The Feb. 6 front-page article “Cameroon’s lethal linguistic fault line” effectively documented the brutality of the attacks by President Paul Biya’s government on the Cameroonian English-speaking community and reported the arrest of human rights lawyer Felix Agbor Nkongho. However, the article failed to mention the arrest in Douala on Jan. 28 by the Biya government of former presidential candidate Maurice Kamto, head of the Movement for the Renaissance of Cameroon, and several of his supporters.

A respected professor of international law, former dean of the faculty of Juridical and Political Sciences at University of Yaoundé II, and former chairman and special rapporteur of the U.N. International Law Commission, Mr. Kamto is charged with offenses that include treason, inciting violence and disruption of public peace, and that could result in the death penalty. He and his other jailed supporters are reported to have begun a hunger strike.

Mr. Kamto’s arrest has led to calls for his immediate release and concern for his well-being by the U.N. secretary general, the International Law Commission, Amnesty International, the Institut de Droit International, the Curatorium of The Hague Academy of International Law, on which Mr. Kamto serves, and many other international human rights groups. The United States, through its ambassador in Yaoundé, should make clear that it strongly supports Mr. Kamto’s immediate release and that his continued detention will lead promptly to a comprehensive reevaluation of U.S. military and other assistance to the Cameroonian government.

Washington Post

French Cameroun troops stormed bases and strongholds of the Red Dragons across Lebialem County. But the Francophone soldiers who have killed many innocent Southern Cameroonian civilians with the rogue Paul Biya regime providing them sanctuary were running for their lives. French Cameroun President Biya ‘s expression of La Republique’s desire to neutralize the Field Marshal seemed not to come true.

The battle for the Lebialem County had been conceived as a swift campaign with a single objective: defeat the Red Dragons and destroy the Grand Manyu Resistance by capturing the Field Marshal and other key leaders. A unique combination of BIR power, France and French Cameroun intelligence and special operations forces teams and indigenous CPDM allies failed to sweep the Red Dragons from control of the Lebialem County.

While keeping the Cameroon army’s deaths to a minimum, Yaounde is aware that the mission failed to capture or kill the Field Marshal.  The failure to capture the Field Marshal represents a lost opportunity for the Biya regime that will forever alter the course of the Southern Cameroons conflict and quest for independence.

The Invasion of Lebialem County was reportedly led by General Buba of the French Cameroun army. Ambazonia Restoration Forces mounted the resistance when the invading French Cameroun army soldiers left Chief Forminka to Esoh Atah. Our correspondent in Menji revealed that a French Cameroun regiment from Arulakeng that braved the bad roads to Esoh were ambushed by the Dragons. Another French Cameroun army deployment from Azi to Nkah also came under attack.

The bodies of several Francophone soldiers killed during the Lebialem onslaught have been moved to a mortuary in Dschang. We gathered that the Biya regime is planning a more sophisticated raid with helicopters soonest.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with files from CIR Lewoh Desk

Cameroon army said on Thursday ten armed separatists were killed and six soldiers wounded in a clash in Ndawara, a locality in Northwest, one of the country’s two strife-torn English-speaking regions.

“Secessionist terrorists ambushed a military truck in Ndawara. They stood on a hill and started rolling down stones to hit the vehicle. Six soldiers were wounded, among whom three were seriously injured.” The army said in a statement.

The army regularly refers to armed separatists as “secessionist terrorists”.

On Tuesday, armed separatists began what they called a “10-day lockdown” banning all sorts of activities in the two war-torn Anglophone regions of Northwest and Southwest from Tuesday to Feb. 14 as a move to disrupt National Youth Day activities expected to be celebrated on Feb. 11.

An armed insurgency started in the regions in November 2017, after separatists declared the “independence” of a “nation” they called “Ambazonia”, complaining of systematic marginalization of minority anglophones in the largely French-speaking country.

Fighting is escalating in the two regions despite repeated appeals by President Paul Biya for separatists to give up their weapons and follow the right track.

Xinhua

Four people have been killed in fresh violence in southwestern Cameroon, where anglophones have launched an armed campaign for a separate state, sources said Thursday. Two students were killed by separatists on Monday in Buea, the capital of Southwest Region,” in an act of reprisal” for opposing the forced closure of schools, said a source close to the authorities.

The same day, a soldier was killed in the nearby town of Limbe, a local official said. On Wednesday, the body of a decapitated man was found in Buea, where shooting was also heard. His severed head bore a military beret, witnesses said.

An army officer in Yaounde confirmed the account but gave no further details. Since October 2017, Cameroon’s Southwest and neighbouring Northwest Region have been in the grip of an insurgency by anglophones demanding independence from the majority French-speaking country.

The two regions were previously ruled by Britain as the Southern Cameroons. They were folded into Cameroon in October 1961, 22 months after France granted the country independence. The separatists on Tuesday launched a 10-day “ghost town” campaign, aimed at closing down Buea.

The goal is to disrupt national youth day on February 11 — the anniversary of the 1961 referendum that led to the regions’ incorporation into Cameroon. The unrest in the two regions follows years of stalemate over demands to tackle perceived discrimination against English-speakers.

In 2017, the anglophone movement became radicalised, leading to the declaration of the self-described Republic of Ambazonia, which has never been recognised internationally. Ransom kidnappings and extortion have proliferated, along with attacks on troops and police, plus arson assaults on public buildings and schools.

The government has responded with a crackdown, deploying thousands of soldiers. More than 200 members of the security forces and at least 500 civilians have been killed since, according to the International Crisis Group think-tank. According to UN estimates, more than 437,000 people have fled their homes due to the unrest.

