Headline News

19, March 2017

Yaounde: Mystery shrouds Minister Martin Belinga’s Health condition ⁰

Francophone media houses in Yaounde have once again questioned the where about of the Director of the Civil Cabinet at the Presidency of the Republic, Martin Belinga Eboutou. The Biya confidante has disappeared from the public eye of late and he is conspicuously absent from the Biya delegation in Rome.

Presidential press releases published recently such as the one announcing Paul Biya’s trip to Italy carried but the signature of the Secretary General at the Presidency of the Republic, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh and in some occasions, Joseph Le, who is currently deputizing for Martin Belinga Eboutou.

A sister publication, Cameroun Info.Net contacted the State House on the sudden disappearance of Martin Belinga but got a laconic reply from the presidency saying the Minister was “simply unavailable”. Some sources say the Minister Director of Civil Cabinet is absent due to poor health.

77-year-old Martin Belinga Eboutou, took ill last year and was evacuated to Europe. He returned safely in July 2017 and ended a rumor that had announced his death.

Here is the list of personalities who are currently with the Cameroonian dictator in Rome for a three-day state visit.

-Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi, Minister of Public Works

-Louis Paul Motaze, Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development

-Jacques Fame Ndongo, Minister of Higher Education

– Mbella Mbella, Minister of Foreign Affairs

-Paul Elung Che, Delegate to the Minister of Finance in charge of the Budget

-Hamadou Moustapha, Minister of Special Duties at the Presidency of the Republic

-Mengot Victor Arrey-Nkongho, Minister of Special Duties at the Presidency of the Republic

-Joseph Le, Deputy Director of the Civil Cabinet

-Luc Sindjoun, Special Adviser

-Joseph Fouda, Special Advisor

By Sama Ernest with files from CIN

19, March 2017

Making a mockery of Biya: Post and Telecom Minister says expansion of digital economy cannot be done without internet ²

The Minister of Post and Telecommunication made a fool of herself and President Biya while presenting a paper at the so-called Cameroon Business Forum. Minnette Libom Li Likeng was asked about the suspension of Internet in the English-speaking regions of the country and the Biya acolyte acknowledged that the expansion of the digital economy as requested by President Paul Biya cannot be done without Internet.

“The Head of State has said that the whole Government should mobilize to achieve the expansion of the digital economy. And it cannot be done without the Internet.” The inefficient cabinet minister also observed that internet will be reinstated in Southern Cameroons only when things return to normal.

Since 17 January 2017, the two English-speaking regions of Cameroon have been deprived of Internet services by the Francophone dominated regime in Yaoundé. Numerous international organizations have denounced the move with little or no results. By the end of February 2017, the NGO Internet Without Borders estimated the losses related to this cut at about 832 million FCFA.

By Rita Akana with files from CIN

19, March 2017

Paris: Flights resume at airport after attempted attack ⁰

Flights have resumed at Paris’ Orly Airport one day after a man was shot and killed while attempting to stage a shooting attack. Officials announced on Sunday that schedules at Orly, which is Paris’ second-biggest airport and serves domestic and international flights, were returning to “normal.”

On Saturday, a 39-year-old French national identified as Ziyed Ben Belgacem, carrying a petrol can in his backpack, grabbed a soldier’s gun and fired shots before he was gunned down by security forces. One soldier was reportedly slightly wounded in the incident, but no one else was harmed. Severe chaos was also caused in flight schedules for several hours following the shooting.

French anti-terror investigators, who took into custody Belgacem’s father, brother, and cousin following the incident, released the father but held the other two as they sought to build a profile of the assailant. An autopsy is to be carried to determine if the attacker was under influence as a small amount of cocaine was found during a search of his apartment in a northern Paris suburb.

Police said Belgacem had had a record of criminal activities and had been known to authorities. Since September last year, he had been under judicial monitoring. He had also shown signs of radicalization, although there was no indication immediately that he had traveled abroad.

The Saturday shooting comes as France remains in a state of emergency over terrorist attacks. The emergency state was initially imposed in November 2015, when terrorist attacks in and around Paris killed 130 people and injured 350 others. The emergency rule has been extended several times because the French government believes the risk of terror attacks remains high.

Presstv

18, March 2017

Anglophone Crisis: 500 arrested!! Francophones residing in West Cameroon urged to help troops with intelligence ²

The Francophone dominated army has raided Bamenda, the main city in the North West province of Southern Cameroons and arrested more than 500 young men suspected of being followers of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium. Cameroon Concord News gathered that the troops from La Republique du Cameroun also seized mobile telephones from hundreds of Southern Cameroonians. During the last ten days, at least 800 Southern Cameroonians have been nabbed in different operations launched by several arms of the Francophone force.

