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Nigeria: Army confirms Boko Haram rampage, mute on casualty figures

24, November 2018

Nigeria: Army confirms Boko Haram rampage, mute on casualty figures 0

The Nigerian Army has confirmed one of the the deadliest attacks by Boko Haram on its troops with the known casualty figures rising as high as a hundred slain soldiers.

The Army in a statement on Friday said the attack on 157 Task Force Battalion at Matele indeed took place.

“Whilst it is true that there was an attack on the location on 18 November 2018, it has however, become necessary to correct several misinformation being circulated with regards to this unfortunate event,” the statement read in part.

The army explained that its delay in relaying the incident was because of procedural issues on having to inform the next of kin of affected troops before going public with such information.

Whiles claiming there was misinformation in figures and videos currently circulating on social media, the army failed to provide a casualty figure. They also urged against spread of Boko Haram propaganda materials.

“Furthermore, it suffices to observe that several social media, print and online publications have been brandishing false casualty figures as well as circulating various footages of old and inaccurate BHT propaganda videos and alluding same to be the attack on 157 Task Force Battalion.

“Whilst it is understandable how such misinformation can spread in this era of social media frenzy, the spurious circulation of some of these videos only contribute to further propagate the propaganda intent of the terrorists; to misinform the populace and portray themselves as what they are not.

“So far, the situation is that the location is under control as reinforcing units have been able to repel the terrorists and stabilize the situation,” the statement added.

Meanwhile the local news portal, The Nation Nigeria quotes an unnamed soldier that escaped the attack as saying an advanced team of the insurgents came into the based as friendly forces and went into the office of the commander where they fired at him and five other soldiers that were with him in his office.

The Army command in Maiduguri have evacuated bodies of soldiers killed by Boko Haram insurgents on Sunday at Metele village in Guzamala Local Government Area of North Borno State, the portal added.

Source: Africa News


23, November 2018

Cameroon and Mali reach the Women’s Afcon semi-finals as hosts Ghana go out 0

Cameroon and Mali qualified for the 2018 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals from Group A on Friday as hosts Ghana were eliminated along with Algeria.

Ghana drew 1-1 with Cameroon in Accra but the point was not enough for the home favourites as Mali beat Algeria 3-2 in Cape Coast.

It means that both Cameroon and Mali have a chance to represent Africa at next year’s World Cup with the top three finishers in Ghana all qualifying for France 2019.

In Accra, Ghana played like the team that needed the win against Cameroon, keeping a lot of the possession – but the early chances were long range efforts that either went wide or over the bar.

Captain Elizabeth Addo, restored to the starting line-up, had a free-kick saved and then saw a decent strike from a narrow angle hit the post and go for a corner.

On the half-hour mark the hosts took the lead when a Portia Boakye free-kick from the left floated high into the area and Anette Ngo Ndom misjudged the flight of the ball which dropped behind her into an empty net.

Cameroon equalised shortly before half-time when Aboudi Onguene was fouled running down the left wing for a blatant penalty.

Captain Christine Manie rolled the ball to the left with Asantewaa, who replaced previous first choice Patricia Mantey, diving the other way.

With the score level at 1-1 in Accra, Ghana looked as though they would progress at the expense of Mali, but the Malians staged a dramatic fight-back after twice going behind to Algeria in Cape Coast.

Mali could have taken the lead themselves after 19 minutes when they were awarded a penalty but Bassira Toure’s effort was saved by Kahina Takenint.

Lydia Belkacemi then put Algeria ahead after 37 minutes, with Fatoumata Diarra hitting an equaliser for Mali in the second half.

Imene Merrouche restored Algeria’s lead from the penalty spot in the 62nd minute to make it 2-1 with Mali seemingly down and out.

But a dramatic goal from Aissatou Diadhiou seven minutes from time made it 2-2 to Mali – which meant Ghana needed to score again to avoid elimination.