In Johannesburg on Thursday, 15 civil society groups urged the UN to probe alleged rights abuses. The signatories, including Civicus and the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa, accused the Cameroon government of “carrying out a systematic and ruthless military campaign” in the anglophone regions.

(AFP)

About 15 people were killed and several others injured on Wednesday in Bole-Bakundu, a locality in the Southern Zone of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, local sources said.

“I personally counted 15 dead bodies, men and women. All of them were shot in the market. They were not armed,” a local resident who asked not to be named hinted.

There were conflicting reports of who committed the act. Locals claimed that they were shot by government forces but the Biya Francophone government said they were killed in a clash between the military and armed separatists.

“They (separatists) blocked the road to the locality and the military opened fire to scare them. They retaliated and soldiers decided to invade the area. Most of those killed died in the crossfire,” a local official who preferred not to be named said. The French Cameroun army is yet to comment on the incident.

On Tuesday, at least four civilians were shot dead in the war-torn Southern Cameroons as armed Ambazonian Restoration Forces began what they called a “10-day lockdown”.

The Southern Cameroons Interim Government has banned all sorts of activities in the regions from Tuesday to Feb. 14 as a move to disrupt National Youth Day activities expected to be celebrated on Feb. 11.

Since November 2017, French Cameroun government forces have been clashing with armed Ambazonian Restoration forces who have seceded from the largely French-speaking nation and created a new country called “The Federal Republic of Ambazonia”.

By Sama Ernest with files from Xinhua

At least four civilians were shot dead in war-torn Southern Cameroons on Tuesday as Southern Cameroonians began what the Ambazonia Interim Government called a “10-day lockdown”.

“In the Southwest region, three civilians including a student were killed in the localities of Buea, Tiko and Mutegene,” a military officer who opted for anonymity revealed. “In the chief town of Northwest, Bamenda, a commercial motorcyclist was shot dead,” said the officer.

Residents interviewed by the Chinese media organization Xinhua said there were “deafening” sound of gunshots in major junctions of the regions.

“We have been hearing the sound since morning. Businesses have closed and there is virtually no circulation of vehicles in the town,” Emmanuel Mbah, a resident in Bamenda hinted.

The Francophone army said the Southern Cameroons civilians were killed by Ambazonia Restoration Forces as a measure to impose a lockdown in the regions. However, the Southern Cameroons Interim Government have denied killing the civilians and rather blamed the Francophone army for “careless shooting.”

The Ambazonian Interim Government has banned all sorts of activities in the regions from Feb. 5-14 as a move to disrupt National Youth Day activities expected to be celebrated on Feb. 11.

On Saturday, the Francophone Governor Bernard Okalia Bilai of Southwest threatened to “severely punish” civil servants in the region who will respect the lockdown.

“If they don’t work, they will be sacked,” Bilai said. Southern Cameroonians are seeking to secede from French-majority Cameroon and have already created a new nation called ” The Federal Republic of Ambazonia.”

According to the United Nations, more than 430,000 people have been displaced internally since the separatists started clashing with government forces in 2017.

Reported by Sama Ernest with files from Xinhua

Cameroon’s Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji said Monday government forces have been given the order to hit “hard” on kidnappers in its mountainous Adamawa region.

“The state has the will and the means to put things in order. The Head of State appreciates what we have done so far to neutralize most of those dangerous criminals. All the forces of law and order and the administrative and judicial authorities have to be very hard. They have to crack down on these criminals.” Nji told reporters upon arrival in the region’s capital Ngaoundere.

Nji said, he was sent by President Paul Biya to the region to distribute gifts to the affected population and hold working sessions with security and administrative authorities.

“For the past 16 months, the local people have been victims of all sorts of atrocities. President Paul Biya has given firm instructions that this criminal enterprise must be put to an end,” he said.

About 300 cases of kidnapping have been reported in the region over the last three years, according to local authorities, and at least 2 billion fcfa (about 3.6 million U.S. dollars) is estimated to have been paid as ransom and 5,000 cows stolen.

Last week, President Paul Biya deployed 130 “special forces” to the region to “restore peace and order.” Highway robbers had previously operated in the rugged and sparsely-populated region, but were forced to escape after Cameroon elite force, Rapid Intervention Battalion, intervened.

Xinhua

Three people, including two members of the same family, were killed and several others injured in a head-on collision Sunday morning in Mbankomo, a locality on the outskirts of Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde.

Emmanuel Watat, a highway patrol official said that the victims were on their way to bury a relative when the collision happened.

“A certain Dr. Massing Bias Louis Raoul who was in the vehicle survived but his wife, a relative, and his driver died on the spot. Other people were injured and have been rushed to a nearby hospital,” Watat said.

According to the official, their vehicle was hit head-on by another car on the highway.

Cameroon has one of the highest fatality rates for road accidents in Africa, mainly due to violation of traffic rules, poor vehicle conditions and shoddy highways, according to the Ministry of Transport.

Xinhua

At least two civilians were killed in the night of Wednesday to Thursday by suspected members of the Islamist sect Boko Haram in the town of Goumouldi in the far north of Cameroon, local sources said Thursday.

The two victims, both men, were members of a local vigilance committee against Boko Haram.

“Since the Boko Haram elements were reported at the border, we organized ourselves, taking turns monitoring the locality.The first team finished and they took over, around 7 pm to finish around 5 o’clock and probably, their attack came “at that time, told Amos Tchendé, also a member of the local vigilance committee.

According to local sources cross-checked, the attackers, about six individuals, came from the border, would have come in search of food.

The Cameroonian authorities have repeatedly called on Boko Haram fighters to lay down their arms and benefit from the protection offered by the National Committee for Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration, created in late 2018 by President Paul Biya.

Source: African Daily Voice