The Federal Republic of Ambazonia has reiterated its right to freedom and complete independence from La Republique du Cameroun through all possible means guaranteed by international law, emphasizing that all measures taken by the occupying Yaounde regime to change the legal status of Southern Cameroons-Ambazonia are null and void and have no legal effect.

Speaking on Wednesday on the state of the Southern Cameroons revolution, the Vice President of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government, Dabney Yerima lambasted the colonial activities and other marginalization practices in Southern Cameroons by the French Cameroun regime.

Yerima added that it is highly deplorable that some so-called Southern Cameroons front line leaders are overlooking repeated French Cameroun acts of aggression on Ambazonia territory– the latest of which took place Bamenda when Francophone soldiers killed a prominent Senator.

Dabney Yerima pointed out that the Ambazonia Interim Government has sent several letters to key Southern Cameroonians in the USA and other relevant Southern Cameroons prominent figures in the diaspora to inform them of developments in Ground Zero and Ground One and the urgent need for a united and well-coordinated front against the French Cameroun occupation. The Vice President of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government noted that he was a loss to see the distraction coming out of the US.

The exiled Southern Cameroons leader stressed that the Ambazonia Interim Government strongly condemns flagrant violations being committed by the French Cameroun regime in the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

Yerima reiterated Southern Cameroons inalienable right to complete and total independence from La Republique du Cameroun through all possible means, which are guaranteed by international law and not subject to some kind of Grand National Dialogue or prescription from an 88-year old dictator.

By Toto Roland Motuba

British diplomats believe Cameroon, a country with 27 million inhabitants, is run by just five men and that there is “extensive corruption”.

At the top is President Biya, who has ruled the Central African state with an iron fist for nearly 40 years. Now in his late 80s, he governs mostly from a luxury hotel in Switzerland.

But Britain supports his regime and conducted six secret counter-terrorism operations in Cameroon last year, it can be revealed.

They have code names like Cylix, Bacchus and Abbadide.

Most of the operations involved training and “capacity building” for troops tackling the Boko Haram and Islamic State groups.

This included UK activity at a barracks in Cameroon’s far north, Salak, where Amnesty International says terrorism suspects were tortured.

Britain is building training villages in Salak for elite Cameroon units, documents obtained by Declassified show.

Those forces are also accused of severe human rights abuses against an English-speaking “Ambazonian” movement.

In response to fresh demands for autonomy from the Francophone central government in 2017, Amnesty says more than 20 peaceful protesters were shot and over 500 arbitrarily detained.

Our revelations of British support for Biya’s regime come as Amnesty launched a campaign on Monday to free political prisoners in Cameroon.

Fabien Offner, a researcher for the group, said: “Over the past five years, the human rights situation has grown increasingly bleak as people from Anglophone regions, including journalists, human rights defenders, activists and supporters of political opposition, have been arrested and jailed for expressing their opinions or peacefully protesting.”

The UK government is aware of such abuses. British officials have privately noted President Biya’s “frequent detention of opposition activists and unjustifiably broad use of the anti-terrorism law”.

But Whitehall is offering considerable support to Biya’s regime. One recent UK operation, codenamed ODYSSEAN, saw a British special forces officer draft a “crisis management” doctrine for Cameroon’s president.

In return for this and other services, Biya awarded the officer — lieutenant colonel “Sid” Purser — the equivalent of an MBE.

Alongside the military support, Britain signed a £200-million trade deal with Cameroon last year. A British foreign minister met President Biya in March 2021 to discuss “investment opportunities”, which include a Guinness factory.

Ngoh Ngoh and Eko Eko

Lt Col Purser — a Falklands war veteran and marine commando — is stationed in Cameroon as Britain’s “senior military adviser”.

There, he has cultivated “influential relationships” with Biya’s “right-hand man”, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, and Cameroon’s spy chief Leopold Maxine Eko Eko. Cameroon’s prime minister and defence minister appear to be the other most influential people.

Ngoh Ngoh came to Britain in May 2018 to visit the UK intelligence community.

Eko Eko runs the country’s fearsome intelligence agency, the Directorate General Research External (DGRE). British diplomats described him as a “dove” and said his spies “previously had a bad compliance reputation” until he took over in 2010.