Troops from the Rapid Intervention Battalion, BIR swung into action at about 4 am today in Bamenda and arrested some 500 people. The Southern Cameroonians arrested were subsequently handed over to a special army unit in the West region for further action.

French speaking Cameroonians residing in Bamenda and Limbe including Buea have been urged to provide useful information to the Francophone troops in order to apprehend Southern Cameroon freedom fighters. A highly placed military official who spoke to our undercover reporter said the operation will continue to ensure conducive environment for legitimate businesses and schools to thrive in Southern Cameroons.

Another military spokesperson was quoted as saying that Francophone troops will henceforth respond to any tip-off from agents of La Republique du Cameroun and arrest suspected Southern Cameroon militants in any hideout. Corruption, the Boko Haram crisis and the current Southern Cameroons uprising have plunged Cameroon into economic recession. The country remains burdened by rapidly declining government revenues due to numerous internal conflicts and low oil prices in the world market.

By Rita Akana

18, March 2017

Namibia: Tribes lodge complaint against Germany for colonial-era genocide ¹

Descendants of two Namibian tribes who suffered one of the most horrific genocides under Germany’s colonial rule more than a century ago have now lodged a complaint against Berlin in a New York court. Lawyers representing Namibia’s Herero and Nama tribes and an American non-profit association on genocide were to appear in the court on Thursday as part of a class-action lawsuit, which seeks reparations from Germany for the mass killing of tens of thousands of people and other crimes by German settlers and troops from 1904 to 1908.

Germany has admitted that genocide took place but it has yet to make an official declaration. Berlin also refuses to pay direct reparations, saying it has generously supported Namibia’s development programs since the country’s independence from South Africa in 1990 through paying hundreds of millions of euro. The original lawsuit was brought against Germany in January under the Alien Tort Statute that allows investigations of international law violations against non-US citizens by American courts. Besides seeking reparations, the plaintiffs also demand that they be represented in negotiations between Germany and Namibia on the genocide. They say their exclusion from the talks is a violation of the UN declaration on the indigenous people.

The lawsuit claims that German colonial authorities explicitly consented to settlers’ seizure of a quarter of Herero and Nama lands — about thousands of square miles — from 1885 to 1903. Historic documents suggest that around 65,000 Herero people were massacred in the bloody Battle of Waterberg in August 1904. Around 10,000 people from the Nama tribe were also killed after they sought to rebel against the Germans during the conflict. Germany and Namibia have been in talks over the massacres but Berlin is yet to release any details of the deal being negotiated.

Presstv

18, March 2017

Largest wave of arrest by BIR in Bamenda ¹⁰

The army has sealed the entire Metta Quarter, Azire and T-Junction in the city of Bamenda and scores of Southern Cameroonian youths have been arrested and are currently being transported in military trucks to an unknown destination.

Our security informant observed that the troops started the operation since 4 am local time. We also gathered that bikes and taxis are not allowed to use the neighborhoods where the soldiers have been stationed.

CAMCORDNEWS DESK

18, March 2017

Biya heading to Italy ¹

The 84 year old Cameroonian dictator, Paul Biya and wife Chantal Biya shall on Monday 20^th of March 2017 begin a state visit to Italy. The visit comes at the invitation of his Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella.

The Secretary General at the Presidency of the Republic, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, made public a press release stating that the visit will end on 22nd March 2017 but did not say if the CPDM Chairman will return home or jet to his second home in Swiss. President Paul Biya and his wife will be hosted in Rome – the political capital of Italy.

State radio and television reported that the visit will provide an opportunity to strengthen cooperation ties between Italy and Cameroon which came into focus a year ago when President Sergio Mattarella made a four day marathon trip to Cameroon. An agreement on visa exemption for holders of service and diplomatic passport was signed on the 17th March 2016.

CRTV

17, March 2017

Nigeria: Integrated Approach to countering violent extremism ⁰

Increasing challenge of security globally by burgeoning armies of terror groups, from ISIS in the Middle East, El-Shabab in the Horns of Africa, Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and Boko Haram in Nigeria and West Africa has led to a more robust counter terrorism operations costing over $11.6 million daily according to US Department of State figure.

Unfortunately, most of these funds have been directed towards military campaign funding for CVE activities in countries like Nigeria. Direct efforts towards radicalization prevention and de-radicalization has benefitted from less than five percent of CVE funding.

Years of research has resolved clear understanding and agreement that terrorists are never born; neither religion nor personality traits major influence for terrorism, as it is averred that most terrorists are created by socio-political issues within their environments.

Despite agreements on lack of humanly justifiable reasons to resort to violence and terror in solving community based affliction, several writings maintains that; human rights violation, agitation over resources, political and resources marginalization, lack of good governance and systematic barriers to economic opportunities as primary drivers of radicalization to violence.

