Looking for a new beginning, a trio from Cameroon jumped from the Venetian walls into what they thought was Nicosia. They remain stuck in the buffer zone six weeks later

 Three young Cameroonian asylum seekers stranded in the buffer zone near the Ledra Palace since the end of May say they have been repeatedly denied access to the asylum services of the Republic.

Grace, Daniel and Emil jumped down from the Venetian Walls in the Arab Ahmet district of north Nicosia’s old town into the buffer zone at around midnight on May 24.

New to Nicosia and not fully aware of the Green Line’s configuration, the Cameroonians thought their leap would land them directly in the southern part of the divided capital. Instead they found themselves in the middle of no-man’s land when, minutes later, they were approached by an Unficyp patrol.

“The Cameroonians were first approached by the Unficyp patrol at midnight, on May 24,” said Public Information Officer of the UNHCR’s Cyprus office Emilia Strovolidou, which has been trying to negotiate the marooned trio’s future with the authorities here ever since.

“Unficyp approached the police [on their behalf] but they were refused access to the asylum procedures. Since then they remain stranded in the buffer zone, without access to the reception conditions, including food and water. We have been providing immediate assistance to them but they are in a precarious situation. They live in one tent and there is not enough space there so some of them have to sleep outside; the weather and sanitary conditions are dire.”

All three are from Anglophone Cameroon, which has been in the grips of fighting since 2017 as rebels try to break away from the predominantly Francophone government. More than 3,500 people have died and 700,000 have been displaced in the violence.

Thirty-three-year-old Emil deserted the army late last year. He told the Sunday Mail that as an Anglophone he could no longer accept the military’s actions against his fellow citizens.

Grace, aged 23, came to the north in February. She left Cameroon after her foster parents died in an accident and the uncle with whom she then went to live started abusing her sexually.

Daniel, aged 20, was approached by the Amba Fighters. He refused to join the militia group.

“My life was in danger. My parents arranged for me to come to study here. I came in March but I quickly realised there was no work. I had to start looking for a better solution.”

Strovolidou points out that it is a universal human right to seek asylum.

“These three persons presented themselves and asked for asylum, thus access to the asylum process and reception conditions provided by law must be ensured,” she said.

When she visited the island in April, the UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Protection Gillian Triggs was assured that asylum seekers “will be allowed access to the national asylum procedures.” UNHCR had previously received reports of pushbacks at sea and incidents of asylum-seekers stranded in the buffer zone.

Asked by the Sunday Mail why the Cameroonians had not been granted their rightful access to asylum procedures, the interior ministry insisted that Cyprus adheres to its duty of care for asyslum seekers but noted that when over 70 per cent of the migrant influx involves arrivals from Turkey by boat or crossings from areas where the RoC cannot exercise effective control, force majeure prevails. Cyprus, it maintained, cannot host any additional persons due to the severe burden put upon in the reception system.

The alternative, the ministry suggests, is that the European Union should create a re-allocation programme similar to that functioning in Greece.

The ministry has informed the EU Commission officially that “we stand ready to provide for the transfer of any persons to other member states.” The authorities now await a response from the Commission as to whether it is possible to relocate the Cameroonians accordingly.

European Commission sources confirm the receipt of the ministry’s letters but say that no mention was made of the specific case of the Cameroonians .

In the meantime the trio say they are determined to stay in the buffer zone until they are allowed to apply for asylum.

“It wasn’t our plan to get stuck here but what else can we do? By jumping this wall, we broke the law in the north. If we go back there we could go to prison and get deported. What we need is a new beginning. And freedom.”

Source: Cyprus-mail.com

Several hundred French Cameroonians were present at a demonstration in Paris initiated by supporters of Prof. Maurice Kamto.

The president of the MRC political party attempted to disassociate himself from the event but the organizers went ahead and staged the anti Biya protest yesterday July 3, 2021 at the Place de la République in Paris.

Many of the demonstrators wore blue T-shirts with the message: “L’alternance c’est Kamto”. Other polo shirts read “Cameroon we can”.