Mali made sure of their place in the semi-finals with an injury-time winner, again from the spot, from Fatoumata Diarra – her second of the game.

On Saturday, the focus will be on Group B as holders Nigeria face former champions Equatorial Guinea, with Zambia up against South Africa in the other match.

All four sides have a chance to reach the semi-finals.



23, November 2018

UN Praises Nigerian Governor For Taking Care Of Southern Cameroons Refugees 0

Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has been lauded by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees for hosting and taking care of the Cameroonian refugees in the state. The state government over some months now has been taking care of over 10,000 refugees who escaped from Cameroon as a result of the ongoing crisis in the country and are taking refuge in Kwande Local Government Area of Benue State.

The Representative of UNHCR in West Africa Region, Louis Ahua, gave the commendation, on Thursday, when she paid the Governor a courtesy visit at the State Government House, in Makurdi.

Mrs. Ahua, who was accompanied on the visit by the agency’s representative in Nigeria, Mr. Antonio Kanhandula, said the governor’s support had in no small way complemented the agency’s humanitarian work of providing the welfare of refugees, many of whom were being camped in Kwande Local Government Area of the state.

She commiserated with Governor Ortom over the attacks in the state which have resulted in the killing of many lives and displacement of thousands of people even as she assured of the agency’s support for his administration to do more.

Governor Ortom, while reacting to their commendation, thanked the UNHCR for donating vehicles to his government to better cater for the refugees, noted that the little challenge of the refugees with the immediate community was being addressed by the Tor Tiv.

He added that if after the intervention of the Tor Tiv, the matter was still not resolved, he would personally step in so that the refugees would have a peaceful stay in Benue State.

Source: Naijanews


23, November 2018

Southern Cameroons War: Kenyan priest ‘was shot dead as he preached’ 0

A sombre mood has engulfed Sengera area in Kisii, the home village of Father Cosmas Ondari Thursday who was killed by suspected Cameroon soldiers on Wednesday evening.

Family members and relatives of the slain priest said they received news of his death with utmost shock.

SHOOTING

Fr Omboto was holding an evening church mass when a soldier shot him in the head killing him on the spot, according to reports the family received from Cameroon.

The country has been experiencing a surge in conflicts in volatile English-speaking Southwest region where a group is vouching for separation from Yaoundé.

His father Charles Omboto said his son was on a missionary mission when he was killed.

“The news we have is that he was holding a mass but the congregants upon seeing the soldiers scampered leaving him alone and that is the time he was shot dead,” Mr Omboto said.

His body was discovered by a group of worshippers who had returned to the church compound shortly after the soldiers left.

SPIRITUAL

“He had remained alone because he had not known that people there always run away when the see the military and that is how he got killed,” Mr Omboto told the Nation at his Sengera home in Bomachoge Borabu.

Relatives and church members on Thursday flocked to the home to offer condolences.

Family members of the deceased and the church on Friday condemned the incident terming it uncalled for.

Most parishioners described the late cleric as “very spiritual” and a man fired by the missionary spirit.

“He grew amongst us and was concerned with spiritual things and that is how he ended up in serving the church as a missionary,” said Sister Mary Naitumbi.

Family members said they may not be able to travel to bury the body in Cameroon and requested the Mill Hill Society to make arrangements so that the body can be brought to Kenya.

“We are not compelling them but if they can bring him back home, it will be better for us,” Mr Omboto said.

Fr Ondari’s brother Bonface Omboto said they had learnt of the death of his brother with a heavy heart.

CONDOLENSES

He was away in Uganda when he got a phone call breaking the news of his brother’s death on Thursday.

Kisii Parish Bishop John Mairura described the late priest as one who was dedicated to the work of the Catholic Church.

“He was a young priest fired with missionary spirit but death has snubbed him at a time we knew he had much still left to do in reaching out to lost souls,” Fr Mairura told the Nation by phone.

Kisii University Catholic Chaplain Lawrence Nyaanga condemned the attack and the killing of the Kenyan priest by Cameroon soldiers.

