Headline News

20, July 2018

Southern Cameroons Crisis: The dangers of Yaounde-Buea’s war of words ⁰

FOR decades Cameroon, wedged between central and west Africa, enjoyed a reputation for calm and stability while its neighbours were mired in a cycle of coups-d’état, wars and bloodshed. Yet today that stability is no longer guaranteed, and a long-simmering crisis is erupting. Protests, which began in October 2016 with Anglophone teachers and barristers demonstrating about French curricula and legal texts, have morphed into a conflict of kidnappings, beheadings and the torching of villages. What went wrong?

Cameroon was colonised by the Germans in the late 19th century, and after the first world war the League of Nations entrusted the administration of different parts to the British and the French. In 1961, lured by the promise of federalism, the formerly British-held North-West and South-West regions chose to join the newly independent and previously French-held Cameroon. But 11 years later, the country’s first president, Ahmadou Ahidjo reneged on the federalist deal and imposed a unitary state, governed from French-speaking Yaounde. In 1984 the current president, Paul Biya, changed the name of the country to the Republic of Cameroon (the name of the former Francophone territory) and removed from the national flag the second star, which represented the Anglophone regions. The effects are still felt today. Anglophones, who make up less than a fifth of the population, feel marginalised in almost every sphere of life, ranging from the allocation of state resources to political representation.

The government reacted to the spreading protests by dismissing the demonstrators as terrorists, throwing their leaders in jail and cutting off internet connections to the two Anglophone regions. This just created more problems. The leadership vacuum was filled by a range of separatist groups, with senior activists ranging from worried men in suits to armed criminals taking advantage of the chaos. Still angered by Ahidjo’s treachery almost half-a-century ago, Anglophones continue to complain that they were not given the option to set up their own state after independence. That has become one of the main demands of some fighters, who declared the establishment of the “Republic of Ambazonia” last October. The crisis has duly developed into a vicious war. Both sides have committed atrocities, but the Anglophones are paying the harshest price. More than 21,000 have fled to neighbouring Nigeria, while in south-west Cameroon entire settlements have become ghost villages, with more than 150,000 people displaced.

Worse, this is just one of three crises facing Cameroon. Northern parts have been affected by the Boko Haram insurgency spilling over from Nigeria. The jihadists’ campaign of suicide bombings and other attacks has forced almost 250,000 Cameroonians to flee their homes and led to the arrival of more than 95,000 Nigerians refugees. At the same time, over 230,000 refugees from the Central African Republic have come to eastern Cameroon, bringing with them a bloody struggle for power and access to natural resources. In the presidential election due for October, Mr Biya—Africa’s oldest ruler at 85—is expected to seek a seventh term in power. Mr Biya has no obvious successor, in a government anchored in sclerosis. Yet stability in Cameroon is vital not only for the region but for Africa at large. It is the biggest economy in central Africa, and for many people in Cameroon, Chad and the Central African Republic, the port of Douala is a life-line. Cameroon’s elite soldiers, arguably the most efficient in the region, have played a crucial role in the fight against Boko Haram and ISIS splinter groups. If Cameroon plunges further into chaos, other countries could be pulled down with it.

Culled from The Economist

20, July 2018

Ambazonian MPs, Senators still in Yaounde as Southern Cameroons faces more persecution ⁰

The Ambazonian Interim government says French Cameroun army violence persists against Southern Cameroonians and the overall environment remains menacing for Ambazonians on ground zero. Communication Secretary, Hon. Chris Anu said in a statement on Thursday that the genocide going on in Southern Cameroons towns and villages and the arrival of thousands of Southern Cameroons refugees in Nigeria reflects the continuing gravity of the human rights violations by French Cameroun soldiers in Southern Cameroons.

Chris Anu wondered aloud why Southern Cameroons members of parliament and senators were still serving in French Cameroun mindful of the overt threats they faced of violence and persecution. The Ambazonian Communication Secretary also noted that it was shameful Southern Cameroons political elites are mute when their people are being cut off from their sources of livelihood, hundreds including women and children are being killed and the overall menacing environment is pushing thousands to flee their ancestral homeland.

The statement comes as the Francophone dominated army has reportedly intensify its onslaught in Southern Cameroons. There are reports that the deadly violence against Southern Cameroonians is premeditated and amounted to genocide. Human Rights groups including Amnesty International have all indicated that the Cameroon military was guilty of committing crimes against humanity and genocide.

Cameroon Intelligence Report understands that the French Cameroun army made systematic preparations for genocide against Southern Cameroonians in Belo, Batibo, Kwa Kwa and Muyenge. The brutal campaign has forced some 50,000 Southern Cameroonians to flee their homeland and seek refuge in Nigeria. Southern Cameroonians based in Ndian, Meme, Manyu, Menchum, Fako, Mezam and Bui Counties have been subjected to a campaign of killings, rape and arson attacks by the Cameroon government military backed by the country’s ruling CPDM party.