However, Amnesty International has published allegations of torture throughout Eko Eko’s leadership of the DGRE. Former detainees say senior DGRE officers got away with torture from 2013-17.

Despite Amnesty’s detailed report, UK defence minister James Heappey met Eko Eko at a dinner hosted by the British ambassador while visiting Cameroon last spring. The British minister was briefed to “reinforce the view that protecting the civilian population is paramount”.

He was also advised to “praise” Eko Eko for his counter-extremism efforts and “thank” him for letting British troops conduct “capacity building” of the DGRE at Salak, which is “close to the area of operations”. The spy chief deployed 32 of his men at the notorious torture site to coincide with the UK training.

Ministerial visit

Ministry of Defence (MOD) briefing papers for Heappey’s visit have been obtained by Declassified. They expose the scale of Britain’s covert military role in the African police-state — where France is traditionally seen as the more dominant European power.

The documents show how British diplomats overlook Biya’s “shortcomings on human rights and democracy”, partly because he voted with the UK to condemn the use of chemical weapons by Russia and Syria.

The UK saw Cameroon as a “priority lobbying country” at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

“President Biya is instinctively a supporter of the rules-based international order,” the then UK High Commissioner Rowan Laxton insisted.

A few months later, more than 500 activists from the opposition party, the Movement for the Renaissance of Cameroon, were reportedly rounded up.

The crackdown earned Biya criticism from 14 UN human rights experts, who were “extremely worried about mass arrests of peaceful protesters and political activists who express dissent”. More than 100 activists from this group remain in detention, Amnesty said on Monday.

Rapid Intervention Battalion

As well as supporting Cameroon’s intelligence agency, Britain works with the regime’s special forces. “The main focus of UK capacity building in Cameroon” is on the Bataillon d’Intervention Rapide (BIR), or Rapid Intervention Battalion, the documents show.

This is a well-armed elite force of 10,000 men. They are accused of torture, executing women and children and burning down a village. French, US and Israeli support for the BIR is well known, whereas Britain’s role has remained largely hidden.

Minister Heappey was photographed on Twitter with the BIR during his visit to Cameroon last year. The MOD’s tweet said British troops were “working alongside Cameroon’s BIR force to counter the twin threats of Islamic State and Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin”.

His briefing notes reveal much more about the extent of this deployment. They show Heappey met Colonel Ndongo, the BIR Commander of what the Biya regime calls Operation Alpha — its mission against Boko Haram.

Heappey was told to congratulate the colonel on his “successful” work against the terror group and ask what more the UK could do. The British minister then observed UK troops providing capacity building in Salak, where detainees have allegedly been tortured.

A British army short-term training team was deployed to Salak from January 2021. There they conducted “train and advise activity with BIR and DGRE” until around mid-April 2021.

By that stage, Whitehall was considering “whether the capacity building should evolve to include assist, enable or accompany functions”. It is not clear if this development went ahead.

A UK Brigadier General who visited Cameroon during the deployment “noted the professionalism” of the BIR and DGRE but worried their successes were “generally short-lived”.

Britain’s former ambassador believed Cameroon security forces “have performed admirably”.

Carriage of weapons

UK interest in Cameroon grew after neighbouring Nigeria snubbed some MOD offers to help counter Boko Haram. The militant group has kidnapped school girls and terrorises the Lake Chad region.

France asked the UK to “do more” to counter the Islamic extremist group in 2016. The then prime minister Theresa May agreed.

Purser’s military post in Cameroon was established and he focused “on delivering effect in North East Nigeria from the ‘outside-in’ ”.

He had spent the previous five years leading counter-terrorism efforts by UK special forces across north west Africa.

His more recent work in Cameroon has relied on troops from 1 Scots Specialised Infantry Group.

These soldiers are now part of the army’s special operations brigade, a new “ranger battalion” that is expected to fight alongside allies in counter-insurgency situations.

This concept has already been trialled in Cameroon, where an “exchange of notes… provides for UK jurisdiction and carriage of weapons in the far north”.

It also sets out Britain’s human rights concerns and “what our response would be to any infraction”. The files say “this is closely monitored”.

