from ongoing violence to a just peace. First and foremost, as an act of good faith, the Cameroonian government must immediately release all political prisoners who have been incarcerated, ostensibly because of the Anglophone conflict, as well as the post-electoral crisis triggered by the sham presidential election of October 2018, which extended Biya’s almost four-decade rule. The prisoners released must include, for example, Ayuk Tabe, a well-known voice from the Anglophone separatist community, and Mamadou Yakuba, the first vice-president of my political party, the Cameroon Renaissance Movement.

Second, the violence on both sides must end today. To accomplish this feat, the Cameroonian government, and Biya specifically, must agree to at least a temporary ceasefire with separatist forces in the Anglophone regions, including the removal of all major military installations. Our people have suffered enough calamity, and further violence will only entrench the now nearly insurmountable animosities on both sides of the divide. 

Third, the separatists and the central government must agree to a basic framework for inclusive dialogue. A key element of this roadmap will be to have honest discussions about the form and make-up of a new Cameroonian state. For me, federalism holds the key for a more sustainable and peaceful future. The proposed dialogue, presided over by an impartial international mediator, will work towards the definitive settlement of the now full-blown civil war that is tearing apart the Anglophone regions. Further delays toward this end are wholly irresponsible.

Fourth, the government must assist Anglophone citizens to return to their homes and communities by pledging to rebuild infrastructure destroyed during the war, including countless private residences, hospitals and schools. Indeed, most schools in the two Anglophone regions have already been empty for three years, effectively robbing our country of its future and a generation of knowledge and needed skills.

Lastly, Biya’s government — in co-ordination with civil society and the pro-democracy opposition — must undertake long-overdue political reforms; in other words, we must address the root causes of Cameroon’s cascading crises. There must be a consensual reform of the electoral system, certainly before the planning of any new elections, to avoid the post-election conflicts that have festered for the past 17 months. Relatedly, there must be a consensual drafting of a uniquely Cameroonian charter that guarantees the respect of basic freedoms and human rights, which have been trampled on for too long.

These interrelated initiatives will build the mutual respect that is required, and thus far lacking, to forge a viable path forward for Cameroon. If undertaken in good faith, by both sides of the conflict, we, as patriotic Cameroonians can earnestly begin to stitch together our frayed social fabric. It is not beyond repair, but the time to act is now. Only then can we, as concerned citizens, begin to trust in our leaders, heal divisions, and to put faith in our future as a nation.

Maurice Kamto is the president of the opposition Cameroon Renaissance Movement and a former political prisoner in Cameroon

A day after the IMF/World Bank announced a $50 billion aid package to help poor countries contain the coronavirus outbreak; Cameroon confirmed its first two cases of the deadly virus; a 58-year-old French national and a Cameroonian who came in contact with him, after he arrived Yaoundé on Feb 24. The public health minister said in separate communiqués that both patients were isolated at the Yaoundé Central hospital where they are receiving “symptomatic treatment” (whatever that means). The Health minister also ask those who had contact with the index case to call a toll-free number to “receive appropriate care” while assuring public opinion that “everything is being done to contain this outbreak without undue delay, in conformity with the high instructions from the President of the Republic, HE Mr. Paul Biya.”The feudal deference to Mr. President aside, the health minister’s belated effort to calm frayed nerves cannot be taken to signify successful containment; rather, it is an expression of a luxurious desire which signposts the absence of an emergency healthcare plan that should have been activated to contain the virus. This unpreparedness is most pathetic and tragic and Cameroonians deserve better.

It is indeed embarrassing to note that this epidemic has taken Cameroon unawares. How can the government’s containment strategy be anchored on self-reporting using a toll-free number? What happens if someone calls and reports that he/she is witnessing symptoms of the coronavirus? Is there a team of trained health personnel with the appropriate test-kits, including an ambulance ready to take such a patient and all those who have been exposed to him to a quarantine facility, assuming such a facility even exists? Alternatively, will such a patient be ordered to self-quarantine at home; and how will the patient be monitored? Amid global warnings about the coronavirus that has claimed over 3,000 plus lives and infected no fewer than 100,000 people, the health minister’s verbal pugilism advertises in spectacular fashion, a certain poverty of ideas on the part of those who govern Cameroon even in matters that are supposedly routine; and is indicative of a failure of leadership in the country. This is a public shame to a nation that should have outgrown primary healthcare challenges.

As official rhetoric and public grandstanding drives fear into the complex matrix over the unfolding coronavirus crisis, the gravity of the epidemic demands an urgent, robust and holistic national response, beyond laconic press statements designed to aggrandize the president. Even more disheartening, there is still no concerted effort by competent health workers to screen passengers arriving at Cameroon airports to determine whether they are sick or exhibited any symptoms of the coronavirus. It is shocking that a country like Cameroon does not even have one facility that such patients can be isolated. The WHO representative in Cameroon told CRTV that the test of the infected French national was done at Centre Pasteur in Yaoundé. This begs the question: what is the capacity of Centre Pasteur to handle an epidemic in which thousands of people get infected through community transmission?

