Cameroonian aid and health workers have welcomed calls by Nobel Peace laureates and former heads of state for a COVID-19 cease-fire in the country’s troubled western regions.  Fighting between Cameroon’s military and rebels has forced over a thousand health and aid workers to flee, putting tens of thousands of patients at risk in the middle of the pandemic.  Cameroon has so far confirmed 12,321 infections and 309 deaths from the virus.

Nobel Prize laureates calling for a COVID-19 cease-fire in Cameroon include Muhammad Yunus, the Bangladeshi banker to the poor, and the former presidents of East Timor, José Ramos-Horta, and South Africa, FW de Klerk.  

They’re part of the Global Campaign for Peace and Justice in Cameroon, which on Monday urged the U.N. Security Council and the African Union to push for an end to the fighting.  

The group of 15, which includes three former U.S. ambassadors to Cameroon, wants a truce between the military and anglophone rebels in the troubled western regions so health workers can safely stop the virus. 

Cameroon’s health workers, hundreds of whom have fled insecurity in the region, welcomed the high-profile support.  

A man wears a mask while walking outside the entrance to the Yaounde General Hospital in Yaounde on March 6, 2020 as Cameroon…

Director of the Cameroon Baptist Convention of Churches’ Health Services Tih Pius spoke via a messaging app from the northwestern town of Bamenda.

“The COVID-19 has even placed a more serious problem now on the population because you need to identify these cases quickly, isolate them and treat those that you can treat while preventing more infections in the community,” he said.  “We are unable to reach out to do this.  Workers are afraid when they see all these arms by the government or by the non-government armed groups.”

Pius says four of their health workers were abducted in the region on Monday.

Tanyi Christian Eselekwe is with the Cameroon branch of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Foundation, a U.S. group providing aid to the troubled region. 

He says the foundation’s services were disrupted in May when armed groups abducted his staff and stole vehicles transporting humanitarian supplies.  

He also spoke via a messaging app from Bamenda.

“Our plea is that there is the need for a cease-fire to allow those who are affected by the crisis to receive the needed assistance,” he said.  “As humanitarian organizations, we work strictly based on the humanitarian principles and the international humanitarian law.  We do not take sides and we make sure that all our operations are geared towards relieving the sufferings of those affected by these crises.”

On social media, Cameroon’s anglophone rebel groups, who want independence from Francophone-majority Cameroon, had mixed reactions to the cease-fire call.

The Anglophone Defense Forces (ADF) said it supported a truce but warned that it would retaliate if provoked by Cameroon’s military.  

The Southern Cameroon Defense Forces had some members supporting a break while others called for continuing to fight for independence until the government withdraws troops.  

Cameroon’s military has indicated it would continue raids on separatist strongholds, which last week killed 24 rebels in the English-speaking northwest. 

Cameroon government spokesman Rene Emmanuel Sadi said they would comment on the calls for a cease-fire at what he called an appropriate moment.

The U.N. says Cameroon’s separatist conflict has left more than 3,000 people dead and displaced more than half a million in four years of fighting. 

Source: VOA

The killings in Cameroon’s two English-speaking regions have continued as government forces and separatist fighters clash over the control of the resource-rich Southern Cameroons.

The fighting and killing are increasing and spreading amid a resurgence of a violent and insidious enemy – COVID-19 – that is spreading death and destruction across the country.

Government forces have been pursuing their campaign of intimidation and destruction across the two English-speaking regions, making it impossible for a return to normalcy in a region that has been ruined due to the fighting. These days, it is normal for civilians to be arrested for the flimsiest excuse. They are made to pay huge sums of money at the military barracks or police station. The socio-political crisis has transformed the people of Southern Cameroons into a sure source of income for the military.

Many young Southern Cameroonians have been arrested and shipped to Yaounde for crimes they have never committed. The law only seems to work in Yaounde and once in Yaounde, the Beti Mafia steps in to demand huge amounts of money. They Beti Mafia has transformed the Southern Cameroons crisis into a money-making machine and their intimidation and torture of Southern Cameroonians with a view to extracting money has resulted in many deaths.

The death of a Buea-based pidgin news journalist, Samuel Wazizi, is proof of the atrocities that are being committed by government forces. Samuel Wazizi was declared dead on June 2, 2020, after having been held incommunicado for close to 300 days.

The news of his death was made public by Equinox TV, a local French Cameroon network that has been covering the fighting throughout the crisis. The network revealed that the Buea-based journalist died on August 17, 2019, in military custody, 15 days after he was arrested in Muea, a small town located some 2 km from Buea. Mr. Wazizi was arrested by Buea police and illegally handed over to the military who transferred him to Yaounde, where he was allegedly killed by Cameroonian authorities.

As Cameroonians are still digesting the bad news about the death of Mr. Wazizi, new reports are emerging that security agents arrested Mr. Amba Denis in Tombel in the Southwest region because his name rhymed with the word Ambazonia. The behavior of army soldiers in the region is causing apprehension and revenge, making it hard for the situation to be brought under control even as some senior government officials like the country’s Prime Minister, Dion Ngute, are working behind the scenes for a negotiated peace settlement with the separatists.

