A Spanish court has upheld the decision to grant Spanish nationality to the daughter of a Cameroon woman who was born while they migrated to Europe.

The girl had been residing in Spain without any official documents that granted her a nationality since she and her mother arrived in 2018.

In a ruling seen by The Associated Press on Wednesday, the provincial court in Gipuzkoa in northern Spain took the measure to ensure that the girl no longer remained “in a stateless limbo” and “in inequality respect to other minors.”

Both the court’s press office and Spanish Commission for Refugees said this is the first case of its kind in the European Union country. The ruling upheld a previous decision by a lower court in 2021 to grant the girl nationality. It had been appealed by the government.

According to the court ruling, the mother and daughter crossed the Mediterranean and arrived in Tarifa in southern Spain in May 2018. The mother sent a request to the Cameroon embassy in Madrid for a Cameroon passport for her daughter, but they told her that she would need a birth certificate from Morocco or must return to Cameroon. She then asked Morocco officials for a birth certificate and a Moroccan passport for her daughter but never heard back.

The daughter was unable to be registered with city officials in the northern city of San Sebastián where she lives. That stopped her from getting full access to the public health system.

According to Program Ödos, a Spanish charity dedicated to women and children in migration, 550 children accompanied with their parents arrived to Spain in 2020 without any documentation to prove their birth.

Source: AP

Ambazonia Revolutionary Fighters have killed six Cameroon government soldiers in the North West in a tit-for-tat measure after troops deployed to Southern Cameroons by President Biya killed nine civilians including a baby last week.

Cameroon Concord News correspondent in Bamenda who contributed to this report said the anti French Cameroun action was directed by a famous Amba commander known as General No Pity.

We gathered that six soldiers were killed and three others seriously injured.

After more than 59 years of marginalization, Southern Cameroonians led by their leader President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe declared Southern Cameroons an independent state in 2017, triggering a crackdown by the Francophone authorities.

The spiral of fighting has claimed more than 10,000 lives and prompted more than a million people to flee their homes, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank.

Amba fighters are now targeting military barracks, police stations, gendarmerie posts and Francophone officials, which they deem to be symbols of the French Cameroun state.

By Enowtaku Ebanghatabi Christelle with files from Fon Lawrence in Bamenda

Soldiers killed nine civilians including a baby in one of Cameroon’s conflict-scarred anglophone regions last week in a “misunderstanding”, the defence ministry said on Tuesday.

Four troops were searching for a missing colleague on June 1 when they encountered “a group of frenzied villagers”, the ministry said in a statement.

They opened fire, killing four women, four men and an 18-month-old girl and slightly wounding a 12-month-old baby, it said.

The incident took place in Missong in the Northwest Region, it said.

The statement, in an exceptionally swift condemnation, described their action as “inappropriate, ill-suited for the circumstances and manifestly disproportionate” and said the troops had been detained pending the outcome of an investigation.

The Northwest and neighbouring Southwest Region are home to most of the anglophone minority in majority French-speaking Cameroon.

After years of chafing at perceived discrimination, anglophone militants declared an independent state in the two regions in 2017, triggering a crackdown by the authorities.

The spiral of fighting has claimed more than 6,000 lives and prompted more than a million people to flee their homes, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank.

Separatists have targeted police, soldiers, officials and schools, which they deem to be symbols of the state, often carrying out kidnappings.

The armed forces have also been accused of abuses — charges that the Cameroonian authorities have in the past been quick to dismiss.

In February 2020, at least 23 people were killed in a military raid on the village of Ngarbuh in the Northwest Region, 15 of whom were children, according to UN figures.

The army initially said they had died when a fuel tank exploded during a firefight between troops and separatists.

But as an international outcry developed, the authorities said the civilians had been killed by “uncontrolled” soldiers who were supported by militiamen.

Three soldiers were then prosecuted for murder and pleaded not guilty, but the verdict has still to be announced more than two years later.

In February 2021, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said troops had raped at least 20 women and killed a man in a raid on the village of Ebam in the Southwest Region — an accusation that the defence ministry said was “undocumented”.