With a shambolic healthcare system, decrepit health infrastructure, acerbic poverty and political volatility, most hospitals lack isolation or quarantine units, personal protection equipment (PPE) and trained personnel to carry out the necessary care against the coronavirus. Does the Health Minister need any reminder that laboratory confirmation of coronavirus diagnosis requires equipment, test kits and trained personnel that most Cameroon hospitals don’t have? It is utterly ridiculous for the government to ask people who have had contact with the index case to self-report or self-isolate or self-quarantine. There is no beneficial value in government’s misplaced self-vindication, amid reports that the government was struggling to contact the passengers who were exposed to the Frenchman who brought the coronavirus to Cameroon. As an urgent public safety imperative, the government should publish the flight manifest to enable the public identify passengers on that plane who were exposed and might have been infected by the Frenchman.

The implications of the other passengers still roaming at large and interacting with the public is the potential infection of hundreds, if not thousands of other people, aggravating the risk of widespread infection given that every infected person is said to infect at least two other people. Because for each day a coronavirus patient stays at home, family and all contacts are endangered, it is, therefore, better left to the imagination, the terrible consequences, specifically on public health and on public psyche of what evidently is a disaster waiting to happen! Against the backdrop of this doomsday scenario coupled with the dire indicators on the state of official unpreparedness to handle the coronavirus crisis, the question must be asked: what is this nation ever prepared for? The world is on red alert over the deadly coronavirus, yet Cameroonians are left to the vagaries of life while their leaders do nothing. Not even an emergency budgetary allocation has been earmarked to contain the virus. This is unacceptable!

The coronavirus is sufficiently serious a disease as to warrant the declaration of a national emergency by the government, wherein all hospitals (public and private), and health personnel across the country are put on red alert. Unfortunately, corrupt Cameroonian government officials with their remarkable genius for travesty seem more interested in transforming the coronavirus epidemic into another cash cow to line their pockets; as some have done with the ongoing armed insurgency in the Anglophone regions. The rumor mill has also spun beyond reason, misinforming the public with all manner of unfounded cures and remedies with no scientific basis. It was claimed in some quarters that drinking beer and eating bitter kola was a potent remedy and Cameroonians promptly descended on beer and bitter kola, until the rumor was debunked; saving them from the tragedy of their ignorance. Some Cameroonians view the timing of the confirmed cases as inauspicious, believing it is just a ploy by the regime to attract a share of the promised $50 billion IMF/World Bank largesse to help poor countries contain the coronavirus outbreak. Be that as it may.

The coronavirus is a national crisis of monumental proportion as the World Health Organization (WHO) has all but declared it a global pandemic. The deadly virus can wipe out scores of people in a matter of days if unchecked. The disease is contracted by direct contact with an infected person and the virus can remain within an infected person for as long as three weeks after exposure before manifesting. The symptoms progress from fever to nausea, headache, sore throat, tiredness, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhea, coughing and neck-stiffness. So far, there is no vaccine or known cure as scientists are still working on a number of trial drugs that are expected to be ready not earlier than 18 months. Therefore, the government must continue to take coronavirus seriously and sustain public enlightenment through traditional as well as the now very popular social media, on measures to prevent or contain it. Scrupulous personal hygiene, avoidance of contact with suspected victims, and immediate report of suspected cases to health authorities, are just some of the steps the public should take.   

The outbreak of the coronavirus in Cameroon, once again, presents a challenge to the authorities to address basic social amenities that make for improved living conditions for the average Cameroonian. While the world struggles to develop a potent cure, the best way out now is good hygiene. Keeping the living environment clean is essential. All must be careful, people should as much as possible avoid crowded areas, while churches, mosques and other religious houses should control meetings that bring too many people into contact with one another. The same goes for CPDM rallies. Commercial cyclists (Bendskin) could also be at risk of spreading the virus through body contacts. The times call for a rapid holistic response, targeting short-term measures and long-term improvement in human development indices, not slogans and empty bureaucratic noises and public grandstanding because one thing is clear – the coronavirus puts everybody at risk.

By Ekinneh Agbaw-Ebai

Anna Nga longed to see her children return to the classroom again.

A deadly conflict between Cameroonian government forces and separatist fighters seeking independence for the mainly English-speaking Southwest and Northwest regions has left many schools closed for more than three years.

In late January, with the threat of further violence looming larger ahead of the February 9 parliamentary and municipal elections, Nga travelled across the border to Nigeria.

“We had to move to save our heads,” said the 35-year-old.

Nga now lives with her six children and four other minors related to her in the border village of Ajassor in southeast Nigeria’s Cross River state.

Nga did not move alone.

Nearly 8,000 new arrivals – some of whom struggled through dense forests and grasslands bleeding from gunshot wounds – crossed into Nigeria’s Cross River and Taraba states before the elections, according to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.

Anglophone crisis

What is commonly known as Cameroon’s Anglophone crisis was triggered by demonstrations by lawyers and teachers in 2016 over the rising influence of French in their education and legal systems.