The risk is so high that UK training “has been designed to be delivered directly to force elements that are already deployed or will deploy shortly” on operations to counter Boko Haram or Islamic State in northern Cameroon.

This is “intended to minimise the risk of UK trained units being diverted to other theatres”, a reference to parts of the country where English-speakers are struggling for independence.

Training includes “mountain manoeuvres” and “targeted use of intelligence (to reduce collateral damage)”. The MOD claims the training has made Cameroon’s state security forces “highly effective”. The Red Cross provides sessions on the law of war as part of the training.

Private security companies

Air support for ground troops appears to be an issue. All three of Cameroon’s C130 military transport planes were grounded in March 2021.

Marshall Aerospace, a British firm, signed a contract in 2019 to maintain the aircraft but it is awaiting payment from Cameroon’s state oil company.

Heappey was instructed to ask Biya’s right-hand man, Ngoh Ngoh, to “unlock the bureaucracy” and let the payment go through.

Another British business, the Westminster-based Torchlight Group, has provided intelligence analyst training to “all force elements engaged in the far north” of Cameroon.

It helped “provide interoperability between all agencies” such as DGRE and the BIR over the last three years. Torchlight did not respond to a request for comment.

Ambazonia

The papers provide a rare insight into the Foreign Office’s view of the Ambazonia conflict. The region was once a British colony called the Southern Cameroons. During independence negotiations in 1961, local people voted to join the larger, French-speaking part of Cameroon.

A federal system that was meant to preserve some autonomy gradually broke down, and this marginalisation fuelled Ambazonian separatist sentiment.

The documents show British diplomats noting that “widespread human rights abuses continue to occur at the hands of both separatists and state security forces” in Ambazonia.

Whitehall believes: “There is no chance of — and little popular support for — independence… But the conflict will continue to simmer unless and until the Government addresses the reasonable demands of the moderate majority.”

These “moderate” demands are seen as greater autonomy, financial support, protection of civilians and respect for the use of English.

UK officials think President Biya had “a long period of denial” on the Anglophone crisis and that his defence minister, Joseph Beti Assomo, believes it can be “ended through military action alone”.

At Heappey’s meeting with Ngoh Ngoh, who is also Biya’s likely successor, he was told to point out: “There still appears to be too many allegations relating to the Anglophone crisis, notwithstanding the possibility of disinformation [fake news], all credible allegations must be investigated.”

An initial “dialogue plan” for the crisis was “developed in coordination with Sir Jeffrey Donaldson”, a right-wing MP in Northern Ireland.

Donaldson walked out on the Good Friday Agreement peace talks but has styled himself as an international conflict negotiation expert. He is now UK trade envoy to Cameroon.

Heappey was advised to tell Cameroon’s spy chief, Eko Eko, that “military operations must be intelligence-led and precise and that dialogue is essential to achieving a peaceful solution to the conflict”.

He was to “highlight our own examples/lessons from Northern Ireland where the UK did not always get it right”, such as internment — the mass detention of terrorist suspects without trial.

An MOD spokesperson told Declassified: “The UK is committed to working with regional allies in Central and West Africa to tackle violence in the Lake Chad Basin.

“Cameroon is an important partner in this effort and we are exploring what further support we can provide to tackle shared security challenges and further contain the spread of violent extremism in the region.”

The Cameroonian authorities did not respond to a request for comment.

Culled from Daily Maverick

The exiled leader of the Ambazonia Interim Government Dabney Yerima has outlined some important aspects of the Southern Cameroons resistance against La Republique du Cameroun in the five year old conflict.

The Vice President of the Ambazonia Interim Government noted recently that the Ambazonia revolution means striving to target the French Cameroun enemy anywhere in Ground Zero.

Comrade Dabney Yerima touched on various fields of the Southern Cameroons struggle and pointed out that many Southern Cameroonians in the diaspora have failed in providing the support and care to the people in Ground Zero who are now facing an enemy that is trying to put them against the Ambazonia revolutionary establishments.

Vice President Dabney Yerima stated that the hosting of the Africa Cup of Nations in Southern Cameroons territory is illegal and constitute a vast campaign of the French Cameroun enemy to upend the thoughts of the people of Southern Cameroons and destroy their faith and beliefs in the Anglo-Saxon tradition.