Mr. Ngute, like many of his ministers, hold that an outright victory is an impossibility, but some regime hawks who are enriching themselves through the massacres and misery of Southern Cameroonians are still insisting that victory can be obtained in the battlefield.

Still in Tombel, last week, soldiers shot and wounded a widow in a raid many say was unnecessary. Elizabeth Sume, the victim of the military’s recklessness, had lost her husband last year and she has been battling diabetes for some time. The military’s shooting of her legs has only made matters worse for a widow whose financial situation is at best precarious.

Besides the killing, the military is also being accused of other atrocities which are hardly investigated by the country’s authorities. The government’s silence over these atrocities appears to be its approval of these crimes committed against civilians who only want to live in peace. There are many incidents involving the military in the two English-speaking regions where army soldiers are alleged to use force to extort money from the already impoverished civilian population.

The most embarrassing of all was when members of the Rapid Intervention Battalion were caught on CCTV in an armed robbery in the two English-speaking regions. A few months ago, some Gendarmerie officers were arrested for kidnapping a man in Buea and calling on the man’s family for a 2-million francs ransom. The money transfer number was traced by the police and the Gendarmerie officers were arrested, though there are no reports on whether they had been prosecuted for their crime.

The military’s atrocities are numerous and shocking. A few days ago, the small town of Bamessing in the North West Region witnessed military terror at its best. Civilians had to run into the bushes for their dear lives, as army soldiers showed up where there was a local meeting. Speaking to Cameroon Concord News Group’s correspondent in the Northwest region, a local of Bamessing said that the soldiers went to Mbulue, a neighborhood where the meeting was holding.

When the locals saw the military, they all fled in different directions for their lives. The irresponsible military then went ahead to collect the money (about CFAF 50,000) the population had contributed for community development projects. The soldiers also made away with meeting books and 9 motor bikes. Some natives of the town have fled to Yaounde and have vowed not to return due to military violence.

But it is not only the country’s military that is involved in atrocities and killings. Many armed groups have emerged, and some rogue elements are making the most of the situation to meet their financial and economic needs. Like soldiers, many armed groups are also extorting money from the population. In many cases, innocent people are kidnapped and taken to the jungle. They are only released when their families pay the ransom requested by the gunmen.

There have been many reports of scores-settling in the two English-speaking regions. Little disputes no longer get settled amicably these days. Those with guns have become judges and their justice system leaves much to be desired. Their penalties sometimes cause an entire family to migrate.

Recently, a group of armed men killed some five people in Eshobi, a village some 8 km from Mamfe in the Southwest region on the grounds that the five men had betrayed the rebellion. The armed men said those killed had revealed information to the military, making it possible for the military to kill one of their fighters. The region is today awash with weapons and law and order have simply crumbled. Many chiefs who used to settle minor disputes have fled their villages, as armed men keep threatening to kill them.

The chiefs are usually accused of supporting the government and the armed men are young and do not have any self-control. They are trigger-happy and never reluctant to kill for little amounts of money. Most villages have been deserted and schools in the rural areas of the two regions have been closed now for four years.

Many soldiers have been killed by armed men and in many cases in very gruesome circumstances. Yesterday, a military truck was blown up by separatist forces as a convoy of trucks made its way to Bui for a bloody military operation. It is being reported that the military took huge casualties.

Due to the ongoing killings in the two English-speaking regions of the country, a group of Nobel laureates has urged the government of Cameroon and separatist forces to cease fighting and let health workers tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

The Global Campaign for Peace and Justice in Cameroon on Monday asked the African Union, the Commonwealth and La Francophonie to urge the government of Cameroon to call for a “COVID-19 ceasefire.

Seven of the Group’s Nobel laureates and former heads of state include the 2018 laureate, Dr. Denis Mukwege; the former president of South Africa, FW de Klerk; and three former United States ambassadors to Cameroon.

The Southern Cameroons crisis has been a huge concern to the international community, especially as the country’s government does not seem to favor a peaceful resolution of a conflict that has hurt the country’s economy. It is hoped that with the intervention of the United Nations and foreign dignitaries, the government will reconsider its decision and will work towards a peaceful resolution.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai and Isong Asu

A group of Nobel Prize laureates has urged the government of Cameroon and separatist rebel forces to cease fighting and let health workers tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

The Global Campaign for Peace and Justice in Cameroon on Monday asked the African Union, the Commonwealth and La Francophonie to urge the government of Cameroon to call for a “COVID-19 ceasefire.”

Seven of the group’s Nobel Prize laureates and former heads of states include 2018 laureate Dr. Denis Mukwege, former president of South Africa FW de Klerk and three former United States ambassadors to Cameroon.

The declaration was made after the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for global ceasefire in countries in conflict to tackle the coronavirus outbreak.