With frustration over alleged political and economic marginalisation high, the protesters’ action soon morphed into wider demands and resulted in several strikes. Although talk of marginalisation is not new, the action by barristers and teachers became a rallying point for Anglophone Cameroonians who had voted to join the majority French Cameroon to form the United Republic of Cameroon in 1961.

The government’s military response failed to reduce tensions, as government forces were accused of carrying out arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial killings, among other abuses.

In response, a slew of separatist groups rose to fight back and demand independence.

Inside Cameroon, the UN estimates that the conflict has killed about 3,000 people and displaced more than 679,000 others in the Anglophone regions, which comprise 20 percent of the country’s estimated 25 million population.

UNICEF, the UN’s children’s fund, estimates that more than 855,000 children remain out of school in the Anglophone regions where 80 percent of schools remain closed.

Meanwhile, some 60,000 people have fled to neighbouring Nigeria, spread across the states of Akwa Ibom, Benue, Cross River and Taraba.

Glory Tiku says she is struggling to fend for herself and her baby [Linus Unah/Al Jazeera] 

In Ajassor, in a windowless room packed with nearly a dozen children, Nga happily looks on as her children put on bright school uniforms and get ready to head to school.

She pays between 2,000 ($5.4) and 5,500 ($15) naira per child for the local school, which has accepted refugee children alongside their regular students. 

But Nga, who is not registered as a refugee because the UNHCR registration process has not started for new arrivals, is worried about her family’s future in Nigeria.

“I am paying rent and then school fees for five children,” she says, her face contorting. “It is very difficult for me without any work.”

About 47.5 percent of refugees seeking asylum in Nigeria live in four settlements built by the UNHCR, while the rest live in about 87 host communities across Akwa Ibom, Benue, Cross River and Taraba.

Many Cameroonians who live in host communities have limited access to education, healthcare, relief items and livelihoods.

In Cross River state, which hosts 69.5 percent of Cameroonian refugees in Nigeria, there are three settlements for refugees in the town of Ogoja.

Permanent shelters made of red bricks and topped with corrugated zinc roofing appear everywhere.

Most of the people here used to receive cash-based interventions (CBI) of 7,200 naira ($20) per month from the UNHCR to cover food and basic needs. But refugees who spoke to Al Jazeera said there have been occasional delays in receiving the payments, which have also been reduced to 4,600 naira ($12) since January.

“Before the CBI comes, I have already borrowed money to feed and take care of my baby,” said 18-year-old Glory Tiku, adding that her monthly payment is not enough to feed her and her four-month-old baby.

“We usually start paying debts with some of the money whenever it comes.”

Some refugees living in host communities in Cross River told Al Jazeera they are unable to receive their CBIs because they cannot afford to spend up to 3,000 naira ($8) to travel to Ogoja where the money is disbursed.

The UNHCR says it will invest more funds into livelihood interventions to help refugees become self-reliant.

The agency is hoping to raise an additional $27.3m for refugees in Nigeria, but funding for this supplementary appeal stood at 56 percent in early December.

Adagom-3 settlement for Cameroonian refugees was established in late 2019; it hosts more than 500 refugees [Linus Unah/Al Jazeera]

At Adagom-3, a new settlement for more than 500 refugees created late last year in Ogoja, asylum-seekers said they did not receive essential items such as mosquito nets, mats, mattresses and cooking utensils when moving into their new houses.

“They think refugees are inferior beings, [but] one day we will rise and protest,” a refugee in his 50s said.

To survive, refugees in the settlements work as farm labourers in exchange for 500 naira ($1.4) or a tuber of yam or cassava after a day’s work.

Meanwhile, the UNHCR has teamed up with its partners to provide agricultural supplies to some refugees to help them operate micro-gardens to feed their families.

But some refugees felt the initiatives did not go far enough.

“You can’t call these projects empowerment because nothing has changed, really,” a refugee in Ajassor said.

“The wheelbarrows given to people here started having bad tyres and other issues, and there is barely water to even bathe – much less to water the garden.”

Worsening situation

Back in Cameroon, the simmering conflict continues to deteriorate, with human rights groups accusing both sides of committing human rights abuses.

In December, Parliament passed a law giving the two English-speaking regions “special status” in the wake of a national dialogue where participants made several recommendations, including electing local governors and integrating ex-fighters into society. 

Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Central Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch, told Al Jazeera the separatists had not participated in the process.

“The National Dialogue did not prevent the worsening of the crisis in the English-speaking regions and the escalation of violence. The separatists, most of whose leaders are based outside Cameroon or are in prison in Cameroon, did not take part in the dialogue,” Allegrozzi said.READ MORE

Meanwhile, violence continues to affect civilians.

On February 14, at least 21 people, including 14 children, were killed by armed men in Ngarbuh village in the Northwest region.

“The killings in Ngarbuh village were deliberate and carried out by government forces with armed ethnic Fulani,” Allegrozzi said.

“The government denies that its troops have committed these crimes, but denying only adds another layer of trauma and suffering to survivors and will only encourage new abuses.”

Last week, President Paul Biya established a commission of inquiry to investigate the killings in Ngarbuh, state-owned Cameroon Radio Television reported.

