Headline News

20, May 2018

Cuba plane crash: Black box retrieved ⁰

Cuban officials have announced that one of the black boxes of a plane that recently crashed in the country has been retrieved, offering hope to discover the reason behind the accident.

Cuba’s Transport Minister Adel Yzquierdo said on Saturday that authorities had retrieved one of the black boxes “in good condition” from the plane that crashed near Havana airport on Friday.

He said the official death toll had now risen to 110 people, including 11 foreigners.

The Boeing 737 passenger jet went down shortly after takeoff, killing all but three on board. Fifteen bodies have been identified so far.

The three women who survived the crash are said to be in critical condition with serious burns.

The incident was the Caribbean island’s deadliest air disaster in nearly 30 years.

The government announced two days of national mourning starting Saturday.

Allegations have begun to surface of previous safety complaints against the little-known Mexican company called Damojh that leased the nearly 40-year-old Boeing 737 to Cuban flagship carrier Cubana.

Cuban authorities said earlier that 99 of the fatalities were Cuban, while three were foreign tourists — two Argentinians and a Mexican — and two were Sahrawi residents in Cuba.

The crew of six were Mexican and were all killed.

Some locals who saw the crash say one of the engines appeared to have caught fire before the plane hit the ground.

Source: Presstv

19, May 2018

Royal wedding 2018: Prince Harry and Meghan married at Windsor ⁰

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been declared husband and wife, following a ceremony at Windsor Castle.

The couple exchanged vows and rings before the Queen and 600 guests at St George’s Chapel.

Wearing a dress by British designer Clare Waight Keller, Ms Markle was met by Prince Charles, who walked her down the aisle.

Following their marriage, the couple will be known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Among the guests were Oprah Winfrey, George and Amal Clooney, David and Victoria Beckham and Sir Elton John.

Ms Markle had 10 bridesmaids and pageboys – including Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

She wore Queen Mary’s diamond bandeau tiara, loaned to her by the Queen.

Her sculpted white dress was designed by Ms Waight Keller for French fashion house Givenchy.

The look was completed with a veil measuring 5m and embroidered with the flowers of each country in the Commonwealth.

Prince Charles walked Ms Markle down the aisle, after her father, Thomas, was unable to attend for health reasons.

In her vows, Ms Markle did not promise to “obey” her husband, while the prince broke with royal tradition by choosing to wear a wedding ring.

Prince Harry’s ring is a platinum band with a textured finish and Ms Markle’s has been made from a piece of Welsh gold.

Lady Jane Fellowes, the sister of Prince Harry’s late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, gave a reading.

Karen Gibson and The Kingdom Choir performed Ben E King’s soul classic Stand By Me during the service.

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, who is recovering from a hip operation, were among the last to arrive

Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland — Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, is the only member of Ms Markle’s family to attend the wedding

As the bride and groom signed the register, 19-year-old cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason – who won the 2016 BBC’s Young Musician – performed three pieces – by Faure, Schubert and Maria Theresia von Paradis, with musicians from the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the English Chamber Orchestra and the Philharmonia.

The gospel choir also performed Etta James’ uplifting version of Amen/This Little Light of Mine as the newlyweds left the chapel.

The duke and duchess will travel through Windsor along a route lined by up to 100,000 well-wishers.

US TV star Oprah Winfrey, wearing pink, and British actor Idris Elba arrive at the chapel

All 600 guests will then attend a lunchtime reception at St George’s Hall, which is being given by the Queen.

During this reception, Ms Markle will reportedly break with tradition for royal brides and make a speech.

Other celebrities in attendance included tennis star Serena Williams, TV personality James Corden, singer James Blunt, actor Carey Mulligan, and rugby star Jonny Wilkinson.

Prince Harry’s uncle, Earl Spencer, the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, and the Duchess of Cambridge’s sister Pippa Middleton, were also invited.

Politicians, including Prime Minister Theresa May, were not invited, as it is not a state event.

