The leader of one of Cameroon’s main opposition parties was released by his captors on Saturday after being abducted by unidentified gunmen in the country’s restive Anglophone region a day earlier, his party said.

Separatist rebels have been battling government forces for nearly two years over perceived marginalization of English speakers by the central African country’s Francophone-dominated government.

John Fru Ndi, who heads the Social Democratic Front (SDF) and finished runner-up to President Paul Biya in the 2011 election, was taken from his home in the city of Bamenda on Friday, the second time in two months he had been kidnapped.

Jean Robert Wafo, an SDF official, said in a statement that Fru Ndi had been released on Saturday evening. He provided no details about who had taken him or where he had been held.

The SDF blamed his previous abduction in April, which lasted a few hours, on Anglophone secessionist rebels. The SDF has criticized Biya, who has served as president since 1982, for his handling of the crisis, but has not endorsed separatist demands for an independent English-speaking state.

The United Nations estimates the conflict has killed about 1,800 people and displaced over 500,000 since 2017.

Reuters

Unidentified gunmen in Cameroon’s Anglophone region kidnapped the leader of one of the country’s leading opposition parties on Friday for the second time in two months, his party said.

Separatist rebels are battling government forces in English-speaking areas of the bilingual central African country, where the Francophone majority has long dominated.

John Fru Ndi, who heads the Social Democratic Front (SDF) and finished runner-up to President Paul Biya in the 2011 election, was seized from his home in the city of Bamenda by gunmen who wounded his bodyguard, an SDF statement said.

Fru Ndi’s current whereabouts were unknown, it said. Fru Ndi, 77, was also abducted in April in the town of Kumbo during a funeral procession and held for a few hours before being released. The SDF said Anglophone secessionist militants took him and tried to convince him to support their cause, though no one claimed responsibility.

The SDF has called for Biya, who has served as president since 1982, to step down in favor of a transitional government than can resolve the conflict.

But the party has not endorsed secession, angering separatists who turned to violence in late 2017 after the government suppressed peaceful protests against the Francophone majority’s alleged marginalization of Anglophones.

The United Nations estimates the conflict has killed about 1,800 people and displaced over 500,000 in less than two years.

Switzerland said on Thursday it had agreed to mediate talks between the two sides, although some of the separatists said they would not speak to the government until it ceased hostilities.

Cameroon’s linguistic divide harks back to the end of World War One, when the League of Nations divided the former German colony of Kamerun between allied French and British victors.

By Haggai Fung Achuo

Switzerland said Friday it had summoned Cameroon’s ambassador over an “unacceptable” attack on a journalist in Geneva by men believed to be part of Cameroonian President Paul Biya’s security detail.

“Diplomatic procedures have been launched… Cameroon’s ambassador was summoned in Bern and the foreign ministry informed him that such incidents are unacceptable,” foreign ministry spokesman Georg Farago told AFP in an email. “Freedom of the press is protected and must be respected,” he added.

The ambassador was summoned on Thursday, a day after a journalist with the RTS broadcaster, Adrien Krause, was reportedly assaulted by a group of men outside Geneva’s luxury Intercontinental hotel on Wednesday.

He had been filming a clash between around a dozen demonstrators against Cameroon’s 86-year-old president Paul Biya, who has reportedly been staying at the hotel since Sunday, and men believed to be the president’s security detail, RTS reported.

The likely Cameroonian security agents suddenly attacked Krause, immobilising him and grabbing the bag containing most of his professional equipment, and also took his phone and wallet, it said.

After Geneva’s diplomatic police got involved and Krause filed a complaint over the assault, his property was returned to him.

Neither the Swiss foreign ministry nor Geneva police would confirm the identity of the attackers.

Farago meanwhile rejected reports that Biya’s security staff might enjoy diplomatic immunity.

“The people accompanying the president do not have any particular status and must respect Swiss law,” he said.

“Switzerland recalls that it is very attached to freedom of expression and of the press, and to the respect of the rules in public spaces,” he added.

Wednesday event came a day after some 40 protestors entered the Intercontinental and reportedly scuffled with Biya’s security staff in the lobby.