Allegrozzi said finding a long-lasting solution to the crisis would be challenging.

“We continue to believe that the crisis cannot be resolved unless fundamental questions related to justice and accountability for the human rights violations committed by both sides – government forces and armed separatists – are addressed,” she explained.

“Only a strong commitment to justice and fight against impunity can help to address the crisis.”

For now, Nga Anna has no plans of returning home.

As the sun blazes over the corrugated roofing of her single room, she shuffles to the veranda to chat with her children who have just returned from school.

“I want to become a lawyer so that I can judge cases when the crisis stops,” 15-year-old Kelia Akah, one of her daughters, announced.

Her mother chuckled, patting her on the shoulder.

“I am not moving back until the country becomes fine,” Nga said, her voice imbued with a hint of finality.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA NEWS

A BAS (BRIGADE ANTI-SADINARD) attack has killed 4 people in Galim, West Region of Cameroon.

BAS is an anti-government organization based in Europe. The movement has claimed responsibility for the attack and promises tough times to the Yaounde government.

This opens a new front in the instability rocking Cameroon. The country is faced with multiple conflicts and this spells danger for a sub-region that needs stability so as to stay on the path to economic growth.

Something needs to be done and done in a hurry to prevent Cameroon from sinking into chaos. This latest attack calls for prompt political actions to save a country that is fighting on many fronts.

Cameroon is Central Africa’s economic engine and a key political player in the sub-region. If Cameroon goes down, the entire sub-region might spiral out of control.

The Galim attack has highlighted how the country’s leadership is ineffective and inefficient. What is of importance to those at the helm is just the power. They don’t care about the country. Their goal is to make money while the rest of the country continues to head to the bottom of the abyss.

The country is in for rough times. The future is bleak. Until something natural happens, Cameroonians may not get out of the dark hole in which Biya and his men have put them.

President Biya has shown his limits. He is not up to the task, but the 87 year old and his criminal entourage do not want to admit it as that will reflect negatively on them. They are doing all they can to keep power, but things are quietly slipping through their fingers.

The military has been bought over. It is full of people from President Biya’s South region. Soldiers from other regions have been reduced to playing secondary roles. Non Betis are monitored very closely and any suspicion could put the suspect in a difficult situation.

The international community should take appropriate measures to help the country.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Government forces and armed ethnic Fulani killed at least 21 civilians in Cameroon’s Ngarbuh village, including 13 children and 1 pregnant woman, on February 14, 2020. They also burned five homes, pillaged scores of other properties, and beat residents. Some of the bodies of the victims were found burned inside their homes. The government denies that its troops have deliberately committed crimes.

“The gruesome killings of civilians, including children, are egregious crimes that should be effectively and independently investigated, and those responsible should be brought to justice,” said Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Denying that these crimes have occurred adds another layer of trauma to survivors and will only embolden government troops to commit more atrocities.”

Human Rights Watch interviewed 25 people, including 3 witnesses to the killings and 7 relatives of victims, about these events that took place in Ngarbuh, Donga Mantung division, in the North-West region. This area has been severely affected by violence between government forces and armed groups seeking a separate state for the North-West and South-West anglophone regions. Ethnic Fulani also live in and around Ngarbuh. They are known as “Mbororo” and are mainly pastoralists.

Human Rights Watch also obtained lists of the victims’ names from five sources and spoke to people, including relatives of the victims and residents who carried out the burials, who independently confirmed the victims’ identities.

Witnesses said that between 10 and 15 soldiers, including members of the Rapid Intervention Battalion, the elite unit of the Cameroonian army, and at least 30 armed Fulani first entered Ngarbuh 1, a neighborhood in Ngarbuh, on foot at about 11 p.m. on February 13, looting scores of homes. Some of these forces then continued to the Ngarbuh 2 neighborhood, looting homes and beating civilians. At around 5 a.m. on February 14, a group of soldiers and armed Fulani attacked the Ngarbuh 3 neighborhood, killing 21 civilians in four homes, then burning the houses.

Human Rights Watch also reviewed satellite imagery taken before and after the attack in Ngarbuh 3. The post-attack image, taken at 10:24 a.m. Cameroon time on February 14, shows several homes in Ngarbuh with damage that is consistent with burning.

A 32-year-old man who witnessed the killing of his whole family, including seven children, said: “I heard gunshots and left immediately to hide beside my house. From there, I saw the military shooting my family members one by one as they attempted to escape. They shot our mother first. Then, they shot the children, whose bodies all fell on her. Then, they set my home on fire.”

Human Rights Watch made several attempts to contact a senior member of the government but did not receive a response. Cameroon’s defense minister issued two statements on February 17. He first announced that the government had opened an investigation and that its findings would be made public. In a second statement later that day, he stated that the investigation findings “could be published at an appropriate time.” Both statements asserted that armed “terrorists” attacked government security forces and that the fighting led to an explosion of fuel containers, which destroyed several homes and killed one woman and four children. This assertion was restated on February 18 in a news release from the communication minister.