But the former Prime Minister, Sir John Major, is among the invited guests, as he is a member of the Order of the Garter.

About 1,200 members of the public – many who are recognised for their charity work – have been invited into the grounds of Windsor Castle for the wedding.

Culled from the BBC

19, May 2018

200 arrested in anti-terror operation in West Africa ⁰

More than 200 people were arrested last week in a joint anti-terror and security operation in the West African countries of Burkina Faso, Ghana, Benin and Togo, the Burkinabe army said.

“Fifty-two individuals were arrested in Burkina Faso, 42 in Benin, 95 in Togo and 13 in Ghana”, Colonel Blaise Ouedraogo told AFP late Friday.

Explosives and contraband goods were also seized.

At least two of those arrested in Burkina were suspected of being involved in militancy, Ouedraogo said, adding that “40 sticks of explosives, 38 guns and 623 illegally registered motor bikes” had been found.

Around 2,900 security and defense officers from the four countries took part, he added.

Burkino Faso’s Security Minister Clement Sawadogo said the joint operation was the result of an agreement between the leaders of the four countries in Ghana’s capital, Accra, last year.

He said such operations would be repeated in future “so that we can pool our resources, our expertise and our ability to overcome serious crime and terrorism.”

The number of deadly attacks has been on the increase in the north of Burkino Faso in recent years, as well as in the east of the country and the border areas with Togo and Benin.

(Source: AFP)

19, May 2018

Advisory Against 20th May Celebration throughout the territory of Ambazonia ⁰

May 19, 2018

The Ambazonia Self-Defence Council (ASC) advises against 20^th May celebration and travel to the following zones of Ambazonia territory: Northern Zone and Southern Zone.

The ASC advises against all activities of 20^th May celebration and travel to the following specific counties of Ambazonia:

Northern Zone: Boyo; Bui; Donga Mantung; Menchum; Mezam; Momo; Ngoketunjia.

Southern Zone: Bakassi; Fako; Kupe Muanenguba; Lebialem; Manyu; Meme; Ndian.

The ASC advises against all activities of 20^th May celebration and travel to all cities, towns, and villages of the following specific chief towns of Local Government Areas within all the counties of Ambazonia:

Northern Zone: Andeck; Bali; Benakuma; Fonfuka; Furu-Awa; Funding; Mbengwi; Ndop; Njinikom; Njikwa; Nkambe; Nkor; Nkum; Santa; Tubah; Zhoa; Babessi; Ndu; Kumbo; Belo; Bafut; Widikum; Wum; Ako; Misaje; Elak; Jakiri; Nwa; Balikumbat; Batibo; Mbiame.

Southern Zone: Archibong; Akwaya; Alou; Bamusso; Buea; Bangem; Dikome Balue; Ekondo Titi; Eyumojock; Idabato; Idenau; Isangele; Kombo Abedimo; Kombo Itindi; Konye; Mamfe; Mbonge; Menji; Mudemba; Muyuka; Nguti; Tiko; Tinto; Toko; Tombel; Wabane.

On 30^thNovember 2017, President Paul Biya of La Republique du Cameroun imposed a war on the territory of Ambazonia, its people, and property. President Biya’s appointed Governors, Senior Divisional Officers, and District Officers have imposed a state of emergency in some cities, towns and districts indefinitely effective 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily. The appointed administrators have also ordered citizens and resident to vacate their communities.

More than 5000-armed security and paramilitary forces from La Republique du Cameroun’s regular army have been deployed to Ambazonia by the government of President Biya. In view of media reports of summary execution of hundreds of unarmed civilians, razed to ashes of scores of homes in at least 73 villages, roasted to death of dozens of disabled parents in their homes, hundreds of abductions-for-ransoms, and dozens of cases of raped girls and mothers; Ambazonians and foreigners are advised to remain indoors and safe starting Saturday morning, 19 May 2018 to Monday monring, 21 May 2018 until the situation stabilises.