“In the face of this genocidal campaign going on in our homeland, some of those so-called Southern Cameroons front line leaders must ask themselves where they stand on the front of truth and falsehood and how they expand the main ideals and foundations of the Ambazonia revolution,” Dabney Yerima furthered.

Vice President Yerima also cited the happenings in Maryland USA saying that it is indeed shameful, disgusting and disgraceful.

“Front line leaders must be role models in all aspects in the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, especially in difficult times like this not jockeying for positions and cheap money,” Yerima said.

By Isong Asu in London

At least six people including Magistrate Ebaneck Desmond were killed and 40 injured in a crush ahead of last-16 game between Cameroon and Comoros; stadium has a capacity of 60,000 but was only supposed to be 80 per cent full due to Covid restrictions; 50,000 fans tried to attend the match, officials say.

 At least six people have died in a crush outside the stadium hosting the Africa Cup of Nations game between Cameroon and Comoros.

Naseri Paul Bea, governor of the central region of Cameroon, said there could be more casualties.

The crush happened as crowds struggled to get access to the stadium in the Cameroon capital of Yaounde to watch the host country play Comoros in a last-16 knockout game.

Videos on social media show fans storming the stadium gates, while pictures appear to show fans laying injured on the ground.

Officials at the nearby Messassi hospital said they had received at least 40 injured people from the crush.

“Some of the injured are in desperate condition,” said Olinga Prudence, a nurse. “We will have to evacuate them to a specialized hospital.”

Officials said around 50,000 people had tried to attend the match. The stadium has a capacity of 60,000 but it was not meant to be more than 80 per cent full for the game due to restrictions on the size of the crowd because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The stadium, which hosted the tournament’s opening ceremony, was built in preparation for the delayed competition, which kicked off earlier this month.

Cameroon won the game 2-1 to reach the quarter-finals.

Confederation of African Football Statement

“CAF is aware of the incident that took place at Olembe Stadium during the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations fixture between hosts Cameroon and Comoros tonight, 24 January 2022.

“CAF is currently investigating the situation and trying to get more details on what transpired. We are in constant communication with Cameroon government and the Local Organizing Committee.

“Tonight, the CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe sent the General Secretary, Veron Mosengo-Omba to visit the supporters in hospital in Yaoundé.”

Source: SkyNews

A fire erupted at a popular nightclub in the Cameroon capital of Yaounde, setting off explosions that killed at least 17 people and seriously injured seven others, government officials said Sunday.

The tragedy comes as the central African country hosts thousands of soccer players, fans and officials from across the continent for the month-long African Cup of Nations soccer tournament.

It was not immediately clear what had sparked the fire at Liv’s Nightclub Yaouba in the capital’s Bastos neighborhood. Workers there initially said it was caused by a short circuit. However, a government statement later Sunday suggested that fireworks had ignited the building’s roof, and then the fire spread to areas where cooking gas was stored.

“The tragedy, which was caused by the explosions from fireworks regularly used in these places, first consumed the ceiling of the building and then caused two strong explosions,” government spokesman Rene Emmanuel Sadi said.

The government spokesman said authorities were still trying to determine the names and nationalities of the dead and wounded. Eight people were taken to a Yaounde hospital, one of whom later died. The others remained in intensive care late Sunday.

In a statement, Cameroonian President Paul Biya called for calm and assured players and fans of their safety. His government later asked people to be remain vigilant “in order to avoid the occurrence of this kind of disaster, especially when our country is hosting a large-scale sporting event.”

The African Cup features teams from 24 countries and began on Jan. 9. It is the continent’s biggest soccer tournament and Cameroon is hosting for the first time in 50 years. It was originally scheduled for 2021 but then was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Cameroon team will play a round of 16 knockout game against Comoros in Yaounde on Monday.

Yaounde is the main host city and will stage another six games, including the final on Feb. 6.

Source: AP

Cameroon’s government said Sunday that 16 people were killed in a fire caused by fireworks in a nightclub in the capital Yaounde, the tragedy occurring as the nation hosts the Africa Cup of Nations football tournament.