However, witnesses and residents with whom Human Rights Watch spoke said that there was no confrontation between armed separatists and security forces, that they heard no explosions, and that the killings were deliberate.

Residents said the attack was to punish civilians suspected of harboring separatist fighters. Twelve witnesses said that, after the killings, the military addressed residents in Ngarbuh 2, warning that their village would be destroyed if they continued to shelter separatists.

During and after this speech, soldiers threatened people, admitting that they had killed children in Ngarbuh 3, and saying that they would do the same in Ngarbuh 2. “The military broke into my house,” a 45-year old woman said. “They said my children were Amba fighters [separatists] and they searched for guns. They found none, but they beat me and said: ‘We have already killed children in Ngarbuh 3, so we can kill you too.’”

On February 16, a joint team of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees attempted to carry out a humanitarian needs assessment in Ngarbuh, but Rapid Intervention Battalion soldiers blocked them in Ntumbaw, the village closest to Ngarbuh, where the UN teams had started interviewing those displaced by the attack. Witnesses said that the soldiers photographed those who were being interviewed and prevented the UN team from doing its work.

The UN secretary-general in a February 17 statement expressed concern over the killing of civilians in Ngarbuh and urged the government of Cameroon to open an investigation and hold those responsible accountable. The following day, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights spokesperson said that Cameroonian authorities should ensure that its security forces “abide by applicable international law norms standards during the conduct of their operations.” On February 21, four UN officials, including the special representative for children and armed conflict, the special representative on sexual violence in conflict, the special representative on violence against children, and the special adviser on the prevention of genocide, issued a joint statement expressing their deep concern about reports of increasing violence in the Anglophone regions, including the attack on Ngarbuh, and called on the Cameroon government to ensure full respect for human rights.

The United States called for the government to authorize an independent investigation and ensure safety for witnesses. The killings in Ngarbuh were also condemned by other countries, including France, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

This is not the first time that the Cameroonian authorities have denied that its troops killed civilians. In 2018, an investigation conducted by Amnesty International, the BBC, and investigative journalists showed that Cameroonian soldiers depicted in a video carried out extrajudicial executions of two women and two children in the Far North region. The communication minister initially dismissed the video footage as “fake news.” However, seven soldiers were later arrested in connection with the killings. The trial is ongoing.

“The government of Cameroon should allow an independent investigation, with participation from the UN, into the Ngarbuh massacre, and make its findings public,” said Allegrozzi. “To be certain that assistance is not facilitating the commission of atrocities, Cameroon’s partners should halt military cooperation pending the results of such an inquiry.”

Background

Ethnic Fulani living in and around Ngarbuh are also known as “Mbororo” and are mainly pastoralists. Prior to the escalation of the crisis in the Anglophone regions, conflicts had occurred between the Fulani and local farmers over resources, including grazing land. This has been exacerbated since 2017, when violence erupted in the North-West and South-West regions. Armed separatists have targeted ethnic Fulani for their cattle in the North-West region and have accused them of joining vigilante groups sympathetic to the government. Armed Fulani groups have also attacked communities where armed separatists are known to operate.

Killings in Ngarbuh 3

Human Rights Watch research suggests that the killing of civilians in Ngarbuh 3 was deliberate. Witnesses and residents said that between 10 and 15 security force members acted jointly with a group of about 30 ethnic Fulani men who wore civilian clothes and were armed with machetes, clubs, and hunting guns.

Three witnesses said that the attack in Ngarbuh 3 took place at around 5 a.m. on February 14, 2020. Soldiers and armed Fulani attacked four houses, fatally shooting some residents. They also set the houses on fire, burning the bodies.

In one house, soldiers killed seven people, including five children, all from the same family. A 45-year-old relative who rushed to the scene after the killing said that four of the children were younger than 12.

In a second house, soldiers and armed Fulani killed nine people, including seven children and two women.

A resident who was among the people who buried the bodies told Human Rights Watch: “When I arrived at the scene, I could not believe my eyes. It was horrific. Some of the bodies were burned beyond recognition. Survivors were shocked and in panic. But many fled into the bush fearing for their lives.”

In a third house, military and armed Fulani killed two people, including a pregnant woman.

In a fourth house, military and armed Fulani killed three people, including a child. A woman living in the house was severely wounded but survived. A relative of the victims said he found the sole survivor with machete wounds all over her body.

Looting and Beatings

Twelve witnesses described how security forces and armed Fulani pillaged homes in Ngarbuh 1 and in Ngarbuh 2, forced people outside, and beat them.

A 32-year-old woman said that soldiers threatened to kill her if she did not give them money. “They kept beating me with the back of their guns and asking for money,” she said.

Another resident of Ngarbuh 2, a pastor, said:

The military were with a group of armed Fulani. They broke into and pillaged all the homes in Ngarbuh 2. They pulled people out, including me, and gathered us together at the village square, near the market. Some people were tied up with ropes. We were forced to the ground on our bellies. We could not raise our heads. When you looked up, they would beat you with machetes…. We were eventually released.

Culled from Human Rights Watch

When Paul Biya came to power in 1982, many thought Cameroon was going to get into a brand new and bright era.

