The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, inaugurated in the Cameroonian capital Yaoundé today (Thursday) the building of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the Republic of Cameroon, with the participation of the Minister of Foreign Relations of the Republic of Cameroon Mbella Mbella.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Foreign Relations of the Republic of Cameroon was received by the Ambassador of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Abdul Ilah Al-Shuaibi.

In the context, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, met at the Presidential Palace, Minister of State, Secretary General at the Presidency, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh.

During the meeting, they reviewed the bilateral relations between the two friendly countries and discussed means of developing them in various fields, in addition to discussing issues of common interest.

The meeting was attended by Assistant Minister of State for African Countries Affairs, Ambassador Dr. Sami Al-Saleh, Ambassador of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to the Republic of Cameroon Abdul-Ilah Al-Shuaibi, and Director General of the Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdul Rahman bin Arkan Al-Daoud.

Source: Alkhaleej

Southern Cameroons Vice President says Ambazonian children detained by the French Cameroun army soldiers are exposed to unbearable torture and various forms of abuse and the practices have apparently been legitimized by the Biya Francophone regime’s judiciary.

Vice President Dabney Yerima said in a conversation with Cameroon Intelligence Report that there are currently 1500 Southern Cameroons children behind bars at Buea, Kumba, New Bell and Kondengui detention centers, and the detainees include Ambazonian children who have nothing to do with the crisis with La Republique du Cameroun.

Comrade Dabney Yerima observed that the Kondengui and New Bell prisons are heavily congested, and Southern Cameroons child prisoners are kept there in close proximity to each other in squalid and unsanitary conditions.

The exiled Ambazonian leader pointed out that if children in other parts of the world were treated like this, it would have attracted wide and strong condemnation from the European Union and the United Nations.

The French Cameroun military court in Yaoundé continues to sentence many Southern Cameroons minors in secret hearings and without any legal representation.

Yerima noted that female detainees are also subjected to horrifying treatment. Cameroon Concord News Group gathered that most of the Southern Cameroonians reportedly being detained were arrested at checkpoints and at their homes in Ground Zero.

According to testimonies collected by some clergies of the Roman Catholic Church, the Ambazonian children were often blindfolded and handcuffed, and were subjected to physical and verbal abuse during their arrest and transportation to Douala and Yaounde. A majority of the kids were arrested at night and deprived of sleep before being interrogated.

By Besong Eunice Nchong

The asylum-seeker from Cameroon said he resisted when guards insisted he sign what he was told were deportation papers. They wanted his fingerprints.

His thumb and index finger were broken in the struggle in September at the Mississippi lockup.

Within days, he and other Cameroonians were transferred to Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, a rural town southwest of Dallas. There, he and another Cameroonian are waiting to hear about a complaint filed this month by the Southern Poverty Law Center, Freedom for Immigrants, and others that alleges their civil rights were violated by physical abuse that amounted to torture in Mississippi.

“I’m just trying to hold onto another day,” the man said in a phone interview with The Dallas Morning News. He’s known as C.A. in a civil rights complaint to the Department of Homeland Security. He asked that his name be withheld because he fears more persecution if he’s deported to his birth country.

His story raises questions about what happens to people in the sprawling and secretive civil justice system that governs immigrants.

C.A. and another immigrant detained at Prairieland are among the eight Cameroonians who are part of the complaint.

Source: The Dallas Morning

The international community has come under criticism for its handling of the crisis in Cameroon, where radicals killed eight children last weekend.

Twelve other children were injured when a group of unidentified armed men attacked the Mother Francisca International Bilingual Academy in Kumba, in the south-west.

While no group has claimed responsibility of the attack, the region is mired in conflict between the army and militants advocating for self-rule of the English-speaking region.

According to the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack, more than 1 000 students and teachers have been threatened, abducted, injured or killed by armed groups or state security forces in affected regions between 2017 and 2019.

More than 770 000 civilians have been displaced.

Another organisation, the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (GCR2P), said despite escalating violence during 2020, the African Union (AU) and United Nations Security Council (UNSC) had failed to treat the deadly conflict in Cameroon with the seriousness that it deserved.

GCR2P believes the two organisations should help facilitate a ceasefire and an inclusive dialogue between the government and separatist groups, mediated by a neutral player on neutral territory.

Separatists claim marginalization of English speaking regions by the government, which is dominated by French speakers.

Matthias Naab, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Cameroon, this week denounced the attack is the worst atrocity since the resumption of the school year.