In its statement on Tuesday, the defence ministry said it “deeply regrets this grave and unfortunate incident and expresses its deepest condolences to the families of the victims”.

“The inquiry that was immediately opened by the local administrative and judicial authorities… will enable full light to be shed and to discern the outlines and responsibilities for this regrettable misunderstanding.”

Ilaria Allegrozzi, a researcher on central Africa at HRW, said the inquiry had to be “credible and independent”.

Colonial legacy

The presence of the anglophone regions derives from the colonial era.

The former German possession of Cameroon was partitioned after World War I between Britain and France.

In 1961, part of the British territory, the Southern Cameroons, joined Cameroon after it gained independence from France, becoming the Northwest and Southwest regions.

The separatists’ entity, called the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, has no international recognition.

Cameroon’s 89-year-old President Paul Biya, who has ruled the country with an iron fist for four decades, refused demands for a federal structure as anglophone agitation mounted prior to 2017.

After the campaign became violent, Biya organised a national forum in 2019 which led to the state granting more autonomy to the two regions, but not in key areas of governance.

Source: AFP

The Nigerian Red Cross society has appealed to Nigerians and organisations for assistance to cater for the needs of Cameroonian refugees who fled to Bashu community in Boki Local Government Area of Cross River.

It would be recalled that a week ago, over 500 refugees from Southwest Cameroon fled to Bashu, a border community with Cameroon following an alleged crisis that broke out in their communities.

Reacting to the development, Mr Friday Okwo, Head of Red Cross in Cross River, said they lacked the manpower and supplies to cater for the teeming number of refugees that was growing every day.

An official of the society who did not want his name mentioned, said the number of the refugees was increasing daily and needed medical and humanitarian attention.

He said they were trying their best but needed the assistance of other agencies and well-meaning Nigerians before they ran out of supplies.

“Our personnel have been very busy attending to the influx of these refugees many of whom are severely wounded.

“We give the elderly women, children and critically wounded ones immediate medical care but as we speak, space is becoming a challenge,” he said.

Similarly, Mr Augustine Ogar, a Youth Leader in the Bashu Community, said facilities have been overstretched, adding that there was an immediate need for humanitarian supplies.

Source: NNN. Ng

The Police are requesting information regarding ANTEM COLLIN, 29 and TANGUWA NSHEKOWAH, 38, both from Cameroon, for forgery, obtaining registration under false pretenses, assistance to a third-country national, money laundering, offences carried out in Cyprus between 2021 and June 2022.

Anyone with any information is requested to contact the CID headquarters to with the Citizen Line at 1460, or with the nearest Police Station.

in-cyprus

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas has designated Cameroon for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months, from June 7, 2022 through December 7, 2023.

The registration period for eligible individuals to submit TPS applications will run for that same period, from June 7, 2022 through December 7, 2023. Eligible individuals will also be able to apply for TPS-related employment authorization documents (EADs) and travel permission during this time.

DHS has also announced that it will suspend certain employment authorization rules for Cameroonian students in F-1 status who are experiencing severe economic hardship as a direct result of the crises in Cameroon.

The issue

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas has designated Cameroon for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months, from June 7, 2022 through December 7, 2023. According to a Federal Register notice that will be published tomorrow, the designation will permit eligible Cameroonian nationals and those with no nationality who last habitually resided in Cameroon to file for TPS and for a related employment authorization document (EAD) and travel permission (known as advance parole). DHS and the Department of State have deemed the designation warranted due to the ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary temporary conditions related to security and human rights in Cameroon.

Relatedly, DHS is also suspending certain employment authorization rules for Cameroonians in F-1 status who are experiencing severe economic hardship due to the ongoing crises in the country. An advance copy of the Federal Register notice implementing that change is available.

TPS eligibility and application process for Cameroonian applicants

Relaxed employment authorization rules for certain Cameroonian students in F-1 status

Culled from Fragomen.com

The Ambazonia Interim Government (IG) says only through armed resistance and resilience can Southern Cameroonians fight the French backed French Cameroun occupation of the Ambazonian homeland.