“Priests are in a different war frontline, to save souls not to fight. Fr Ondari was not armed, he was preaching the word and healing a society wracked by conflicts and that is why we condemn the incident in the strongest terms possible,” he said.

Similar sentiments were shared by sisters and priests from Sengera Parish where the late cleric was laid on hands before he set off in the missionary work.

Until his death, Fr Omboto was a Mill Hill priest serving in the Diocese of Mamfe.

He was ordained in Kisii alongside two other priests and appointed to the Diocese of Mamfe, according to the St Joseph Missionary Society.

On Thursday, his father said Fr Omboto had recently returned home to renew his passports before he went back to Cameroon only to meet his death months later.

OTHERS

Fr Omboto’s death has shone the light on the rising number of religious leaders killed amid a conflict that has lasted two-years and gripped the two English-speaking regions of Cameroon.

The priest had been working with people displaced by the conflict.

An American Catholic missionary was killed at the beginning of November in the Northeast region. The government blamed separatists but Washington said he died in cross-fire.

Last October, US Baptist Missionary Charles Truman Wesco was killed in the Northwestern town of Bambui near Bamenda.

A Roman Catholic priest, Fr Alexander Nougi Sob, was killed in the South western town of Muyuka in July.

THE CONFLICT

The Cameroonian conflict began as an industrial strike by lawyers and teachers in 2016 and snowballed into an internal armed conflict last year, when separatists joined in and symbolically declared the independence of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

At least 400 “ordinary people” and more than 175 members of the security forces have been killed, according to statistics by local and international groups that have been documenting abuses in the escalating violence. They include Amnesty International.

More than 300,000 people have fled the violence and now live from hand-to-mouth, in forests and across the border into Nigeria, where they are exposed to various dangers.

Source: Daily Nation


Pro CPDM Archbishop pledges to alleviate hardship in Southern Cameroons

23, November 2018

Pro CPDM Archbishop pledges to alleviate hardship in Southern Cameroons 0

Archbishop Jean Mbarga of Yaoundé says the Catholic Church can play a big role in helping Cameroonians affected by the secessionist uprising in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions, as well as the millions of Cameroonians affected by poverty and other hardships.

During an event to launch a fund-raising to benefit the poor and destitute of Cameroon, the archbishop talked about charity as a major part of the Christian faith, and the role the Church’s aid agency Caritas has to play.

“The Caritas Foundation-Cameroon is the voice of the bishops at the service of the poor,” Mbarga told journalists during a press conference in Yaoundé on Nov. 12.

“The bishops have decided to not remain indifferent, vis-à-vis the growth of misery. That is why we put in place the Caritas Foundation. That means that henceforth, we have a reliable instrument to sensitize the population on the need for generosity, mobilize for the African hospitality and above all mobilize for Christian charity,” he said.

The archbishop pointed out Cameroon was host to hundreds of thousands of refugees who need “to find a home among us. The needy should find help.”

Most of the refugees in Cameroon are fleeing internal conflicts in Chad and the Central African Republic.

Mbarga said the poor and destitute require access to water and healthcare, young people need support to set up enterprises, and projects of community interest need to be carried out.

“Remember that Caritas is an institution for aid and development,” the archbishop said.

Of great concern to the archbishop is the ongoing Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon, where government forces have been fighting separatists in Cameroon’s English-speaking North West and South West regions for nearly two years now.

Teachers’ and lawyers’ strikes in 2016 over perceived attempts by the francophone-dominated administration to destroy the Anglo-Saxon-educational and legal systems practiced in Anglophone Cameroon mutated into political demands for independence by the Anglophone minority, who make up around 20 percent of the population.

Now separatists wish to establish a new country, called Ambazonia.

According to the spokesman for the Cameroon military, Col. Didier Badjeck, at least 1,000 people -mostly separatist fighters – have been killed in the fighting. The military has lost 200 soldiers – exceeding the number of soldiers killed in Cameroon’s four-year war against Boko Haram.