Appeal to force has continued to rob local security operations of needed resources to grow. Military spending accounts for more than 70 percent of the CVE budget in Nigeria. The foremost state response to conflict or agitation has been the use superior force of the military. Military operations currently straddled policing duties in over 29 states in Nigeria. While military operations are more decisive and swift in dealing with uprising and terror groups, clear evidence collected from military over 17 years operations against insurgents in Nigeria Niger Delta showed the inefficiency of employing bare force in handling groups agitations.

The clear understanding of terror groups’ survival has been in propagation of ideas, which are easily transmitted and assimilated by different groups without even direct contacts with proponents. Exterminating terror groups through airstrikes, drones and bullets, many experts has revealed only complicates the issues further and creates more problem in the long run.

Lack of proper alignments of all resources directed towards breaking the circle of terrorists recruitment processes and reducing radicalism has challenged achievements in the sector. Stratified planning system and uncoordinated operations by a lack of centralized funding and control mechanism in place. Multi-sector approach should be well controlled to achieve projected results instead of deepening age-old agency rivalries.

Prioritization of better data collection, evaluation and presentation processes is required to enable appropriate evaluation of progress in CVE operations. Clear goals needed to be set, proper allocation of duties with set deliverable based on time parameters defined.

Having clear understanding of the socio-political environment role in driving radicalization in modern states, it become unlikely that a single solution –appeal to force- will solve the problem and eradicate the menace in a few week. To get the required result more comprehensive context-specific strategies integrating multiple level approaches must be designed and executed alongside the military operations.

Since the community remains the fulcrum of terror groups operations, CVE operations should be more collaborative and inclusive of collective inputs and comprehensive responses from youth, women and minority groups in the society. Proper CVE actions should support local law enforcement agencies, boost community groups engaged in developing good governance, improve opportunities for public socio-economic development, unaligned access to resources for marginalized and deprived people to reduce poverty, allow for proper programme for infrastructure development and increase programmes that will restore public pride and trust in state’s institutions.

In a nutshell, proper CVE should be people and community driven allowing for contributions and initiatives from the people. Consultation and regular meetings with the leaders, youth and women groups could act as means of educating, informing and nurturing the public in its roles in the CVE programmes; and at the same time effectively be a vehicle for harnessing data, create an information back channel for early warning on radicalized groups operations in the community. We can only win the war through winning the hearts and mind of the people of Northeast Nigeria.

By Don Michael Adeniji

About the author: Don Michael Adeniji is a Contributing Editor with the Cameroon Concord News Group and a long standing Nigerian expert in Terrorism, International Crime and Global Security.

17, March 2017

Douala: CPDM man busted with 7 vaginas in his freezer ⁰

A prominent CPDM militant has been arrested in Douala for murdering a girl and mutilating her genitals in the economic metropolis. Police sources revealed that he lured the girl into his apartment, had sex with her and then killed her. The man seen here but whose name was not disclosed by police removed organs from the girl’s body including what a spokesman for the Douala police described as “genitals”.

Rita Akana of the Cameroon Intelligence Report hinted that the alleged murderer arrested and currently being detained by security agents in Bonanjo, the administrative district of Douala is a chartered member of a gang involve in trafficking human organs. A security source who sued for anonymity said police also discovered 7 vaginas in his freezer. The neighbors who heard shouts from his apartment reportedly called in the police.

Organ traffic and ritual killings is rising in Cameroon. Many senior citizens are now involved in trafficking organs with the complicity of health personnel and doctors, for economic and financial purposes.

By Chi Prudence Asong

Cameroon Concord News

17, March 2017

Photo exhibition for 25 people killed by Cameroon security forces in Maroua jails ²

The Network of Human Rights Defenders in Central Africa (Redhac) has once again expressed its anger over the killings of innocent citizens by Cameroon security forces in Magdeme in the Far North region. The Human rights body revealed that 25 people were abducted, tortured were killed on 13 March 2015.

Through a photo exhibition linked to the commemoration of the second anniversary of the killing of the 25 people in gendarmerie cells in Maroua on 13 March 2015, Redhac is asking the Yaounde authorities to clarify the matter and that the bodies be handed over to their loved ones.

In the early hours of December 27 2014 Cameroon security forces closed two neighboring villages in the department of Mayo-Sava, Far-North region and carried out a sweeping operation that was aimed at Boko Haram. The operation resulted in numerous violations including at least nine unlawful killings and massive destruction of property. 130 cases of disappearances were registered and 25 deaths in custody following torture. The families, for their part have continued to demand the fate of their missing relatives.

By Rita Akana