A large demonstration against Biya, who has ruled Cameroon since 1982, is also scheduled to take place in Geneva on Saturday.

The country’s embassy in Bern warned earlier this week that Cameroonian nationals living in various European countries were planning a “violent … protest against the presence of the Head of State, His Excellence Paul Biya, in Switzerland.”

“The embassy calls on the Cameroonian community in Switzerland and in neighbouring countries to turn their back on such demonstrations, which for some time have been an expression of hatred, violence and tribalism, which are all contrary to patriotism and love of Cameroon,” it said in a statement.

Source: AFP

Fellow Ambazonians,

I bring you revolutionary greetings.

Following the unfortunate abduction of the Arch Bishop of Bamenda, The Most Reverend Cornelius Fontem Esua, on Tuesday the 25th of June 2019 whilst on a journey from Esu to Bamenda, The Interim Government launched an immediate investigation into the incident. Our immediate findings revealed that a group of unidentified men acting in the area without any authority or connection to our self- defence forces were involved. Upon ascertaining these facts, our self-defence teams were immediately instructed to do everything in their power to get him released.

I’m pleased to announce that this very unfortunate incident has come to an end. The Most Reverend Cornelius Fontem Esua is now safe at home in Bamenda.

I want to bring to your attention a recent statement by the Chairman of the SDF, Ni John Fru Ndi. He pointed to the existence and activity of rogue elements sponsored by La Republique du Cameroun in Ambazonia. The fundamental purpose of this infiltration and illegal activity by our enemy is to illegitimise our struggle in the eyes of the world by carrying out illegal and unlawful activities.

We condemn these illegal and unlawful activities in our country strongly.

We reiterate that it’s our duty to defend ourselves against the brutality of La Republique du Cameroun but your Interim Government condemns all acts of abduction and kidnappings in Ambazonia. All groups and self-defence forces defending life and property in the territory of Ambazonia must guard against any actions that our enemy will exploit to paint us to the outside world in a negative light.

I want to thank our brave self-defence forces for their continuous sacrifices in difficult circumstances. With their determination and God’s Blessings, we shall overcome.

God Bless the Federal Republic of Ambazonia
Short Live The Revolution
Long Live the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

Sincerely,

Milton Taka
Secretary of State
Department of Communication & Information Technology
Interim Government Spokesperson

A Consortium of Swiss lawyers have said in a statement that President Paul Biya’s body guards who travelled with the French Cameroun dictator to Switzerland recently do not benefit any diplomatic immunity, hence will face charges for assaulting a journalist.

The lawyers observed that “A president and his entourage can only enjoy diplomatic immunity when on official state visit”. Biya’s guards reportedly used excessive force during an incident at the Inter Continental Hotel in Geneva.

We understand France’s closest allies such as Switzerland are walking away from the regime in Yaounde as it is believed that Paris is supporting the Yaoundé government in its resolve to kill the people of Southern Cameroons. Many EU countries are insisting on Yaoundé calling for an inclusive dialogue that will help normalize things in Cameroon.

But Yaoundé has been indifferent to those calls. Many EU countries have already allied with the United States and Canada on how the Southern Cameroons crisis could be addressed. America’s determination and its ability to mobilize other countries, including some of Cameroons neighbors like Equatorial Guinea, have rattled the regime and its supporters.

Over the last two days, regime supporters, including the Speaker of the House and the Senate President have been shouting from rooftops that there is a global conspiracy to destabilize Cameroon. They blame this on Southern Cameroonians and government forces seem to have been irritated by the enormous pressure coming from Brussels and Washington D.C.

The last few days have witnessed massive killings in many villages in Southern Cameroons. In Ossing and Ndekwai in the Southwest region, government troops slaughtered more than ten innocent civilians in a situation many observers say was unnecessary. In Esu and Jakiri in the Northwest region, army soldiers beheaded unarmed civilians. The killings have intensified over the last couple of days as the regime suspects that international pressure may increase in the days ahead.

Army soldiers have also been burning homes and destroying food crops, believing that such tactics will cause the population to yield and betray the fighters. This strategy has been in effect for more than two years, but the Southern Cameroons population is very determined. Most southern Cameroonians are for independence and will not settle for anything less.