No incident was reported during the demonstration that was heavily attended by some well-known faces in La Republique du Cameroun notably the rapper Valsero and former CRTV journalist Cyrille Kemmegne.

Cameroon Concord News understands that the French Cameroun diaspora demonstration in France was initiated to denounce bad governance and the alleged embezzlement of COVID-19 and Africa Cup of Nations funds.

By Chi Prudence Asong

A Nigerian business woman was struck and killed by a stray bullet as she drove on the Kumba-Mamfe Road on Friday, 02 July 2021.

Onyinyechi Ugwu  Emmanuella was shot as her vehicle drove through the intersection at Manyemen village along the Kumba-Mamfe Road  referred to as National Road No. 8.

Bullets struck the passenger vehicle that was transporting her and her two sons to Nigeria and at least one hit her in the side.

Another vehicle also was struck by gunfire as Ambazonia Restoration Forces and the Cameroon government military battle for control of the Kumba-Mamfe Road.  

The incident is emblematic of an upward trend in Southern Cameroons this year.

The pain in Southern Cameroons-Ambazonia is excruciating. Some 47,000 people – both soldiers and civilians – have lost their lives in a war that could have been avoided if the Biya government had carefully listened to the voices of wisdom and to the English-speaking minority to gain a better understanding of the issues.

On the contrary, the government clogged its ears with arrogance, only listening to a bunch of desperate political sycophants whose mastery of the art and science of flattery and lies-telling is second to none.

The political sycophants are milking the country dry. They want to perpetuate their stay in the corridors of power. They understand that only lies-telling can keep them where they are. They love the perks that come with power and they will stop at nothing when it comes to manufacturing a beautiful lie for the Head of State, who himself, is completely and unfortunately out of touch with his country’s political and economic realities.

The fighting is already in its fourth year. The hunting rifles have been replaced with more sophisticated killing machines. The once formidable BIR has been demystified and many of its members are biting the dust in the jungles of Southern Cameroons. 

By Rita Akana with additional reporting from Camcordnews political desk

The commander of the Buffalos of Nyonga providing security in the Bali District has warned that any provocative action along the Mamfe-Bamenda Main Road by Cameroon government troops would be testing the Federal Republic of Ambazonia’s red-lines and a risky experiment.

The Amba commander made the comment in a video released recently by the Buffalos of Nyonga detailing an attack against the Cameroon government army inside Bali saying the destruction of several Cameroon government military vehicles in Southern Cameroons is an indication that the Southern Cameroons Interim Government has red lines.

Ambazonia Restoration Forces beheaded Cameroon government troops who reportedly killed an influential Muslim cleric.

Cameroon government military officials admitted for the first time in public that June was the bloodiest month of the year, with more than 40 soldiers killed.

Cameroon government army spokesman Captain Cyrille Serge Atonfack Guemo confirmed that three troops were killed and beheaded in Bamali and many army vehicles were destroyed. Captain Atonfack did not give details on how many troops were killed inside the military vehicles.

Ambazonia is the indigenous name of the former United Nations trust territory of the Southern Cameroons under United Kingdom Administration for close to half a century, excluding the period of British connection with the territory from 1843 to 1887. When Republique du Cameroun took control of the territory, it split it into two parts and designated them as “northwest and southwest provinces/regions of Republique du Cameroun.” This was rejected and continues to be rejected by the people of the former British Southern Cameroons. The people of the territory insist on the indigenous name of their Homeland which is Ambazonia. This is consistent with a 1978 recommendation of UNESCO that African countries should call their countries by the name they wish to be known. Here, the designations ‘Ambazonia’ and ‘the Southern Cameroons’ are used interchangeably.

By Fon Lawrence in Bamenda

The Vice President of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government says the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Gutterres has taken no practical step to promote peace and end the four-year-old war in Southern Cameroons. Dabney Yerima also stressed that what UN officials say is only meant for media consumption.