Soldiers of La Republic du Camerooun’s regular army especially the Rapid Intervention Battalion (Bataillon d’Intervention Rapide, BIR) and armed police from police’s special rapid intervention units known as “Equipes spéciales d’intervention rapide” (ESIR) are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Ambazonia. Specific methods of attack are evolving and increasing in sophistication.

On 13 May 2018, BIR soldiers arrested Chief Arrey Franklin of Mbenyan village and dozens of youths at daytime on their way to a funeral in Eyumojock town, Manyu county, Southern Zone. They were all gruesomely tortured and Chief Arrey Franklin died of bleeding while the whereabout and life of the youths remains uncertain.
On 17 May 2018, dozens of BIR soldiers and ESIR police invaded Bali Nyonga village, break into homes of civilians, shot and killed several unarmed civilians including a community-respected father and professional public transport driver commonly known as Mr. Kantona and his elder brother, a cultural musician, known as Mr. Chasii. Kantona and Chasii were removed from their homes and shot dead at close range in front of their wives, children, and neigbours by, a strategy to terrorize Ambazonians.
On 18 May 2018, BIR soldiers shot and killed several unarmed civilians including Mr. Bawack Samuel and Mrs. Ashu Precilia (wife of Ashu Polycarp) in Etoko mile 22 village, Mamfe, Manyu county. Similarly, Samuel and Precilia were shot at close range in front of their children and family members, a strategy to terrorize Ambazonians.

All persons, be Ambazonians or foreigners, are subject to regular threats and terror activities by the soldiers and armed security forces of La Republique du Cameroun. Make sure you stay away from 20^th May celebration and related activities as a precautionary security measure.

You should follow the instructions of the Interim Government of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia. There is a high threat of kidnapping throughout Ambazonia by soldiers and armed security officers of La Republique du Cameroun in coordination with local administrators.

Foreigners – resident or visiting or working – in Ambazonia especially citizens of French Cameroun and Nigeria and Western Countries are very likely to be publicly and brutally killed by soldiers and armed security officers of La Republique du Cameroun with the ultimate purpose to blame the incidents and killings on Ambazonia restoration forces.

The level of self-defence assistance the ASC-Restoration Forces can provide to citizens, residents, and travelers as well as their property in Ambazonia is extremely limited.

You can email the Ambazonia Self-Defence Council to share or inquire more information at official@ascrf.org.

Nso Obi Foncha

Spokesperson

19, May 2018

Nexttel Cameroun in crisis: Whatever Baba Danpullo wants, Baba Danpullo gets ⁰

3 years and 8 months of effective activity of the 3rd mobile operator in Cameroon that was launched on September 2014, Nexttel, a public limited company with Viettel SA owning 70% and Bestinver Cameroon owning 30% of the shares is in shambles. The social climate in Viettel Cameroon (Nexttel) is indeed not the best.

In recent days, employees of the company have been on strike over unpaid wages. An informant who filed in this report pointed out that the strike action is due to the refusal of the general manager Nguyen Duc Quang to disburse money meant for salaries.

The situation became very intractable with many inside sources suggesting that the chairman of the board, Baba Ahmadou Danpullo was participating in the day-to-day running of the business and had reportedly instructed his former banker Moïse Bayi to disrupt the smooth functioning of the company with the support of some workers.

Danpullo

Our source also hinted that tension is currently mounting between the Danpullo Nexttel gang and the Vietnamese General Manager. There are under-the-table talks that the President Biya acolyte who also moonlights as a member of the Central Committee of the ruling CPDM crime syndicate wants to acquire 51% of the company shares without going through the legal process.

We understand the aim is to chase out the Vietnamese and install his man, Moïse Bayi who is presently deputy manager in charge of Human Resources as Nexttel’s General Manager. Baba Ahmadou Danpullo has control over the Cameroonian judiciary and the political system so whatever Danpullo wants, Danpullo gets.