The IG made the comments in a statement after the release of Senator Regina Mundi in Batibo last week.

The Ambazonia Interim Government said properly coordinated armed resistance is the only way to regain Southern Cameroonian rights and liberate the home land.

The Vice President Dabney Yerima statement also stressed the importance of achieving unity and true partnership with genuine Ambazonia restoration groups in accordance with a sustainable resistance program to protect and defend the people of Southern Cameroons in Ground Zero.

The IG noted that Yaoundé after its five years brutal war in Southern Cameroons has begun to see its demise and doubting its own political future due to its fear that Southern Cameroonians are gone for good.

Dabney Yerima also called on Southern Cameroonians who abandoned the struggle because of the financial scandal that rocked “My Trip to Buea” to backtrack the abandonment path.

Vice President Yerima said such a path is in the wrong direction that serves only the agenda of the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime in Yaoundé.

Elsewhere in the statement, Vice President Dabney Yerima said the duty to liberate the Federal Republic of Ambazonia and end the French backed French Cameroun occupation is not only a Ground Zero responsibility, stressing, however, that it is also the duty of all Southern Cameroonians around the world.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with files from Enowtaku Ebanghatabi Christelle

The Director-General of the Cross River State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Janet Ekpenyong, has disclosed that with new arrivals of Cameroonian refugees, the state is now really overburdened with the staggering number of refugees.

She has strongly called on the federal government to come to the aid of the state as host communities of refugees can hardly handle the influx and the state government itself cannot grapple with the huge burden.

Speaking during an interview with our reporter in Calabar, Ekpenyong said, “Last Sunday, there was another set of Cameroonians who fled their country into a Cross River community in Bashu as a result of reported violence and killings.

“These arrivals have increased the number of refugees in our state. We are hosting more than 50 per cent of refugees in the country. And this is really stressful to us. We are not getting commensurate support from the federal government. We are therefore making a strong appeal for support.”

Ekpenyong added that the new arrivals are being documented by relevant authorities so that they can be moved from Bashu to refugee camps.

The primary healthcare boss said upon the outbreak of the violence and their influx into the state, her agency had deplored a medical team to attend to them, test for some common diseases, including COVID-19, and have vaccinated their little children they came with.

She also confirmed that the state Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) has since arrived with relief items, including foods for the refugees.

“My agency is working with good support from the state ministry of Health, World Health Organisation (WHO), UNHCR and Doctors Without Borders. I must sincerely thank these bodies for prompt action and support.

“Once their registration is completed, they would be moved from Bashu community to different refugee camps in the state.”

Source: Daily Post Nigeria

Members of the Nigerian Red Cross have since arrived at the Community health centre in Bashu, Boki LGA where new refugees from southwest Cameroon have flooded since Sunday.

The huge population of the new arrivals appear to be overwhelming.

They fled Obonyi, a border town with Boki LGA of Cross River State last Sunday after Ambazonian soldiers had reportedly killed about 20 Southwest Cameroonians in Obonyi border community next to Nigeria’s Boki LGA.

Reports say they allegedly refused to join the Ambazonian soldiers to fight Cameroon government for their independence.

The remainder of the population had to flee into nearby Bashu in Boki LGA Nigeria for their safety with matchet cuts and bullet wounds.

Their population as of yesterday stood at over 2000, according to local sources.

Many of them have knife cuts, bullet wounds and other injuries.

The head of a particular man was dangling following matchet cuts from the Ambazonian militants.

The Red Cross officials were seen frenetically dispensing pain-killing drugs, dressing wounds and giving water to the survivors.

A Red Cross official who did not want his name mentioned said, “The number of these refugees are increasing. They need medical and humanitarian attention. We are trying our best but other agencies should come in soon before our supplies exhaust. Our personnel have been very busy attending to the influxes. We give the elderly women, children and critically wounded ones immediate medical care. But space is another problem…”

Augustine Ogar, a youth leader in the community, said facilities have been overstretched, and there is an immediate need for humanitarian supplies.

Source: Daily Post Nigeria