The crisis has led to the displacement of at least 437,000 people, according to the UNHCR, most of them in dire need of humanitarian assistance. In addition, 58 schools have been destroyed and 3.3 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance.

“This year’s fund-raising naturally targets those in need and in emergency situations,” Mbarga said.

“Last year, we were living in relative peace. This year, we are faced with very heavy humanitarian needs. How do we take part in that reconstruction work as Christians and how do we come to the help of the affected families, who have lost loved ones? How do we help in rebuilding schools and hospitals that have been burnt? All these require of us, generosity,” the archbishop said.

While the Anglophone crisis has dominated the news from the country, Cameroon’s rates of poverty remain disheartening: At least 30 percent of the population lives below the poverty line and 70 percent of the country’s over 25 million people still don’t have access to potable water.

The Director of Caritas Foundation Cameroon, Father Kisito Mballa Onana, said Cameroon was also suffering from a refugee crisis as a result of the fighting in the Anglophone regions.

“They live under precarious conditions,” he said.

“The Church wants to do something in terms of improving their living conditions, education, training and healthcare.”

Cameroon was governed under a federal system of government between 1961-1972, giving English-speakers a large degree of autonomy from the French-speaking majority.

The Catholic Church has been opposed to secession, calling on the authorities to initiate an inclusive dialogue with the various stakeholders.

In a May 16 letter, the bishops called for an end to the fighting.

“Let’s stop all forms of violence, and let’s stop killing each other. We are all brothers and sisters; let’s engage in dialogue, reconciliation, justice and peace.”

But the situation has continued to get worse.

“These last days, the number of deaths and people kidnapped has continued to rise…the secessionists are gaining ground. They too are violent and kill people,” Onana told Crux.

Source: Crux


Revealed: Yaoundé arrested more Southern Cameroonians after October 7 presidential polls

23, November 2018

Revealed: Yaoundé arrested more Southern Cameroonians after October 7 presidential polls 0

The Biya regime reportedly arrested several Southern Cameroonians in the cities of Douala and Yaounde in what seems to be part of a widened crackdown on English speaking Cameroonians after the rigged presidential elections. Biya’s kinsmen in both the army and the gendarmerie have said that the individuals were planning attacks deep inside French Cameroun territory.

Cameroon Intelligence Report gathered from a police source in Douala that many of the Southern Cameroonians are being detained after calling for a boycott of the October 7 polls in Anglophone Cameroon and took to the streets celebrating when Prof Maurice Kamto declared himself winner of the elections. A sea of bloggers have also been arrested for posting what the regime in Yaoundé described as fake news on the behaviour of the ruling CPDM candidate. At the Obili neighbourhood in Yaounde, some 4 Southern Cameroons teenagers were arrested for destroying CPDM campaign posters. The 4 recently rejected the charges.

Meanwhile, the military tribunal in Yaounde held a secret session late yesterday in a bid to sentence the leader of the Ambazonian nation, Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and members of his cabinet who were abducted and forcefully repatriated from Abuja, Nigeria to Cameroon. The Southern Cameroons Interim Head of State and some of his close aides have been moved to the Kondengui High Security prison.

The legitimacy of Mr. Paul Biya’s 7th term has been widely questioned by the international community. Yaoundé has banned all opposition rallies and militarised opposition strong holds in French Cameroun. The Roman Catholic Archbishop of the Douala Diocese, Samuel Kleda pointed out last week that the Biya administration failed to provide conditions for fair and free voting and that the results were arranged even before the elections that took place in a repressive political environment.

Earlier on, a Yaoundé High court sentenced Bibixy Mancho, including several Southern Cameroons activists in what Amnesty International called a “travesty of justice.” Bibixy Mancho who headed the coffin revolution was arrested in Bamenda. The International Crisis Group including many Human rights groups have frequently said cases against Southern Cameroons activists in French Cameroun courts fail to meet the basic standards of fair trials.