The Yaoundé government is really frustrated. Its international allies are walking away and this is creating brand new problems even in the North where Boko Haram remains a lethal threat. The withdrawal of American military support in the North has exposed Cameroon’s army soldiers to more attacks from Boko Haram.

A Cameroon Concord News Production

Humanitarian aid workers in Cameroon say they are scared after several consignments of aid meant for people in the country’s troubled English-speaking regions were attacked and burned by suspected separatists.   

The rebels are suspicious of the aid convoys’ military escorts and say they will never accept any assistance brought in by the military. The government of Cameroon insists the military is only escorting the convoys to protect aid workers. 

However, clashes between the mostly French-speaking government forces and armed separatists have occurred regularly since 2017, when a secessionist movement turned violent. The government cracked down on protests by English-speaking educators and attorneys in the northwest and southwest, where residents have complained about receiving second-class treatment from Cameroon’s French-speaking majority. 

1,800 deaths 

The United Nations says at least 1,800 people have been killed and more than half a million displaced in the two years since fighting began. 

In a social media video, one of at least seven such videos that have circulated online in the past week, fighters armed with guns and machetes can be seen setting fire to shipments of food, bedding and medicine. Cameroonian rebels claimed responsibility for the attacks. 

In one video, the attackers say they will never allow what they call “poisoned” humanitarian aid from Cameroon’s President Paul Biya. 

Christian Eselekwe Tanyi, who is with the Martin Luther Jr. King Memorial Foundation-Cameroon, one of the aid groups whose shipments were destroyed, said, “More and more, we see humanitarian actors being attacked or being threatened, or misrepresented as either working against the state or working with the state. They work to relieve the suffering of the population. They do not side with any party to the conflict. They respect at all times the principles of neutrality and impartiality.” 

Nfor Peter Shey of Cameroon Rights Watch said the attacks on aid workers increased after April 14, when the government sent 55 truckloads of assistance with a military escort and troops to distribute it. 

“When you look at the atrocities that are being meted out to the population in these areas, the military is the prime suspect,” Shey said. “The burning of the houses, they say, is the handiwork of the military.  Many people in these areas believe the government is not doing enough to call for dialogue, which people think can be a headway to solving this problem.” 

Paul Atanga Nji, Cameroon’s territorial administration minister, said the military would continue to protect aid convoys and the population. 

“The president of the republic instructed us to intensify the distribution of humanitarian aid, to put in place mechanisms so that the locally affected populations can put in place strategies to be self-reliant,” Nji said. 

But it’s not only Cameroon’s military that is being attacked. Last week, the government said rebels killed four policemen and wounded six others who were transporting aid to the southwestern town of Eyumojock. 

Huge losses 

Aid workers could not confirm the number of recent attacks or quantity of items destroyed but said the losses were huge and would only bring more suffering to the English-speaking population.  

Teacher Valentine Muluh in Yaounde said his 76-year old father in the northwest town of Kom relies on medical aid to treat his diabetes.  The recent attacks on aid convoys have prevented his father from getting treatment, he said. 

“We are actually very worried because his diabetes is at an acute stage,” Muluh said. “We have not been able to get his treatment for two weeks, and the nurses say his situation is getting very preoccupying.” 

Cameroon authorities have accused international aid groups of exaggerating the conflict in the English-speaking regions. The government said there were 152,000 internally displaced persons in the regions and that two-thirds were receiving aid. 

Source: VOA

Some 40 protestors entered a five-star Geneva hotel this week where Cameroon’s president was staying and scuffled with his security staff in the lobby, according to police and Swiss media reports.

Geneva police were called to the luxury Intercontinental Hotel shortly after noon (10:00 GMT) on Tuesday, after around 40 protesters had “penetrated into the lobby”, spokesman Jean-Philippe Brandt said.
“They were demonstrating against the current government in Cameroon,” he said, adding that it had taken about 30 minutes to “re-establish the peace”.
According to the Tribune de Geneve daily, the demonstrators were Cameroonian opposition figures living in exile who had come to protest the country’s long-time president Paul Biya who was a guest at the hotel.