By Sama Ernest with files from Rita Akana

19, July 2018

President of South Sudan says ready to accept peace deal ⁰

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir said he is ready to accept a peace deal to end a civil war and set up an inclusive new government.

The deal being negotiated in Sudan would give the country five vice presidents and also covers security and power sharing.

“The people of South Sudan are looking for peace and if that arrangement can bring about peace to the people of South Sudan, I am ready to take it,” said Kiir late on Wednesday at a swearing-in ceremony for his foreign minister.

“People talk about exclusivity, nobody is to be left out of the government. I accept it,” he said.

South Sudan erupted in conflict in 2013 because of a dispute between Kiir and his former vice president Riek Machar. Tens of thousands have been killed, a quarter of the population has fled their homes and the oil-dependent economy has been wrecked.

A 2015 peace deal briefly halted the fighting but it fell apart after Machar returned to the capital the following year.

The conflict has mostly been fought along ethnic lines, pitting Kiir’s dominant Dinka tribe and its rival, the ethnic Nuer of Machar.

President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir (4th R) poses with South Sudan’s opposition leader Riek Machar (3-L) during peace talks at Uganda’s statehouse in Entebbe where they were received by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni (C) along with Sudan counterpart Omar al Bashir (4th L) on July 7, 2018. (Photo by AFP)

This week Kiir named Nhial Deng Nhial, ex-presidential adviser and also his chief negotiator in the Khartoum talks, as his new foreign minister, replacing Deng Alor.

(Source:Reuters)

19, July 2018

Congo-Kinshasa: Kabila mute on political future in address to lawmakers ⁰

President Joseph Kabila has refused to make clear pronouncements on his political future as leader of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Speaking in an address to a joint sitting of the country’s legislature, Kabila whose legal tenure of office expired in December 2016 failed to address the issue of whether he was interested in continuing as president.

His over 40-minutes address to lawmakers focused largely on internal issues like security, the economy, unemployment and development plans executed under his presidency. He also touched on the DRC’s repositioning in regional and global diplomacy.

Most political watchers had expected him to make clear statements on his political involvement in a country that is heading to the polls in December 2018. He, however, stated that the elections would take place.

Opposition parties have long claimed that despite the expiration of his term two years ago, Kabila has plans of seeking a third term in office – which provision is not existent in the current constitution.

Top regime officials – Kabila spokesperson Lambert Mende and Prime Minister Bruno Tshibala, are on record to have said that Kabila will oversee elections and step down once a successor is elected.

Kinshasa has repeatedly used the lack of security and lack of a credible voters register to postpone elections. The December 2018 date has the full backing of the international community even though the opposition have expressed concerns over the process so far.

Source: Africa News

19, July 2018

Biya regime arrests four soldiers in connection with execution of women and children ⁰

Cameroon has arrested four soldiers suspected of shooting dead two women and two children in the country’s far north where its army is battling jihadist group Boko Haram, two security sources told Reuters.

A video of the incident, which has been shared tens of thousands of times on Twitter since it emerged last week, has provoked international outcry.

Government spokesman Issa Tchiroma Bakary initially described the footage as “fake news” and said that the men in the footage, who were wearing military fatigues, did not appear to be Cameroonian soldiers. However, he said the government would open an investigation.

“Four soldiers were arrested on Sunday. They are suspected of being the authors of the executions in the video,” said an army officer in Cameroon’s Far North region near the border with Nigeria.

A second security source said that three of the soldiers had been transferred to the capital Yaounde while the fourth was still being held in Maroua, the capital of the Far North.

Spokesmen for the army and the government did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

The shaky footage shows two women, one with an infant strapped to her back, being led across a patch of dusty scrubland by a group of uniformed men, who accuse them of belonging to the Nigerian militant group Boko Haram.

The women, silent throughout the ordeal, are blindfolded and told to sit down alongside their children. Moments later, two men step back, level their rifles and fire a series of rounds.

Amnesty International said last week that it had gathered credible evidence that the men in the video were indeed Cameroonian soldiers based on an analysis of their weapons, speech and uniforms.

Four Cameroonian military sources, including the officer in the Far North, told Reuters that the video did show Cameroonian soldiers. Two said the video was filmed in 2014 or 2015 in the early months of Cameroon’s operations against Boko Haram.