Under the country’s first leader, Amadou Ahidjo, the reclusive Biya who was wont to riding his bike in Yaounde and playing golf in Tiko, had packaged himself as a man of the people.

He had attended one of Cameroon’s most prestigious high school, College Vogt, and the story around the country was that he was religious and had even contemplated becoming a priest.

These pieces of information were all over the country like a bad rash and Cameroonians knew their time in the spotlight had come.

The man who had to take them to the land of promise had come, but not like a knight on a white horse. Biya was marketed as the leader who would make his people’s problem the centerpiece of his presidency.

To prove that he was indeed a godly person, Biya, the hypocrite-in-chief, quickly invited the Pope to Cameroon. Cameroonians were ecstatic. They loved what they were seeing.

 But in life, what you see may not be exactly what you get. Time had to prove to them that Biya, as packaged by the sycophants around him, was purely a mirage.

In less than three years in power, Paul Biya, who was supposed to take Cameroonians to the land of promise, started leading them down a dangerous path of corruption, nepotism, tribalism and dictatorship.

If you disagreed with him even on policy matters, Paul Biya, the self-made monarch, would chop you of his orbit.

Samuel Eboa, Ayissi Mvondo, Francois Senga Kuo, William Eteki Mbouma and Delpine Tsanga have all felt the wrath of a man they knew would take the country down a dangerous path.

His inefficiency and incompetence had all been hidden from the public, after all, the country was a dictatorship, even in the days of the country’s first president, and nothing was allowed to filter out.

Amadou Ahidjo, the country’s first president, who ruled the country with an iron fist, loved Paul Biya, not for his capacity to deliver, but because of his sheepish docility to him.

Ahidjo loved people he could spin around his little finger and Biya was designed to be a yes man and to him, flattery was second nature.

Biya never does anything for anybody if there is no quid pro quo. If you must be part of his cabinet, then you must be able to promise gold to your people and deliver pebbles to them.

You must make your people to understand that Biya, the man many thought was more spiritual, is indeed a reincarnation of Jesus.

You must sing his praises even when things are falling apart. You must always tell your people that Biya is engineering better days even when the present is full of uncertainty and death.

The story of Mr. Biya, the country’s omnipotent leader, is more like the story of modern-day Pentecostal churches whose pastors are there to rip off their people while promising them that theirs will be the imaginary Kingdom of Heaven.

The Biya regime, considered by many as a crime syndicate, stands ready to rip off Cameroonians. While Cameroonians are going through the toughest times of their lives, the president and his wife, noted for her flaming red hair, are throwing sumptuous birthday parties and musical concerts only for themselves and their families.

While Cameroonians are gnashing their teeth because of the dehumanizing poverty the Biya regime has engineered for them, Mr. Biya’s children are all over the world burning through money like wildfire.

The country’s economy has taken a nosedive and millions are dying every day in the country’s two English-speaking regions because of a war that could have been averted. Despite all of this suffering, the ‘Monarch of Mvomeka’a is still living as if nothing is happening.

Today, it is normal for women to die while in travail. The country’s hospitals have been reduced to consultation clinics. While the president and his family enjoy world-class medical care abroad, Cameroonians are stuck with health facilities that are bereft of reliable medical equipment.

Politically, the Monarch of Mvomeka’a is facing numerous challenges. While Anglophones are gradually walking away from a lopsided union that was hastily put together by the country’s first president and greedy elements such as John Ngu Foncha and Solomon Tandeng Muna, the majority of Francophones are gradually making the country ungovernable.

In 2018, Mr. Biya managed by crook to win a new 7-year term, but he is always ill at ease as the world despises him and reminds him that the real winner of the election was Prof. Maurice Kamto, the man who has remained millstone around Mr. Biya’s neck.

To stop Prof. Kamto from eroding whatever credibility he still has, Mr. Biya last year jailed the country’s leading opposition figure for eight months.  But this only turned out to be counterproductive.

A huge whirlwind of opposition against Mr. Biya has emerged known as the Brigade Anti-sadinard (BAS) and this group is a living nightmare to Mr. Biya.

The group has been very active in Europe, especially in France and Switzerland, and it did indeed succeed to compel the Swiss to chase Mr. Biya out of the country when he was in Switzerland for medical attention.

The group’s activities actually forced the French president to oblige Biya to release Prof Maurice Kamto from jail.

In his own words, the French president last week said that he obliged Mr. Biya to release Kamto, failure of which, he would not receive Biya when he came to France. The pressure paid off and once more, the world understood that while Biya might be the president of Cameroon, the real decisions on the country’s destiny were actually taken in Paris.

The world is therefore calling on Macron to call for a halt in the killing of Southern Cameroonians by the Biya regime that has rejected all advice given to it by many authoritative voices across the globe.

Speaking last week in Paris to a Cameroonian activist, Mr. Macron promised that he would be calling Mr. Biya next to let him know that his actions in the country’s two English-speaking regions were unacceptable.

The world is waiting and it would be a great relief to many across the world if French pressure pays off.