This issue can be traced right back to the beginning of this company looking at a series of problems between Viettel SA and Bestinver Cameroon. In 2013 during the technical installations phase, there was a strike which lasted about 6 months that involved profit shares.

In 2014 pan African news magazine Jeune Afrique published a report ” Cameroon’s two deputy chiefs, Moïse Bayi and Haman Oumar, accuse their boss, the Vietnamese Vu Khanh Duy (former general manager of Nexttel), of locking down management.

In 2015, there was a massive arrest and repatriation of Vietnamese workers in Cameroon which was followed by constant refusal to grant them working permits on lame and ridiculous reasons that Viettel had promised to create 5 000 direct and indirect jobs. And in 2018 – Vietnamese coming to replace other staffs are refused contracts and have been receiving threats. For how long will the Francophone Cameroun Billionaire continue to treat his partners this way?

By Ngwa Stephanus B

The reporter is not a staff writer with the Cameroon Concord News Group

19, May 2018

14,000 flee Central African Republic after violence ⁰

Some 14,000 people have fled violence in the Central African Republic and crossed into the Democratic Republic of Congo in less than a week, the United Nations said Friday.

Central African refugees wait in the truck bringing them back to Central Africa Republic at the Mongoumba transit center, northern Congo-Brazzaville, on March 31, 2018. (AFP)

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said it was “alarmed” about the displacement of 7,000 people from the southeast of the strife-torn country, adding that they were arriving “into a situation of little help and desperate need”.

“The speed of arrivals and the very limited humanitarian presence in the area mean that people urgently need increased support,” said UNHCR spokesperson William Spindler, adding that most of the refugees were women and children. He said the agencies capacity for an emergency response is “severely stretched”.

A further 7,000 refugees from the central CAR town of Bambari also poured into DRC, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Violence in Bambari on Monday and Tuesday night led to the deaths of a local NGO worker and midwife, and saw the town’s police station and UN bases attacked by armed men, presumed to be linked to the Union for Peace in CAR (UPC) group.

A Central African family moves their belongings as they leave after 4 years spent in the “15 April” refugee camp in Betou,on March 30, 2018 as Central African refugees are taken back to Central Africa Republic. (AFP)

The UN said it had resumed control of the city on Wednesday. On Thursday a Mauritanian peacekeeper was killed and eight injured in an attack on a UN convoy near the southeastern town of Alindao.

The number of people from CAR fleeing to northern DRC had jumped even before the latest influx, the UN said, having risen from 102,000 to 182,000 in less than a year.

The UN has around 12,500 personnel deployed in Central Africa as part of its MINUSCA mission, one of the world body’s largest peacekeeping forces.

The state controls only a small part of CAR’s national territory. Armed groups clash in the provinces for control of resources, including diamonds, gold and livestock.

The violence has raised fears that the country, one of the most unstable in the world, could again plunge into a bloody sectarian conflict.

Source: AFP

18, May 2018

Cameroon at the threshold of inferno, lessons from post-conflict Rwanda to pull it back ⁰

Cameroon, a nation which less than eight years ago could pride itself among the “most” peaceful countries in Africa is now at the threshold of an inferno with many raising fears of a possible replay of the sad tale that plagued Rwanda in 1994.

Today, Cameroon is fighting a war on two fronts with civilians and military casualties raising at a geometric rate. In its Northern regions, the Nigerian-oriented terrorist sect, Boko Haram and the Anglophone crisis in its English speaking regions threaten to tear the agile nation apart.

Crisis Group warns

The International crisis group in its Watch list 2018 publication highlighted Cameroon among the nations to be on watch this year.

In their report, they observed that “the Boko Haram insurgency is on the wane in the Lake Chad basin but continues to carry out attacks against civilian and military targets in Cameroon’s Far North. The war has killed about 2,000 Cameroonians, displaced roughly 170,000 and triggered the rise of vigilante self-defence groups. Meanwhile, Cameroon’s Anglophone regions have experienced violent flare-ups as the central government represses dissent over the perceived marginalization of the English-speaking minority.”