“It is one of the great neglected conflicts of our times,” said Dr. Simon Adams, Executive Director of The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect.

“The question of why now is something many people will be asking but I think there are many people in the world who don’t know about Cameroon,” Dr. Simon, also a signatory of the declaration, told DW.

“While people in West Africa and in Cameroon are very aware of the suffering and hardship that has been endured for such a long time, it’s to the discredit of the United Nations Security Council that it has not formally addressed the conflict there and it has not been covered widely in the media.”

“We signed the declaration because we want to see more international attention brought to what is one of the most devastating conflicts affecting Western Africa at the moment,” Dr. Simon added.

The conflict in Cameroon began in 2016 when activists in the two English-speaking regions complained of marginalization and called for independence. More than 3,000 people have been killed since clashes broke out between government forces and Anglophone separatist rebel forces. More than half a million people have fled their homes.

Cameroon has one of Africa’s highest rates of COVID-19 infection. Bamenda, the capital of Cameroon’s northwest region, has been at the heart of the three-year conflict. The separatists are fighting to create a state they call Ambazonia.

Attack on hospital workers

Frequent gun battles, lockdowns, road blocks and now the COVID-19 pandemic have made life difficult for the majority English-speaking population. Cameroon now has almost 12,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, with 303 deaths (as of June 22).

Several cases of attacks against doctors and nurses have been reported since the coronavirus outbreak began.

“On the May 29, seven of our health care workers were abducted and remained in the bushes for three days,” said Professor Pius Tih, director of the Cameroon Baptist Convention Churches Health Services.

“On June 4, again three others were taken to the bush but were released in the night. And as we talk, four of our workers that went into the field yesterday to do HIV/Aids and COVID-19 sensitization have also been abducted and are still at large,” Prof. Tih said.

According to the professor, many health workers are afraid when they see armed government and non-government troops. “We need to identify cases quickly, isolate them and treat those that you can treat while preventing more infections in the community. We are unable to reach out to the communities to do this.”

One treatment center

Health officials warn that if preventive measures — such as washing of hands, wearing masks and maintaining physical distance — are not observed, the number of infections could rise further.

The northwest region’s only COVID-19 treatment center is housed in a government-run hospital. It has a pre-isolation ward, quarantine center, diagnostic laboratory and other facilities for people infected with the coronavirus. Bamenda, Cameroon’s third-largest city, has amore than 500,000 inhabitants.

“Since we have more intense cases which are moderate or severe, the doctors see patients as often as need be,” Mercy Fundoh, head of the solidarity ward, told DW.

“We try to do a clinical evaluation of these intense cases at least on a daily basis and sometimes twice a day.”

Scot, a resident in Bamenda, said the Coronavirus pandemic brought more uncertainties than the Anglophone crisis. “With coronavirus, the risk is just so high. You might get into a public space and contract the disease,” Scot, who did not wish to give his second name for fear of reprisal, told DW.

“For the crisis, you know that there are some places that you are not supposed to go and certain things to do and not to do to avoid getting into trouble,” he added.

Call for foreign mediation

Some observers suggested foreign mediators should be used to find a solution. In March, separatist leader Sisiku AyukTabe told DW he was open to dialogue but on the condition that a UN mediator leads the process.

“It will be a shame for the international community to wait and come late, as was the case in Rwanda,” AyukTabe told DW.

A military court convicted and sentence AyukTabe and nine members of his de facto cabinet in August 2019 to life in prison for terrorism. In an interview with DW, opposition leader Kah Walla said no foreign nation should mediate in Cameroon’s domestic problems.

“To resolve the Anglophone crisis, we need a series of dialogues about different issues,” she said. “So it is less about the conflict with the state, and looking more into what the state of affairs today is. We do not want the future of Cameroon to be negotiated in Switzerland.”

Culled from Deutsche Welle

A French Cameroun social media guru has released images of one of the properties linked to Cameroon’s Defense Minister, Joseph Beti Assomo, who is facing corruption allegations over his handling of the Southern Cameroons crisis.

Cameroon Concord News Group gathered that the house in Minister Beti Assomo’s village is one of the many penthouses and flats he and his family own in Yaoundé and Douala, worth hundreds of millions of US dollars.

Cameroon’s Anti-corruption investigators have constantly ignored incessant signals coming from whistle-blowers in the Ministry of Defense for fear of being targeted by the Beti Assomo gang in the army and in the secret service.

Some of the Beti Assomo buildings in Yaoundé are held by companies registered under his blood relations as a way of hiding his wealth, making it difficult to be targeted by investigators at the Special Criminal Court in Yaoundé.

The 60-year-old, who replaced his kinsman, Edgard Alain Mebo Ngo’o, currently detained at the Kondengui Maximum Security Prison for corruption, is reportedly using the war in Southern Cameroons to enrich himself and his criminal network.

More will be yours in the days ahead.

By Rita Akana in Yaounde