Thousands of Ambazonians protesters have held numerous demonstrations in Southern Cameroons on an almost daily basis ever since a popular uprising began to end French Cameroun control of the territory. They are demanding that the United Nations recognise the Federal Republic of Ambazonia as an independent state with headquarters in Buea representing all Southern Cameroonians.

Biya and the Francophone dominated army have gone to great lengths to clamp down on any sign of dissent. Scores of people have lost their lives and hundreds of others sustained injuries or got arrested in a widespread French Cameroun regime crackdown.

By Sama Ernest and Rita Akana in Yaounde


23, November 2018

UK, EU struggle to agree on Gibraltar before Brexit summit 0

The United Kingdom and the European Union have almost agreed on a Brexit deal with only one main obstacle left: the future of Gibraltar.

“The British people want Brexit to be settled. They want a good deal that sets us on a course for a brighter future,” British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Thursday.

“The deal that will enable us to do this is now within our grasp. In these crucial 72 hours ahead, I will do everything possible to deliver it for the British people,” she said.

Gibraltar is the one main obstacle which remains to be settled.

May made efforts to settle the issue with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

The two talked on phone for half-an-hour on Thursday.

The British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar is strategic enclave located on Spain’s south coast and it has voiced interest in gaining control of Gibraltar.

Madrid and London have been engaged in a sovereignty dispute over the territory for centuries.

Gibraltar has been under British rule for three centuries.

Spain; however, has threatened to veto the Brexit deal if its interest in the region were not taken into consideration.

“After my conversation with Theresa May, our positions remain far away. My government will always defend the interests of Spain. If there are no changes, we will veto Brexit,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez tweeted on Thursday night.

Eu officials said Spain’s interests must be settled before EU leaders meet on Sunday in order to rubber-stamp the pact.

EU diplomats said they hoped Spain could accept a statement, similar to one made before the withdrawal negotiations, that nothing in a future EU-UK treaty would apply to Gibraltar unless Madrid consented to that after bilateral talks with London.

May is due to meet European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker again on the eve of the summit, at 6 pm (1700 GMT) on Saturday – in principle to agree that the absolutely final text is ready for EU leaders to sign.

Source: Presstv


23, November 2018

Essien, Adebayor hail Drogba’s impact on African football 0

Didier Drogba, former Ivorian skipper has been celebrated by two of his former colleague footballers tagging him as an ambassador for the game in Africa.

Ghanaian international Michael Essien played along with Drogba at English Premier League side Chelsea – both were brought in by Portuguese manager, Jose Mourinho.

Essien who is also in the twilight of his career thanked Drogba for being an inspiration to many in the game and wished him well in his future endeavours.

But deep inside, I know we are fighting the same fight, which is to make Africa proud. You have done it so well over the years. I watched you work so hard,” he added.

View image on Twitter
Drogba on Wednesday announced his retirement from the game calling time on a 20-year career in which the bullish centre forward won four Premier League titles and the 2012 Champions League.

His final club stint was in the United States for Phoenix Rising. He had two spells at Chelsea, scoring 164 goals in 381 games having spearheaded the west London club’s revival under owner Roman Abramovich.

Drogba, 40, began his career at French side Le Mans in 1998, but did not play top-tier football until he was 23 when he was signed by Guingamp in 2002.

He moved to Olympique de Marseille in 2003 and a year later was signed by Chelsea where he became the attacking focal point of the team under Jose Mourinho and helped the club win their first top flight English title in 50 years.

He went on to win three Premier League titles in his first eight years at Chelsea as well as four FA Cups and two League Cups.

His first spell in west London ended on a high as he scored the winning penalty in the Champions League final shootout against Bayern Munich having also equalised with a thumping header to force extra time.

He had spells in China and Turkey before returning to Chelsea where he won a fourth Premier League title and a third League Cup, leaving the club as their fourth highest scorer of all time.