The impact of the lingering Anglophone crisis which has since December 2016 escalated from a civil protest to a semi-armed revolution keeps souring, gulping and causing the state, corporations, businesses as well as individuals colossal sums of money with its effect on the economy described by many as “problematic”.

Despite the huge financial and capital loss and the thousands of internally displaced and refugee seeking Anglophones that have been affected by the prolonged crisis, the probabilities of it ending anytime soon is decimal, experts hold.

With a yet to be established death toll which is feared to be in hundreds, Nkongho Felix Agbor-Balla, president of the outlawed consortium and founder of the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa holds that “the Anglophone crisis is the biggest time bomb in Cameroon.”

His opinion is seemingly shared by the International Crisis Group which remarked that “if the situation is not defused through dialogue, the entire country could be destabilized ahead of elections.”

While Boko Haram continues to multiply its suicide attacks in the Northern Regions of Cameroon, several armed groups of the Cameroon separatist movement have emerged in the North West and South West regions.

Anglophone crisis is born

What started as a trade unionist civil protest has now metamorphosed into a semi-armed revolution with the media being flooded daily with news of killings, abductions, burning of villages, attacks on government officials and massive arrests.

While the government has on more than one occasion sworn to do all to protect the territorial boundaries of Cameroon, those advocating for secession or restoration, as some prefer, threaten to burn their way to independence.

Despite the fact that calls continue to mount on the need to organize a roundtable and an all inclusive dialogue so as to proffer lasting solutions to the crisis, Cameroon’s Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji is noted to always insist that the government will not dialogue with secessionists.

While the killings and atrocities continue to multiply on both camps, many have warned of an imminent civil war. While at some quarters, some people believe open confrontations might hasten and bring the desired solutions to the crisis, historians such as Nchiwo Thomas in Buea, warns that Cameroon might be heading towards the Rwanda path.

Lessons from Rwanda

It should be recalled that in less than four months of fighting; April 7, 1994 – July 1994, over 8,000 inhabitants perished in the Rwandan genocide pitting the Tutsi against the Hutu majority.

The lessons to be drawn by anyone before embarking on any armed confrontation is visible to all. As in less than four months, some eight thousand Rwandese were slain, property destroyed, millions sought refuge in neighboring countries, women and girls got grossly abused with underaged children having to live with the trauma after witnessing the carnage.

Even though a number of people got tried for fueling the genocide, the scar left on the population of Rwanda and the entire nation will not fade away, at least not any time soon.

At the end of the fighting, the factions decided to down their weapons and come together and pledge to guarantee responsible governance and participation; assure repairable, reconcilable justice, promote human rights and fight to promote impunity.

Time for Cameroon to avoid Rwanda’s route

Haven learnt the hard way, many have opined that Cameroon should learn from the mistakes of Rwanda and make hay while the sun still blooms. With the traditional and modern media having a crucial role to play in the Anglophone crisis as it did in the Rwanda genocide, many have called for media practitioners to exercise caution and be diligence while carrying out their function.

But with the advent of the social media and the rise of citizen journalism which have proven very difficult to keep in check, fears are rife that the current bend negotiated by the Anglophone crisis might lead to Rwanda in 1994.

Source:Face2FaceAfrica.com

18, May 2018

US accuses Biya regime of ‘targeted killings’ in anglophone crisis ⁰

The US ambassador to Cameroon on Friday accused government forces of carrying out “targeted killings” and other abuses in the fight against militants demanding independence for two English-speaking regions.

“On the side of the government, there have been targeted killings, detentions without access to legal support, family, or the Red Cross, and burning and looting of villages,” Ambassador Peter Barlerin said in a statement.