But many critics of French policy in Africa are skeptical about Mr. Macron’s promises. Some fear it could simply be a tongue in cheek criticism of the man who has worked so hard to preserve French interest in Cameroon.

Despite all the doubts, there is some hope. It is not normal for a French president to criticize a friend and ally in Africa, especially an elder statesman like Biya who has been there for the French for almost four decades. The world is waiting to see if the hypocrite-in-chief will make some amendments to his ways in the days ahead due to French pressure.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Chairman/Editor-in-Chief

Cameroon Concord News Group

The “Valentine’s Day Massacre” of pregnant women, babies, young children and elderly Southern Cameroonians by the Cameroon military in Ngarbuh is the most blatant demonstration yet of crimes against humanity and genocide against Southern Cameroonians, as noted by some. Per eye witness reports, soldiers visited the village in the early hours of Valentine’s Day and proceeded to sequentially slaughter citizens, burning down their homes and burning some alive. By the end of this massacre at least 35 people were confirmed dead including, as confirmed by the United Nations, 15 children and two heavily pregnant women.

The Coalition for Dialogue and Negotiation (CDN) joins the rest of the world in strongly condemning these horrendous and barbaric acts, which unfortunately is not the first of its kind by the army of the Government of Cameroon. While this massacre, like the previous ones, has received worldwide condemnation and the sympathy of the international community, the Coalition strongly believes it’s time for world leaders to take concrete actions to end this armed conflict and prevent further degeneration of an already dire humanitarian situation.

The Coalition strongly urges the United Nations Secretary General, Mr. Antonio Gutteres, to convene an emergency Security Council meeting to directly address the root causes of this conflict. The Coalition also urges the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, the German Federation, Canada, France and most especially the African Union, to take a more proactive role in seeking a permanent negotiated solution that addresses the root causes of this armed conflict.

The Coalition reiterates its stance for an inclusive third-party mediated negotiation that addresses the root causes of the conflict, as the only sustainable means of resolving the Southern Cameroons conflict. As such, the Coalition believes that the International Conference on the Armed Conflict in the Southern Cameroons, scheduled for March 19-21, 2020 in Washington DC would constitute a step in the right direction. 

About the Coalition for Dialogue and Negotiations

The Coalition for Dialogue and Negotiations (CDN) is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) with the specific goal of facilitating dialogue and negotiations towards ending the war in Southern Cameroons. CDN is made of professionals from all works of life and over 20 partner organizations worldwide advocating for an end to the war. CDN members work with its partners to strengthen international involvement in resolving the conflict and building durable peace in the conflict affected territories.

“Cameroon needs a bail-out. Not an economic bail-out. The country is crumbling, the world should stop playing spectator to an insidious genocide that is playing out in the country’s two English-speaking regions,” Dr. Joachim Arrey in an interview with the Cameroon Concord News Group Editor-in-Chief, Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai.

Cameroon Concord News: We are always happy to hear you share your views. We know you have good ideas that could help Cameroon make giant strides forward. What is your view about the killings in Ngarbuh?

Dr Joachim Arrey: Let me use this opportunity to extend my sincere condolences to all those who have lost loved ones in this conflict, especially to relatives of those who were killed in Ngarbuh recently. There is nothing that can shock a society like the killing of children and pregnant women. The world has been moved by this unfortunate situation and something needs to be done to ensure that this government does not continue to kill its own people. I think the country’s military has crossed many red lines and this one should not go unpunished. Somebody must be held accountable and since there is a chain of command, those who issued those orders must be as guilty as those who implemented those orders. It is wrong to kill human beings just for their views. People should be punished for the crimes they commit and not for the opinions they hold. Through this unfortunate event, the military has demonstrated that it has no regard for human life.

Cameroon Concord News: But the government is saying that the military did not commit the crime.

Dr Joachim Arrey: If you speak with investigators, they will tell you that very few criminals ever acknowledge their role in any crime. Many criminals usually refuse to acknowledge that they know something about the crime they have committed. We are talking here about a government that has mowed down many young people in the two English-speaking regions of the country. In that part of the country, very few people have confidence in the government and the military, which is supposed to be protecting the people, has transformed itself into a bogyman. The international community has called for a thorough and impartial investigation into the Ngarbuh massacres, but the government is still dilly dallying because of what it knows. However, I have good news for you. Some smart villagers have picked up the shell casings of the bullets that were used in the mass killings in Ngarbuh and they now say they will only hand them over to the United Nations when and if there will be an investigation. Once those bullets get handed over, there will be ballistics tests and the whole world will know who committed the act. I don’t trust the government. It has been caught with its hand in the cookie jar on many occasions. I hope you have not forgotten about its crime in the northern part of the country that sparked outraged around the world and when questioned, the communications minister at the time said the event took place in Mali. If a man has lied once, know that he can lie many times.

Cameroon Concord News: Besides, the killings in Ngarbuh, there are many things still going on in the two English-speaking regions.