The exiled Ambazonian leader told a Southern Cameroons think tank in the Nordrhein Westphalia region in Germany that remarks by UN officials regarding peace in Southern Cameroons-Ambazonia are only for propaganda purposes. Comrade Dabney Yerima furthered that the Ambazonia Interim Government have not witnessed any practical action supporting UN remarks.

Yerima also said that he was hopeful the Biden administration will push the UN to prove its seriousness about peace by stopping the French Cameroun raids and swiftly implement the visa restrictions on the Biya French Cameroun political elites.

The senior Southern Cameroons official revealed that the so-called Swiss proposed peace initiative ranges from plain fiction to the most absurd.

Vice President Dabney Yerima’s remarks come as all efforts by friends of Cameroon including the US, Canada, Germany and collective action at the international level for establishing peace and ending the Biya French Cameroun imposed war on Southern Cameroons have failed.

The leader of the Ambazonian nation, President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe had earlier opined that the French Cameroun aggressor have to end all their attacks against British Southern Cameroons, take out all their troops and French speaking civil administrators and compensate Southern Cameroons victims before entering any peace process.

La Republique du Cameroun war, which Yaoundé had claimed would last only a few weeks but is still ongoing, has failed to achieve its goals.

The War in Southern Cameroons has already claimed at least 40 000 lives, almost all of them civilian children, men and women, murdered by Cameroun troops in a series of targeted killings, organized massacres, and killings by fire in over 400 villages burnt down to ashes across Ambazonia. Over half a million people have been forcibly displaced as refugees living in various countries and especially in refugee camps in Nigeria. Over another half a million people have become IDPs hiding in forests, caves and hills due to forced displacement. Additionally, over 1.5 million people are facing a humanitarian disaster.

Republique du Cameroun uses not only arson and the destruction of food, livestock, and crops in the fields as weapons of war. It also uses rape. Rape of Ambazonian women and girls by Cameroun troops is systematic and widespread. This agonizing situation is compounded by the fact that a high percentage of Cameroun troops are HIV positive and also has other STDs. When they rape they infect the women and girls. This appears to be part of the genocide agenda of French Cameroun. Reports are now emerging of scores of school girls raped, impregnated and infected by Republique du Cameroun’s troops. This poses a nightmare not only of the HIV and STD infections but also of rampant teenage pregnancies. Cameroun troops have burnt down health facilities and killed health workers in rural and semi-urban areas. Accessing health facilities or health practitioners is a huge challenge for rural and semi-urban folks.

By Chi Prudence Asong

The Ambazonia Restoration Force says Cameroun government military attacks throughout the entire Southern Cameroons territory is now seen by the people of Southern Cameroons as a showy action and will not undermine the determination of Amba Self Defense Groups to fight against the French Cameroun occupation.

A spokesman for the Restoration Forces in Bui made the remarks in an audio statement on Thursday after the Bui Warriors slaughtered 40 of the 300 Cameroon government army soldiers deployed to Kumbo last week.

“Heavy deployments will not affect the insistence of our people and their valiant resistance to continue the struggle by all means to fight for their rights and end their suffering,” the Ground Zero Ambazonia commander said in the message.

“The recent French Cameroun military actions in Bui are nothing but a showy reaction to appease its corrupt leadership in Yaoundé and cover up escalating succession crises in French Cameroun,” he added.

The Restoration Force spokesman also stressed that Ambazonia Self Defense groups would confront French Cameroun hostile policies and would force the Yaoundé regime to respect Southern Cameroons rights.

The War in Ambazonia has already claimed at least 40 000 lives, almost all of them civilian children, men and women, murdered by Cameroun troops in a series of targeted killings, organized massacres, and killings by fire in over 400 villages burnt down to ashes across Ambazonia. Over half a million people have been forcibly displaced as refugees living in various countries and especially in refugee camps in Nigeria. Over another half a million people have become IDPs hiding in forests, caves and hills due to forced displacement. Additionally, over 1.5 million people are facing a humanitarian disaster.

