Multiple people were wounded when armed men attacked workers on a banana plantation August 24 in Tiko, in southwestern Cameroon. It’s the second time in less than a month that this plantation, which belongs to a public firm, has been targeted. A man who was injured in the attack spoke to FRANCE 24 about rising violence and insecurity in his region, which is majority English-speaking.

The attack targeted a banana plantation run by the Cameroon Development Cooperation (CDC), a public company operating in the agribusiness sector. The main products produced by the CDC are rubber, palm oil and bananas.

The plantation is located in southwestern Cameroon, which is one of two English-speaking regions in the country (along with the northwest). These two regions are currently engulfed in violence committed by both separatist groups and government forces.

“Men came with firearms and machetes”

A man working in the banana plantation (who asked to remain anonymous due to concerns for his safety) told FRANCE 24 about the August 24 attack.

It was late morning and we were working when the men came. They were carrying guns, cutlasses and wearing rough clothing. Some of them had their faces covered. I would say that there were between 30 and 40 of them. They started beating workers, so I ran away, like many of my colleagues. They burned part of the place where the bananas are processed.

Some of the employees said that the armed men asked them, “Why do you keep working if you aren’t being paid?”

It’s true that we haven’t been paid since June because of the crisis in the region that affected our production. There’s also been a reduction in the amount of palm oil and rubber being produced because of the frequent attacks.

Some have been saying that the armed men were Ambazonians. But we have no idea if this is true as they didn’t disclose who they were.

Other workers told me that soldiers then arrived on site. After the attack, I went to the CDC hospital in Tiko.  It was full of wounded workers – both men and women – though I don’t know how many were wounded exactly.

No one had gunshot wounds but many had knife cuts on their hands, heads, buttocks or legs. Some people had deep wounds that had to be stitched. Some people had bruises. There are still injured people at the hospital.

“Our plantation was already attacked in July. One of the drivers who bring workers out to the plantation was injured along with other workers. I wasn’t there when the attack happened, but I visited the injured in the hospital afterwards.

The situation here is really tough. We live in fear due to the insecurity in the area. The government should try to resolve this issue. We don’t even know when we will be paid again. The company hasn’t said anything.”

Protests organised by lawyers, teachers and students began in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon in late 2016. The organisers of these protests condemned what they saw as the growing marginalisation of English speakers in a country that is majority French-speaking. Many of these protests were brutally halted by security forces.

This repression contributed to the radicalisation of the opposition movement. Amnesty International reported that, starting in late 2017, “moderate voices began to be eclipsed as armed separatist groups, calling for secession and advocating for an armed struggle, grew in profile and support”.

These regions became increasingly militarised. Since then, both Cameroonian security forces and the separatist groups have carried out human rights abuses, causing many residents of these regions to flee.

This crisis has affected the CDC in several different ways. During the past few months, two of its employees were killed, some structures were destroyed and several plantations were closed.

Thousands of jobs are also under threat, as the CDC represents the second-largest employer in the country, according to its website. Our team contacted CDC management to ask, among other things, if they had taken new measures to protect their employees. We did not receive a response by press time and will update this page if we do.

Source: France 24

From: Manyu Advisory Council in the Diaspora (MAC)

To: Chairperson- MECA USA Transition Council, ManyuVoice

Subject: Rejection of Funds for Manyu Relieve Efforts

It is with deep feelings of patriotism to MANYU that the Manyu Advisory Council informs you of an unanimous decision by members to reject the $3000 you reluctantly agreed to disburse to MAC. The requested funds were to be used for relief efforts in Manyu following the unilateral and senseless decision by Mr. Paul Biya to declare war against unarmed people of Southern Cameroons. Unfortunately unnecessary delays predicated on political undercurrents have not made this happen up to this very moment.

The delay in disbursing the funds, unnecessary politicking and lack of commitment to the cause of Manyu and other untoward behaviour by some members of the Transition Council have informed our decision today. Our intelligence sources have revealed that the Transition Council has been heavily infiltrated by agents of Biya’s CPDM party. That’s exactly why they would want the Transition Council to operate strictly according to the Biya/CPDM script. MAC formerly distances itself from a Transition Council dominated by stooges and/or apologists of the hostile, evil and soulless CPDM Party and Francophone government. We suggest you send the $3000 to your patrons in Yaounde, to assist them re-elect your god, Paul Biyal so he can continue to kill our people for your anticipated political advancement.

Thank you.

Sincerely, MAC Administrators. The Manyu Advisory Council

At least two police officers have died in fresh violence in Anglophone Cameroon where English-speaking separatists have declared an independent state, the military said Sunday.