Dr Joachim Arrey: Of course! The army has been given the carte blanche to shoot and kill. Yesterday, a young man was killed at a Bamenda hospital where he had dropped off some wounded persons. Since everybody in the two regions is now scared of soldiers, once you get stopped, you just start fleeing and that was what the young man did. There is a death sentence hanging over all Cameroonians living in the two regions like the Sword of Damocles. A trigger-happy soldier followed the young man to a hospital where Doctors Without Borders has its staff and gunned the young man down. The minister of defense issued a release that the soldier had been caught, but as usual, he span the story to demonstrate that the dead man was at fault because he had run a checkpoint. But the punishment for running a checkpoint is not summary killing. I am not a lawyer, but I am conversant with the country’s penal code.  I also understand how the law works in Cameroon. The law has been designed to favor those in power. Those in power are very selective in their application of the law. This is unfortunate because the selective implementation of the law has entrenched a culture of impunity in our country.

Cameroon Concord News: Where do you see the country in the next five years?

Dr Joachim Arrey: Five years just look to me as an eternity. We have gone through a lot and if we must endure more of this over the next five years, then many of us will be dead. Many people of my age and those who are older are aging very fast because of the stress the government is downloading on the population. Corruption and inefficiency have a way robbing people of their dignity. Many people are unemployed, and many major corporations are not really doing well in Cameroon. The country is dealing with many crises and the impact of these crises is hitting the population like a ton of bricks. Cameroon needs a bail-out. Not an economic bail-out. The country is crumbling; the world should stop playing spectator to an insidious genocide that is playing out in the country’s two English-speaking regions. If you throw the economic hardship into the mix, then you get the frustration that is already manifesting itself in different ways. Unemployment, crime, dishonesty, corruption and mismanagement seem to have taken up residence in Cameroon because of a regime that has overstayed its welcome.

Cameroon Concord News: From the way you speak, would you one day like to participate in your country’s politics?

Dr Joachim Arrey: I don’t know what you mean by politics, but we all are political animals in a way. I hate injustice and corruption, but these two vices seem to be fixtures on our political and social landscapes. It will be unfortunate to turn a blind eye to such vices which are blighting the lives of our people. I will never seek political office, but I will work for a just society. I will always take this government to task for the way it has run our economy aground. The government has robbed Cameroonians of their pride. Cameroonians of all political stripes just want to be happy and proud that their country is doing well. Unfortunately, this is not what we are getting. The economy is on the brink and the politics leaves much to be desired.  Our country has evolved from a struggling democracy to a full-blown dictatorship. We must change that. We must hold our so-called leaders accountable for their actions. We must continue mounting pressure until they understand that Cameroon belongs to all of us. Cameroon is our common property. We need to ensure that we are bequeathing a beautiful country to our children. We cannot allow a few people who are conducting themselves like robbers in paradise to ruin everything before they check out.

Cameroon Concord News: But you don’t live in Cameroon

Dr Joachim Arrey: I don’t have to live in Cameroon to fight for what is right. The world is a global village and we can live wherever we want, but we must not forget that we must ensure that all parts of that global village are functioning properly. I am a native of Ossing and I believe that it is incumbent upon me to ensure that Cameroon does not disappear just because some people are at the end of their lives. We all must leave this world someday, but we must ensure that we leave this world a better place than we met it. I will therefore continue to play my role to ensure that some people do not consider themselves as owners of our beloved country. I will continue to write and think aloud until somebody listens to me.

Cameroon Concord News: Thank you for your time. Any last word?

Dr Joachim Arrey: Thank you too for seeking my opinion. I would like to use this opportunity to call on the international community to intervene in Cameroon so that the country does not implode. Cameroon is going down the drain and if care is not taken, it could bring down an entire sub-region. The tragedy that is playing out in the two English-speaking regions is already creating problems for the Cameroon’s neighbors as Cameroonians of English expression flee violence to seek peace and security in neighboring countries. These countries do not really have the right infrastructure to handle large hordes of refugees. The refugees are living rough and many are dying because of the tough times. Cameroon should not be forgotten. The issues can be addressed. The people want peace, but their leaders seem to be in love with war, especially as some of them have already established a war economy that is lining their pockets. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts with your audience.

The Commonwealth Secretary-General has issued the following statement in response to an attack on a village in north-west Cameroon on 14 February which reportedly left 23 people dead, the majority of them children.

Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland said:

“I strongly condemn the recent killings of civilians, including women and children in the North-West of Cameroon on 14 February 2020.

“We noted the Government announcement that there would be a full investigation into the incident. We encourage the Government to conduct an impartial investigation, for perpetrators to be held accountable and for results to be made public.

“The Commonwealth strongly condemns all forms of violence, and in particular, the loss of lives of innocent civilians including women and children.

“Cameroon is a noted member of the Human Rights Council and as such we are minded of General Comment 13 to the Convention on the Rights of the Child to freedom from all forms of violence which is underscored by the understanding that no violence against children is justifiable, all violence against children is preventable. 

“I continue to convey these concerns to the Government of Cameroon, and the Commonwealth stands ready to support solutions that will address the root causes of this conflict.”

Secretary-General The Rt Hon Patricia Scotland QC