Schools reopened on October 5, seven months after closure because of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

Source:  CAJ News

The International Conference on the Armed Conflict in the Southern Cameroons will start today October 30th in the USA.

Though initially planned for March 2020, the COVID pandemic forced the organizers to re-schedule and convert to a virtual event. Cameroon Concord News Group understands that the planning team has been working very hard over the past few months to put together a virtual event that would allow significant deliberation and opportunities to interact with other conference delegates and observers.

The virtual Southern Cameroons Auditorium has also been designed to enable participants engage with others throughout the conference.

Amongst those scheduled to speak during this 3-day Conference are H.E. Dr Amos Sawyer, Ambassador Herman Cohen, Dr. Christopher Fomunyoh, Pa Augustine Ndangam, Frontline leaders, Civil Society, German Parliamentarians and French Parliamentarians. International observers will be present including the United States Congress, diplomats, international non-governmental organizations and many more.

Some 700 delegates have so far been approved to participate in Working Groups and through the various Working Groups, delegates will assess, analyze and propose a path out of the conflict that addresses the root causes in a sustainable manner.

There has been a very strong grassroots involvement with ordinary citizens, those internally displaced and refugees participating in the process.

The conference continues to accept 2-minute video statements from Southern Cameroonians with proposals on the way forward. The people of Southern Cameroons are encourage to kindly record a 2-minute video using your cell phone and send to this WhatsApp number: +13126177280

World Council of Churches interim head Rev. Ioan Sauca has joined global Christians and the United Nations in expressing horror at the brutal attack on schoolchildren in Cameron in which assailants slaughtered at least eight students with firearms and machetes.

 The children were killed at the Mother Francisca International Academy in Kumba, Cameroon, on Oct. 24.

Unidentified gunmen killed at least eight children in their classroom with guns and machetes, while 12 others were injured.

“The WCC joins with the churches and all people of good will in Cameroon and around the world in condemning this abhorrent act, in commiserating with the families and communities affected, and in praying for the healing of the wounded children,” said Sauca.

Cameroonian church leaders reacted to the recent bloodshed with outrage and demands for action.

Bishop Agapitus Nfon of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kumba lamented the loss of the young lives in the same statement.

‘BLOOD OF OUR CHILDREN’

“How much of the blood of our children need to be shed before something concrete and immediate is done? How long will the powers that be and are capable of restoring peace and tranquility in the distressed North West and South West Regions sit and wait?”

The attacked was strongly conemned at the UN in Geneva by a spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ravina Shamdasani.

She said that the population continues to pay a heavy price in the ongoing crisis in the North-West and South-West regions of Cameroon and described the attack as “vile”.

“Serious human rights violations and abuses continue to be reported, involving both security and defense forces and armed separatist groups amidst the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Shandasani.

“The killing and maiming of children as well as attacks on educational facilities constitute serious violations of international law and the perpetrators must be held accountable with due regard for international human rights standards.”

She also said that the Cameroonian authorities have an obligation to protect access to education.

No group has claimed responsibility though local authorities have accused separatist fighters of targeting the school, CNN reported.

People have been raising awareness of the incident on social media under the hashtag #EndAnglophoneCrisis.

LINGUISTIC CRISIS

This was a reference to ongoing movements which advocate a separation between English-speaking Cameroon from the French-speaking part of the country. Separatists in Anglophone regions have been fighting with government forces and government-backed militias for several years.

Both sides faced accusations of violence against civilians, which began in 2016 after residents in the country’s Anglophone provinces, where 20 percent of Cameroon’s population live, protested the government led by French speakers.

The Anglophone conflict has internally displaced more than 670,000 people in affected areas, while 60,000 Cameroonians have fled escalating violence to neighboring Nigeria, according to the United Nations’ estimates in February.

The Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, the Rev. Fonki Samuel Forba, on Oct. 25 prayed for justice for the victims and accountability for those responsible.

“May those behind these gruesome killings of God’s children be imprisoned by the judge of the human conscience even before they are found out, prosecuted and sentenced,” he said.

The WCC appealed for renewed efforts for a comprehensive and more inclusive dialogue to address the current security, humanitarian and human rights challenges in the affected regions.

“The WCC stands in solidarity with and offers its support and accompaniment to the churches of Cameroon as they seek to fulfil their essential ministry for justice, peace and human dignity and rights,” said the council.

Source: ECUMENICAL NEWS