The men were killed by armed pro-independence fighters near the town of Wum in Northwest Region, an army spokesman said.

The separatist camp spoke of nine police dead. Army spokesman Colonel Didier Badjeck said, on Facebook, that 21 of the attackers had been “neutralized”, without saying how many had been involved in the assault.

Separatist unrest in Cameroon’s two minority English-speaking regions, North-West and South-West, has left scores dead and displaced around 200,000 people since late 2016.

About 30.000 of those displaced have crossed the border into neighboring Nigeria. Years of resentment at perceived discrimination at the hands of the Cameroon’s francophone majority have led to almost daily acts of violence and retribution.

Security in the two regions has deteriorated significantly since late last year and now clashes with separatist fighters are almost daily occurrences.

A total of 109 members of the police and security forces have been killed, according to government figures.

The conflict poses problems for the organization of the presidential election, scheduled for October 7, in which the 85-year-old incumbent, Paul Biya, is bidding for a seventh consecutive term.

Anglophones today account for about a fifth of the West African country’s population of 22 million.

(Source: AFP)

Cameroon’s village defenders — local groups armed to fight off Boko Haram militants — are being accused of turning to crime. As the threat of terrorism and support for self-defense groups declines, many of the armed men villages depended on for security are looking for new ways to make a living.

Cameroon’s northern border with Nigeria has in recent years been preoccupied with the threat from Boko Haram. But, earlier this month police arrested 14 members of village defender groups accused of harassing, robbing, and abducting people for ransom.

Ahminu Youssoufa, with the Mora Criminal Research Brigadean armed police group, said as the threat from Boko Haram declined, some defenders formed gangs that prey on locals and business travelers crossing the Nigeria border.

He said authorities are still detaining five individuals who are now helping them with the investigations. They believe it is just a matter of time for the military to dismantle, what he called an entire network.

The self-defense groups were created in 2014 to patrol villages and remote border areas where the military has little or no presence.

They earned no pay but were given supplies of food, money, and equipment from donors and the authorities — that is, until Cameroon started winning the war against Boko Haram.

Gaibai Ousmanou, head of the Village Defender Committee for Mora, said when large-scale attacks by Boko Haram started fading out in 2017, assistance to the groups also dropped off.

But he insisted the groups are still needed for protection. He said although Boko Haram has not staged a full-scale attack with heavy weapons for more than a year, the presence of self-defense groups prevents followers of the Islamist group, who are still present in their communities, from attacking.

Local churches and mosques are taking up some of the slack in supporting the village defenders, said Ousmanou. But that support barely keeps them going, he said, and helps explain why some defenders use arms against those they were supposed to protect.

The governor of Cameroon’s far north region, Midjiyawa Bakari, denies a lack of official support. He said the government will continue to assist them by providing motorcycles, bicycles, communication equipment, money and food, to enable them to intercept all those who have decided not to respect the laws.

However, he said just as Boko Haram fighters and suicide bombers were stopped, those defecting to create or join groups of robbers will also be stopped.

As he headed out on patrol, village defender Njibri Bakao acknowledged his gorup now has to defend the area against some of its own.

Source: VOA

The Southern Cameroons (Ambazonia) Interim Government is inviting you for a Press Conference at the National Press Club, Monday August 20^th at 1PM. The Press Conference shall focus on the ongoing genocide in the country of Cameroon and the civil war in which the Southern Cameroons, Ambazonia wants to secede and become an independent country. It shall also address the alleged fraud and bribery involving the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Anthony Guitterese and the government of Cameroon, to cover up human rights abuses by the Cameroon government.

Speaking at the press briefing shall be the major stakeholders and different frontline leaders for Ambazonia, including the Interim President, Dr. Samuel Sako Ekome. They will address the current armed struggle/civil war in Cameroon in which US military equipment meant for use against Boko Haram is being used by the government of Cameroon to kill civilians.

The leaders shall also use the opportunity to publish a Memorandum of Understand (MoU) that binds all the movements in a collaboration pack.

We will greatly appreciate your presence at the conference. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at 603-682-2687. Contact person is Chris Anu. He can also be reached on email, anuchris@yahoo.com.

In what is set to become a annual tradition, Bisong Foundation will, on Thursday, August 16, 2018, donate school needs, foodstuff and healthcare needs to kids at the Good Samaritan Orphanage at Babete, near Mbouda in the Bamboutous Division in the West Region of Cameroon. The foundation will also pay school fees for the 2018/2019 academic year.