Republique du Cameroun uses not only arson and the destruction of food, livestock, and crops in the fields as weapons of war. It also uses rape. Rape of Ambazonian women and girls by Cameroun troops is systematic and widespread. This agonizing situation is compounded by the fact that a high percentage of Cameroun troops are HIV positive and also has other STDs. When they rape they infect the women and girls. This appears to be part of the genocide agenda of Cameroun. Reports are now emerging of scores of school girls raped, impregnated and infected by Republique du Cameroun’s troops. This poses a nightmare not only of the HIV and STD infections but also of rampant teenage pregnancies. Cameroun troops have burnt down health facilities and killed health workers in rural and semi-urban areas. Accessing health facilities or health practitioners is a huge challenge for rural and semi-urban folks.

By Rita Akana in Bamenda

Gunmen stormed the home of a government school teacher in Kumba, opened fire, and killed him point-blank in front of his children.

The attack occurred on Thursday night in Kumba, a town in Cameroon’s restive South-West region, where separatist insurgents operate.

The victim, 52-year-old Fuh Max Dang alias grandpa was a physics teacher at Government Bilingual High School (GBHS) Kumba. He was also an examiner of physics for the Cameroon General Certificate of Education (GCE) Examination.

Kumba-based journalist, Divine Nyambot reports that the deceased physics teacher returned home shortly before armed men storm his residence and killed him.

“He had just returned home and was in his bedroom before the gunmen arrived. They knocked on his door and his children said ‘Daddy somebody is looking for you.’ That is how he stepped out of his bedroom before meeting with the unfortunate situation. His corpse has been deposited at the Kumba District Hospital mortuary, ”said Nyambot.

William Ndiba Itoe, publisher of Cameroon Echoes writes that: “Mr. Fuh was a very nice guy. I knew him for a long time. He was a GCE physics examiner and teacher of GBHS Kumba. He was a nice, and quiet gentleman. ”

He adds that: “They just got into his house at Station in Kumba yesterday night and knocked on the door. His kids opened the door and they told the kids to go and call for their father in the bedroom. When he came out they shot him without saying a word. ”

Although competent state services have opened investigations to shed light on the incident, public opinion in Kumba suggests that Fuh Max was killed simply because he is a teacher and is taking part in GCE exams.

No group has claimed responsibility for the murder of the teacher though popular opinions have accused separatist fighters of targeting schools, teachers, and schoolchildren.

Source: CIN

French authorities have rejected Cameroonian opposition leader Maurice Kamto’s visa application to attend a literary event near Paris.

Source: Africa Intelligence

The Southern Cameroons Secretary of the Economy, Hon. Tabenyang Brado has insisted that the Abuja abduction and subsequent arrest of President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and his top aides was totally wrong and that the Biya Francophone regime is now facing its last journey of many dangers in Southern Cameroons-Ambazonia.

Hon. Tabenyang told Cameroon Concord News US Bureau Chief that ever since the arrest of President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, political and economic relations with La Republique du Cameroun are no longer possible.

“It was not only wrong but it was also very dangerous for the security interests of the two Cameroons,” Hon. Tabenyang added.

The Southern Cameroons front line leader also thanked Vice President Dabney Yerima for stabilizing and uniting the Ambazonia Restoration Forces with the Big Rubbergun Project saying, “We need unity and great leaders like Yerima to get to Buea.”

The power dynamics are no longer in favor of Cameroon government forces. In Southern Cameroons, the massive jungles and wide savannas is providing coverage for the determined fighters and they are making the most of this natural advantage. Those who doubted the determination and courage of these fighters had to think twice before expressing their views, especially as the number of body bags heading to French Cameroun is increasing by the day.

Our chief political man, Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai opined that “The tell-tale signs of a political and military miscalculation had begun appearing on the government’s dashboard.

The fighting that started with hunting rifles has now seen AK-47s thrown in the mix and their presence has been a long nightmare to the Cameroon government military. These dangerous Russian-made war machines have cut short the lives of many soldiers, sending their families into long periods of mourning. Many are already questioning the rationale behind the fighting.

But the fighters are not yet done. They still have unfinished business. The Federal Republic of Ambazonia is not yet independent.

By Isong Asu with files from Camcordnews US Bureau