Drogba, who made than 100 appearances for the Ivory Coast and was voted African footballer of the year twice, ended his playing days with Phoenix Rising where he was a player-owner.

Source: Reuters


Niger: Armed men attack French firm’s drilling camp

22, November 2018

Niger: Armed men attack French firm’s drilling camp 0

Armed men killed eight people on Thursday in a late night attack on French drilling company Foraco’s water well site in southeastern Niger, Foraco said.

“Last night at 2 a.m. local time, a group of terrorists attacked the small building where a Foraco team was sleeping and killed seven of them, plus one civil servant,” the company said in a statement.

Five other employees were wounded, with two in serious condition, it said. The workers were drilling two deep water wells for the water ministry in southeastern Niger’s Diffa region.

A security source told Reuters that the assailants were believed to belong to Nigerian extremist group Boko Haram, which is active near the border with Nigeria.

Boko Haram has been trying since 2009 to establish an extremist state in northeast Nigeria and has launched repeated attacks into neighboring Niger, Chad and Cameroon. Thousands of civilians have died in the violence.

Marseille-based Foraco is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and says it is the third largest global mineral driller with mining and water projects across 22 countries.

(Source: Reuters)


Calls for Dialogue with Ambazonian Interim Gov’t Increase after Spate of Kidnappings

22, November 2018

Calls for Dialogue with Ambazonian Interim Gov’t Increase after Spate of Kidnappings 0

Cameroon’s military says it has freed nine students and a teacher who were kidnapped this week from a school in one of the country’s restive English-speaking regions. It is the third time this month that students have been abducted from schools in the Anglophone regions.

Senior divisional officer Nto’ou Ndong Chamberlin says several gunmen were killed Wednesday in the military operation, and other armed men responsible for the abduction are on the run. The teacher was wounded in the rescue.

“Nine guns have been seized, four neutralized — among them the head of the team, called ‘Man of Lucks,’ and three bikes destroyed and even the camp has also been burned down by the forces of law and order [military],” Chamberlin said.

Gunmen kidnapped the students and their teacher Tuesday evening from Lords Bilingual School in Kumba, a city in Cameroon’s southwest region.

FILE - Students and their principal were kidnapped from the Presbyterian School of Science and Technology in Bafut, near Bamenda, Cameroon, Nov. 5, 2018.
FILE – Students and their principal were kidnapped from the Presbyterian School of Science and Technology in Bafut, near Bamenda, Cameroon, Nov. 5, 2018.

 

The kidnapping comes three weeks after gunmen kidnapped and then released 79 students and three staff from a school in the neighboring northwest region.

Eleven students were later kidnapped from the same Presbyterian Secondary School. Church moderator Fonki Samuel said a $4,000 ransom was paid to the abductors for their release.

Pierre Marie Abbe, a political analyst at the Catholic University of Central Africa, says the government’s war against the separatists has been a failure.

The government should drop the idea of war and organize dialogue with English-speaking Cameroonians, Abbe said. But for such a dialogue to be successful, he added, the government should meet Anglophone Cameroonians to find out from them who they see as their true leaders.

The government says separatists in the two English-speaking regions have torched at least a hundred schools and abducted or killed dozens of teachers. More than 90 percent of the regions’ schools remain closed.

The international community and rights groups have condemned violence from both sides and called on the government to negotiate an end to the crisis.

“The U.N. has, along with most of the international community, asked for dialogue,” said Allegra Maria Del Pilar Baiocchi, the U.N. resident coordinator for Cameroon. “We need to hear the voices of the people saying we have had enough and we want solutions. It should not only be the U.N. saying it or the ambassadors. We need confidence-building measures and I think we need peace.”

Unrest broke out in Cameroon’s western regions in 2016, when English-speaking teachers and lawyers protested the dominance of French-speakers.

Cameroon’s military reacted with a crackdown, and armed separatists soon launched a campaign for independence.

Clashes since have killed more than 1,200 people.

Culled from the VOA


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