In a similar donation last year, the orphans sang for joy after receiving assorted gifts on August 18, 2017 from the Bisong Foundation, a UK-based charity.

The Bisong Foundation, founded in 2010 in Cambridge, United Kingdom by Michael Bisong and his wife Hortence Manto Bisong where they are both based, offered to pay school fees for all 18 school-going orphans in the 2017/2018 academic year. Seventeen of the orphans are in primary and nursery schools and one of them in secondary school.

The foundation also donated brand new uniforms for all the orphans, school needs ranging from schoolbags, exercise books, pens and pencils. Most of the kids attend the Babete Catholic School. They equally received foodstuff and other basic needs including rice, cooking oil, breakfast items and body hygiene needs.

The ceremony that took place at the orphanage centre at Babete was attended by members of the Bisong Foundation, the orphans all wearing their newly-made uniforms, officials of the orphanage and a representative of the Bamboutous Divisional Delegate for Social Affairs.

Appreciative of the gesture by Bisong Foundation, the orphans sang the French version of “If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands”. They sang many more songs expressing their joy.

“See how beautiful the kids are in their brand-new uniforms!” said the foundation’s Founder and President, Michael Bisong. “They are God’s children. We are realizing our dream! God has helped us, so we ought to share with the underprivileged. We won’t give them the world, we can only share the little we have.”

Explaining the foundation’s motivation for donating to the orphanage, Bisong said, “We know how important education is for, those who do not go to school will spend their lives in perpetual darkness.” He said though his foundation is concerned about the plight of all the needy, their priority was to the needs of orphans.

Speaking earlier, the foundation’s Executive President, Jean-Philippe Ntoukam who manages operations in Cameroon, recalled that Mr Bisong was inspired by his own childhood experiences to create the charity.

Taking the floor in her turn, the foundation’s co-founder, Mrs Bisong Hortence Manto said they were happy to see the children sing, dance and smile, which satisfies their desire as stated in the foundation’s slogan to “Give the underprivileged a reason to smile”. She said the foundation has already visited five other orphanages in Limbe and Yaounde since it was legalized in Cameroon in May 2016.

Visibly overwhelmed, the coordinator of the orphanage, Rev. Sister Therese Grace Tcheutchoua, simply sang a song of praise to Jesus and Michael Bisong: “Emmanuel, we are saying ‘thank you’, Mr Bisong, we are saying ‘thank you’.”

She said the orphanage was created in 2005 after a child abandoned by a mentally ill woman was brought to their care. The orphanage, now hosting 22 orphans, is run by the Benedictine Sisters of the St Benedict Monastery in Babete, an extension of the Mont Febe Monastery in Yaounde.

Also speaking on behalf of the orphanage, Mme Fomekong Tikun Jeanne Sylvie, director of the centre said some of the orphans have been found to have mental illness. This left Mr and Mrs Bisong particularly concerned as it somehow falls within their professional scope. Mr Bisong is a mental health social worker in the UK where he assesses and supports adults with mental health issues and Mrs Bisong is manager of their health support agency.

Besides donating to the orphanage, Bisong Foundation blended into week long sporting activities of the annual get-together of the Development Committee of Bamesso village, Mrs Bisong’s village of origin, located a few minutes’ drive from Mbouda. The foundation’s football team featuring Michael Bisong, a former Indomitable Lions player in the junior categories in the 1990s, played a friendly match with Bamesso Veterans.

Bisong, a native of Manyemen in Nguti Subdivision, Kupe-Muanenguba Division in the South West Region, presented medals and trophies to winners and outstanding players of the Bamesso football tournament in which Bamesso sons resident in Edea defeated those from Limbe in the final after post-match penalties. In handball, Bamesso girls based in the village beat those from Yaounde 15-6. The finals were presided by the Mbouda Sub divisional Delegate for Sports and Physical Education, Bibeme Damien Martial.

The closing ceremony of the Bamesso Cultural Week on August 19, 2017 was chaired by Public Works Minister Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi, elite of the village and Honorary President of the local development association.

By Franklin Sone Bayen

Cameroonian authorities should speedily investigate an alleged arson attack on community radio station Sky FM in the volatile Northwest region and ensure those responsible are prosecuted, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Unknown persons on August 3 set fire to the station, destroying the building and equipment, according to the station owner Abdou Borno, an article on Sky FM’s official Facebook page, Cameroonian journalist Ndi Eugene Ndi, and two local website reports. The equipment included two transmitters, computers, four recorders, a video camera, a mixer, decoder, television set, and office furniture, according to Borno.