REUTERS

19, July 2018

French Cameroun: Shocking video exposes extrajudicial killings ⁰

A video which appears to show Cameroonian soldiers executing two women, a young girl and a baby was widely circulated on social media last week. The video depicts two men in army uniforms assaulting the female detainees outside a village in northern Cameroon, telling them, “BH, you are going to die” (BH is slang for Boko Haram). The women and children are then led off a dirt track, blindfolded and shot dead. The Galil rifles the soldiers are carrying suggest that they are part of the Cameroonian Army’s Rapid Intervention Battalion who have a history of human rights abuses while battling the extremist armed group, Boko Haram.

According to research by Amnesty International and other experts, the shocking video constitutes credible evidence of an extrajudicial killing carried out by Cameroonian soldiers in the Mayo-Tsanaga region. The government of Cameroon initially denounced the video as “fake news,” but has since announced a formal investigation.

Cameroon’s security forces are also embroiled in a rapidly deteriorating conflict in the country’s Anglophone regions. Widespread protests during 2016 against the marginalization and under-representation of English-speakers were met with violent repression by the government, leading to dozens of deaths and mass displacement. In October 2017 English-speaking separatists symbolically proclaimed the independent state of “Ambazonia.” Since then, violence between security forces and armed separatists has escalated. Government forces have arbitrarily arrested and tortured detainees, and have destroyed a number of villages throughout the Anglophone regions. Armed separatists have also carried out human rights abuses.

There is growing concern that upcoming presidential elections scheduled for 7 October will lead to further intensification and militarization of the conflict in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions. President Paul Biya has been in power since 1982 and announced on 13 July that he will be running again for the presidency.

It is not too late to avert the growing risk of mass atrocities in Cameroon. The security forces must immediately end the use of disproportionate and deadly force against civilians and the government must ensure that the human rights of all Cameroonians are equally protected. All soldiers and police officers responsible for unlawful killings and the torture of detainees must be held accountable for their actions.

Source: Reliefweb

19, July 2018

How Boko Haram ruined Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission ⁰

The demarcation of the Cameroon-Nigeria border and the pillar construction continued to face challenges due to insecurity in areas affected by the presence of Boko Haram, the United Nations (UN) has said.

This is contained in a ‘Report of the Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, on the activities of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS)’.

Guterres also cited the unrest in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon as partly contributing to the challenges faced by the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission.

“Insecurity in areas affected by Boko Haram continued to hinder the activities of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission in the northernmost regions of the land boundary between the two countries.

“Social and political unrest in the English-speaking north-western and south-western regions of Cameroon raised additional security concerns.

“As a result, the demarcation of the border and the subsequent emplacement of pillars continued to be a challenge,’’ he said.

Against that background, parties to the Mixed Commission met in Lagos, Nigeria, on March 19 and March 20 to finalise the implementation of reinforced security measures for field operations.

In this regard, Guterres noted the activities of his Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, who also serves as Chair of the Mixed Commission.

He said Chambas, on March 18 in Abuja and on May 15 in Yaoundé, “engaged in bilateral consultations with the heads of the Nigerian and Cameroonian delegations to work on outstanding areas of disagreement.

“Overall, the parties reaffirmed their commitment to implementing the judgment of the International Court of Justice of October 2002 and to fully demarcating the land and maritime boundaries shared by the two countries.

“My Special Representative also successfully concluded fundraising efforts to replenish a trust fund for pillar construction along the land boundary.

“Consequently, pillar emplacement is expected to resume in October 2018 at the end of the rainy season.’’

On the conflicts between herdsmen and farmers, he said UNOWAS supported the ECOWAS Commission in the development of a regional action plan on transhumance.

Guterres said the office also established an informal working group on pastoralism and conflict prevention with the participation of the UN and regional entities working on the issue.

“In Abuja, from April 24 to April 26, UNOWAS participated in a ministerial and experts meeting on conflicts between herders and farmers in West Africa, organised by the ECOWAS Commission and the Government of Nigeria.

“Relevant recommendations included the need for States to report on the implementation of the ECOWAS transhumance protocol,’’ the UN Chief said.

On Boko Haram, he said his Special Representative continued to support diplomatic, security and humanitarian responses to the terrorist organisation.

“On Feb 28, my Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel took part in the International Conference on Lake Chad, hosted by the Government of Nigeria with the support of the Lake Chad Basin Commission and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.

“The Heads of State and Government of Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Gabon, the Niger and Nigeria adopted a declaration reaffirming their commitment to increase cooperation to safeguard Lake Chad and address the socio-economic impact of climate change and instability.

“In his capacity as my High-level Representative for Nigeria, my Special Representative also held discussions with security institutions and other key stakeholders on the situation in the Lake Chad basin with a view to enhancing regional cooperation, reintegrating ex-combatants and dealing with root causes.

“Through the facilitation of my Special Representatives for West Africa and the Sahel and for Central Africa, the governors of territories bordering Lake Chad met for the first time in Maiduguri, Nigeria on May 8 and May 9.