“On the side of the separatists,” he also stressed, “there have been murders of gendarmes, kidnapping of government officials, and burning of schools.”

The statement, which adds to warnings by rights watchdogs over abuses in the conflict, was issued after Barlerin met on Thursday with President Paul Biya.

The crisis began in 2016, when activists in the anglophone minority, about a fifth of the country’s population of 22 million, stepped up a campaign for greater autonomy.

Biya rejected their demands, prompting radicals to make a full-blown but symbolic declaration of independence last October 1 — the starting point for armed clashes and a crackdown.

Barlerin, in his statement, called on both sides “to stop the violence immediately.”

“I asked the President to use his leadership to encourage both sides to listen to each other,” he said. “One cannot have a dialogue until both sides are willing to listen to the other´s point of view.”

Many anglophones in the Northwest and Southwest regions complain of marginalisation in education, the judiciary and the economy and having French imposed on them.

The presence of a large English-speaking minority in the centre-west African state dates back to the colonial period.

It was once a German colony that after World War I was divided between Britain and France.

In 1960, the French colony gained independence, becoming Cameroon, and the following year, the British-ruled Southern Cameroons was amalgamated into it under a federal system.

Federalism was then scrapped 11 years later for a “united republic” — a centralised system that 85-year-old Biya, in power for more than 35 years, has said will not be changed.

According to the International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank, “at least 120” civilians and “at least 43” security forces have been killed since the end of 2016.

On Tuesday, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said around 160,000 people become internally displaced by the crisis and 20,000 had sought refuge in neighbouring Nigeria.

Source: AFP

18, May 2018

Cameroon calls for a national novena to the Holy Spirit ⁰

Shaken by socio-political crises including the Anglophone crisis; incursions from Nigeria by Boko Haram militants, Cameroonian Bishops have urged the faithful to a national novena to pray for peace in the country. The novena to the Holy Spirit started on 11 May and will end on the 19 May.

The novena will end on Saturday, 19 May, the evening of the solemnity of Pentecost. “Christians of Cameroon, let us enter the Upper Room following the Apostles with Mary. Let us become a living cenacle,” the Bishops invited the faithful in their message issued by the Archbishop of Doula, Samuel Kleda. He is also the President of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon.

“Christ makes all the arrangements so that we can live today as Christians and that through us others can recognise who He is because being a Christian is a commitment,” Archbishop Kleda said.

The novena in honour of the Holy Spirit is the oldest of all novenas since it was first made at the direction of Jesus Himself when He sent His apostles back to Jerusalem to await the coming of the Holy Spirit on the first Pentecost.

Cameroon’s English-speaking minority, which represents about 20% of 25 million Cameroonians, has been protesting the use of French in their law courts and schools. The massive demonstrations, in these areas, have since led to an ongoing crackdown by government forces. UN agencies have spoken of an under-reported humanitarian crisis. Cameroon’s English-speaking Catholic bishops described the situation as “a growing genocide.”

Notwithstanding natural reserves and economic growth in the last ten years, Cameroon continues to face endemic poverty, a high illiteracy rate, corruption, poor sanitation and health delivery challenges. As the novena to the Holy Spirit comes to an end, at the weekend, Cameroon’s Bishops have invited the faithful to go beyond words and accompany their prayers with penance and works of mercy.

Source: Vatican News

18, May 2018

Zambia police constable promoted for braving heavy rain to control traffic ⁰

A police constable in Zambia has been promoted to the rank of sergeant, after she braved a heavy downpour on Wednesday, and without a raincoat controlled traffic at an intersection in the capital, Lusaka.

Charity Nanyangwe, whose pictures circulated on social media, won the hearts and appreciation of many, who contrasted her courage with those of police officers known for accosting commuters with demands for bribes.

Not to be left out, the police force on Thursday promoted Nanyangwe to the rank of sergeant and she was duly decorated by the Commissioner of Police in charge of Administration, Lombe B.Kamukoshi.