The radio station is based in the town of Ndu, about 124 km (77 miles) from Bamenda, the capital of the Northwest region–one of two regions where Anglophone separatists have been waging an armed struggle for an independent state called Ambazonia against the predominately French-speaking government of President Paul Biya, according to news reports. A recent Human Rights Watch report blamed both sides for grave abuses against civilians, including killings.

“All parties to the conflict in Cameroon, whether government forces or Ambazonians, should stop targeting journalists and media organizations and allow them to operate safely and without fear of reprisal,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ Africa Program Coordinator. “The media is not the enemy. Journalists are simply trying to do their jobs by ensuring that citizens are armed with useful information in what has become an increasingly bloody phase in Cameroon’s history.”

Borno told CPJ that he learned of the fire the morning of August 4 when the manager of the nearby Summit Hotel, Nformi Victor, called him to tell him that the radio station had burned down. According to Borno, Victor told him that a hotel receptionist heard a noise at about 11 p.m. the night before; she did not investigate further since she did not hear the noise again and because it was windy.

Sky FM’s station manager, Bernard Tata Gibip, found a cutlass, gasoline container, and a box of matches near the radio station after he too was alerted by Victor, Borno told CPJ.

The station broadcasts in English and “all other local languages including Limbum and Mbororo,” on topics including culture, health, and the economy, according to Borno, who is a local official of Biya’s ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement party. The station also broadcasts BBC programs and national broadcasts in French.

Borno told CPJ on August 7 that he believed his radio station was targeted because of its “Back to School” campaign, which began last year encouraging students to return to school. The new school year starts in September, and a school boycott has been in place since November 2016 when lawyers and teachers in both the Anglophone Northwest and Southwest regions began protesting the alleged marginalization of English by Biya’s central government in Yaounde, according to news reports. The grassroots protest was then taken over by separatist factions as the conflict escalated with Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch accusing them of violently enforcing the boycott, according to the independent humanitarian news website, IRIN.

The station has been off air since May 19 after its two transmitters were damaged in a lightening strike; they were planning to relaunch the week of August 8, according to Borno.

Borno told CPJ that because the new school year starts next month, the “separatist activists know very well our stand so they decided to burn the entire radio house with all equipment.”

In a detailed emailed statement to CPJ, a spokesperson for the separatists’ Self Defense Council of the Ambazonian Interim Government (ASC), A.J.N. Mbiydzenyuy, said it controlled about 98 percent of the “restoration forces”– who are the self-defense units of the separatist Ambazonia movement– in the Northwest and Southwest regions and that there was no evidence that they were responsible for the arson attack.

“The ASC leadership has never approved [an] arson attack, the restoration forces council in Nkambe is unaware of any involvement of their forces…and the field commanders of our forces in Ndu declined responsibility of the FM radio station arson attack,” he said.

CPJ could not verify independently the alleged motive or whether separatists were responsible for the alleged arson.

Ndi, the publisher and editor-in-chief of the weekly NewsWatch, told CPJ that both the government and separatists were targeting journalists. “Separatists are threatening us with messages that we are siding with government in our reports as we try to stay neutral or objective in the crisis. On the other hand, any report that seems to be propagating the agenda of the separatists is tantamount to the crime of ‘apologies de terrorisme’ punishable under the anti-terrorism law by the government,” he said.

Borno said he employed four staff members to report and produce programs. He said that the station, which he established in 2013, was not a profit-making enterprise, nor was it subsidized by the government.

Communications Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who also serves as a government spokesperson, did not respond to CPJ’s request via Whatsapp for comment. The Northwest Governor Adolphe Lele Lafrique had not replied to CPJ’s request for comment at the time of publication.

In a Cameroon special report about the abuse of anti-terror laws against journalists published last year, CPJ spoke to journalists who said they were increasingly caught between the Cameroonian government and separatists.
Source:CPJ

Local media portals in Cameroon are reporting of floods in parts of the country. On Tuesday, the city of Limbe in the country’s South West was hit by floods.

Whiles in Douala, the country’s largest city and economic capital located in the Littoral region, heavy rains accompanied by landslides are said to have left scores stranded.

Videos and photos shared on social media showed streets submerged as flood waters have risen to knee-level of people who attempted wading through.

Some journalists are also reporting that in the case of Limbe, as the waters receded, people are counting their loses. There are no official account of loss of lives but local media are putting it at ten.

Floods continue to cause havoc across parts of Africa where high rain patterns have resulted in loss of lives and destruction to properties. The most recent was in the capital of Ivory Coast, Abidjan where government was forced to evacuate close to 200 families.

Source: Africa News