“They established the Lake Chad Basin Governors’ Forum to enhance joint efforts towards building peace and fostering sustainable development across the Lake Chad basin.

Guterres said governance and development efforts must continue to be accompanied by a robust security response.

He commended the efforts of the countries participating in the Multinational Joint Task Force and encouraged strengthened partnership among the affected countries and with regional organisations, including the African Union.

“I congratulate the Government of Nigeria for conducting trials of Boko Haram suspects and urge the acceleration of the reintegration of victims and other categories of individuals associated with extremist groups in all affected countries.

“I encourage national authorities to provide critical humanitarian assistance to vulnerable communities.

“In addition, I reiterate my call on the international community to increase political, humanitarian, logistical and financial assistance to the affected countries, the Lake Chad Basin Commission, the Joint Force of the G-5 Sahel and the Multinational Joint Task Force, and to advance the disbursement of pledged funds.’’

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

19, July 2018

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Police officer decapitated in Menchum County ⁰

A Cameroonian police officer was decapitated on Wednesday in the country’s restive anglophone region, sources said.

The officer who was killed was stationed at the town of Wum in the northeast of the country, a security source told AFP, confirming information from one of the victim’s relatives.

He had been at a roadblock with a colleague when men suspected of being secessionists attacked him, the security source said.

“They cut off his head and took it away,” the source added.

The ambush occurred amid an armed campaign to gain independence for the Northwest and Southwest Regions, a predominantly English-speaking part of the French-speaking West African state.

Years of resentment at perceived discrimination at the hands of the francophone majority have led to almost daily acts of violence and retribution that have claimed scores of lives and forced tens of thousands from their homes.

Source: AFP

19, July 2018

Southern Cameroons crisis hits palm oil, cocoa production ⁰

The crisis in anglophone Cameroon is damaging the Southwest Region’s economy, with palm oil plantations closing and the cocoa trade tumbling, an NGO report said Wednesday. The Southwest Region faces almost daily clashes between the army and separatists in a conflict that originated mainly in Cameroon’s second anglophone area, the Northwest Region.

The state-run palm oil company Pamol has deserted some of its plantations, and cocoa and coffee production has stopped because villages have abandoned their crops, according to the Cameroon NGO Human Is Right. Sources at the private firm Telcar Cocoa, a market leader, told the NGO that insecurity in the region had caused an 80 percent fall in cocoa trade. Company officials should negotiate with fighters to secure their facilities in remote villages, the sources said. Meanwhile rubber and oil plantations have been abandoned in two of Southwest Region’s six districts, Ndian and Meme.

The crisis has led to a 70 percent increase in unemployment in the agricultural sector, the report found. Both the Southwest Region and the Northwest Region were once under British rule before joining francophone Cameroon in 1961 after independence. For years, resentment built among anglophones, fostered by perceived marginalisation in education, the judiciary and the economy at the hands of the French-speaking majority. Demands for greater autonomy were rejected by 85-year-old President Paul Biya, in power for more than 35 years, leading to an escalation that saw the declaration of the self-described “Republic of Ambazonia” in October last year.

www.vanguardngr.com

19, July 2018

Obama says young Africans must stay and transform Africa ⁰

Former U.S. president Barack Obama advised talented young Africans on Wednesday to drive change at home rather than emigrating, and urged their governments to do more to curb a brain drain.

Obama, whose Kenyan-born father studied in the United States but later returned home to work as an economist, described the phenomenon of the best minds leaving for global centres abroad as “a real issue”.

“More and more not only are we seeing concentrations of wealth, we are seeing concentrations of talent in various global centres, whether it is Shanghai or Dubai,” said Obama, who is on his first visit to Africa since leaving office in January 2017.

Obama told young African business people and activists at a gathering in Johannesburg that opportunities could be greater in their own countries. “Precisely because there may be less of a concentration of talent, … your chances of being transformative are going to be higher,” he said.

His non-profit organisation, The Obama Foundation, runs a leadership programme aimed at helping aspiring Africans to solve pressing problems on the continent.

“If we have African leaders, governments and institutions which are creating a platform for success and opportunity, then you will increasingly get more talent wanting to stay,” Obama said. “Once you reach a tipping point, not only will you stop the brain drain, then it will start reversing.”

On Tuesday he used a lecture marking 100 years since the birth of South Africa’s first post-apartheid president Nelson Mandela to urge world leaders to resist cynicism over the rise of strongmen – pointed comments which many interpreted as a reference to his successor, Donald Trump, among others.

Earlier this week Obama called on Kenya’s leaders to turn their backs on divisive ethnic politics and clamp down on corruption.

REUTERS