“The initial report shows 16 dead and eight seriously injured” after the “accidental fire” broke out Saturday night, the communications ministry said in a statement.

The fire engulfed the main room of Liv’s Night Club in the capital’s upmarket Bastos district, home to embassies and diplomat residences.

“The tragedy, which was caused by explosions from the fireworks often used in these places, first consumed the building’s ceiling, resulting in two very loud explosions, causing panic and a stampede,” the ministry said.

“When we arrived it was a panic, there was a strong fire with lots of smoke,” an official with the firefighters told AFP on condition of anonymity.

“We counted 16 dead and five injured,” the official added.

A security guard present for the fire said that “it happened very quickly”.

“It was a little after 2:00 am and most customers arrive around 3:00 am… there are many victims,” the security guard said.

There were some burnt objects out the front of the club that suggested a fire, but the building’s facade was not destroyed or charred, an AFP journalist said.

Cameroon is hosting the AFCON tournament despite regular violence in the country’s west, where English-speaking militants declared independence from the majority French-speaking country in 2017.

Both the separatists and government forces have been accused of atrocities in the fighting, which has claimed more than 3,000 lives and forced over 700,000 to flee their homes.

Around 100 people gathered outside the morgue of the military hospital in Yaounde’s Ekounou neighbourhood, hoping to find out news of relatives.

“I don’t have any information. I woke up this morning and they told me that my 38-year-old son is dead,” said one woman, who gave her name as Fidele.

“I was waiting for my brother and his friends yesterday evening, but they didn’t arrive. And at around 7:00 am, I received a lot of phone calls asking whether my brother was dead or alive. So I came to the morgue and I identified his body,” said her daughter, Claude.

“I’ve lost my little brother,” said Stephane Hamza, 38.

In Douala, the economic capital in the south of the country, at least five discos have been partially or completely burned down in accidental fires over the past six years.

Source: AFP

Six people were killed in a fire that tore through a packed nightclub in Yaoundé police said on Sunday.

The tragedy occurred as many gathered late on Saturday January 22, 2022 in LIVS Night club in the Bastos district to watch the UFC 270 fight between Francis Ngannou and Cyril Gane.

Cameroon Concord News understands several others had to be evacuated from the night club moments after midnight after a fire broke out during celebration of Francis Ngannou’s victory.

Fire crews, police and paramedics were called to the scene as the Bastos Night Club was evacuated and a cordon was put in place.

Three men and two young ladies were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation, the Yaoundé fire service said, while seven persons were taken to hospital.

An investigation into the blaze, which is understood to have broken out just minutes after customers celebrated Francis Ngannou’s victory, is ongoing.

An official of the Bastos district council said: “There was a fire in this venue after midnight. There was a full evacuation with deaths and serious injuries. Yaoundé city council has promised a full investigation into the fire.

Police sources say the provisional death toll from the incident is currently at six.  Pictures circulating on social media show lifeless bodies even burned and some transported in cabs.

By Rita Akana in Yaoundé

When the decision to have the 2021 AFCON held in Cameroon was announced, there was total jubilation in the country.

For the ordinary Cameroonian, the football festival will enable the nation develop world-class infrastructure.

For the youths, the world-class infrastructure will help them make the most of their talent. In their minds, if football is well-developed, they will be able to ply their trade and be able to help their families.

But for those in power like the Higher Education Minister, Jacques Fame Ndongo, the 2021 AfCON will be an opportunity for him and his partners in crime to demonstrate their epicurean sensibility.

And they did display that  greed on the day the Indomitable Lions were clashing with Cape Verde.

While other Cameroonians were cheering up the Lions, Fame Ndongo and his band of CPDM embezzlers were bathing in the most expensive wines some of which were sold for CFAF 3 million per bottle.

As they consumed the expensive wines at the expense of the impoverished taxpayers, they were boasting and demonstrating their capacity to waste government money.

But a few days after this stupidity was captured on video, Fame Ndongo and his collaborators are already losing sleep.

President Biya, who was also shocked by such madness, has ordered an investigation and the details will soon be available.

Those found guilty will be bundled to jail like those who caused the AfCON infrastructure to be very expensive.

Stay tuned!