It said the 86-year-old, who has ruled Cameroon since 1982, had been staying at the hotel since Sunday.
The paper reported that there had been a “fight” between the demonstrators and the president’s security personnel, but Brandt said he could not confirm that information.
When contacted, the hotel refused to confirm Biya’s presence in the establishment or that the unauthorised demonstration that had taken place there.

Biya’s office did tweet on Sunday that the president and his wife had left the country “for a short private stay in Europe.”
The Cameroonian embassy in Bern meanwhile voiced concern in a statement over what it said was a planned “violent” demonstration in Geneva next Saturday by Cameroonian nationals living in various European countries “to protest against the presence of the Head of State, His Excellence Paul Biya, in Switzerland.”

“The embassy calls on the Cameroonian community in Switzerland and in neighbouring countries to turn their back on such demonstrations, which for some time have been an expression of hatred, violence and tribalism, which are all contrary to patriotism and love of Cameroon.”

Source: AFP

Separatist groups active in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon have been accused of torture and abuses against civilians.

These allegations were made by Human Rights Watch NGO on Monday criticizing the acts in a statement.

The organization claims to have watched a video, filmed in mid-May, showing “armed separatists torturing a man in an abandoned school in the north-western region of Cameroon”.

According to the NGO, dozens of other people have been tortured.

Since the beginning of the crisis in 2016, most schools have been closed due to the blockade imposed by the separatists.

Today, these regions are the scene of armed conflict that has continued to grow and in which civilians are caught in between.

Elements of the armed forces are also regularly accused of committing acts of violence against civilians.

This crisis has already pushed more than 530,000 people out of their homes, according to UN figures. In twenty months, the conflict has killed 1,850 people, according to the International Crisis Group, a centre for geopolitical analysis.

Source: Africa News

Cameroon’s defence ministry said Monday it would prosecute seven soldiers suspected of summarily killing two women and their two children, a video of which was distributed on the internet to widespread outrage.

“Seven soldiers arrested on suspicion of extrajudicial executions in the Far North region will be brought before a military court in Yaounde… where they will be tried in line with the law,” communications official Cyrille Serge Atonfack Guemo told AFP.

The charges are for joint participation in murder, breach of regulations and conspiracy to commit these crimes, he said.

The date of the trial has yet to be set.

“Cameroon does not compromise over behaviour that is incompatible with law relating to war, human law and the protection of people and their belongings,” he said

The killings occurred last July in a region plagued by cross-border raids by Boko Haram fighters from neighbouring Nigeria.

The assailants in the video accuse the four of being members of the jihadist group.

The Cameroonian government initially branded the video “fake news” and a “horrible montage” but said it would investigate. It made seven arrests the following month.

Amnesty International for its part said it had “credible evidence” that the men in the video were Cameroonian soldiers.

The United States and Britain were among those which called for a probe and to hold those responsible to account.

Cameroon’s armed forces have also been accused of abuses in two western regions where anglophone separatists have launched an armed campaign against the predominantly French-speaking state.

Acts of violence there have been committed by both sides, say monitors.

According to the International Crisis Group think tank, 1,850 people have been killed, while more than 530,000 people have been forced from their homes, according to UN figures.

Source: AFP

President Paul Biya left Cameroon on Sunday for “a brief stay” in Europe amidst growing global indignation over human rights abuses in the country.

The crisis in the English speaking western part of the country is causing outrage from the United Nations to the sports fields and movie theatres as social influencers also demand intervention.

“This is genocide and we are acting like it does not matter. African leaders keep acting like the presidency is the birthright or inheritance,” Nollywood Stella Damasus tweeted on June 18, in an attempt to raise awareness on the civil war in Cameroon that appears to be passing under the international radar.

Under the hashtag #helpcameroon Ms Damasus pleaded with “everyone who has social media and can type a message” to spread the word.

“People are dying, babies are being killed please. We can put a post on our pages and condemn this,” she wrote, asking people with connections with the UN or any agency to “reach out to them and speak out.”

The actress’ was not a lone voice.

Source: The East African