Five employees of Cameroon’s main public agro-industrial group have died after their truck was attacked in the English-speaking west of the country plagued by separatist unrest, the company said Saturday.

“Unidentified armed men attacked a truck carrying workers” on Friday in Mondoni, about 30 kilometres (20 miles)  north-west of the economic capital Douala, Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC) managing director Franklin Ngoni Njie said in a statement.

Five employees, including a woman, died and a further 44 were injured, one seriously, according to CDC, one of Cameroon’s largest employers specialising in rubber, banana and palm oil processing.

No motives were given for the ambush which state broadcaster CRTV reported was “suspected of being separatist fighters”.

Cameroon’s primarily English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions have been gripped by conflict since separatists declared independence in 2017 after decades of grievances over perceived discrimination by the francophone majority.

President Paul Biya, who has ruled the central African nation with an iron fist for 40 years, has resisted calls for wider autonomy and responded with a crackdown.

The conflict in the former French colony has claimed more than 6,000 lives and forced more than one million people to flee their homes, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank.

Civilians have suffered abuses committed by both sides, NGOs and the United Nations say.

Eighty-percent of Cameroon’s population of 24 million is French-speaking.

The presence of the large Anglophone minority is a legacy of the colonial era.

Source: AFP

The South West Regional Customs headed by   the Chief of sector, Mongue Nyamsi Daniel, on Thursday February 9, 2023 doled out food stuff and financial assistance to Save the Children Alliance orphanage in Limbe.

The items comprised two bags of rice, two cartons of cooking oil, two bags of salt with an envelope pregnant with cash.

Speaking during the event, the Southwest Chief of sector for Customs, Mongue Nyamsi Daniel, said that the donation was in line with the 40th edition of the celebration of the International Customs Day which is commemorated worldwide every January 26, and was celetrated on the theme:  ‘Nurturing the next generation: Promoting a culture of knowledge-sharing and professional pride in customs.

The South West Customs boss explained that due to security constraints in the North West and South West Regions, the event had been scheduled for February 8-10.

Mongue Nyamsi added that activities started with sports on Wednesday, February 8, 2023.  On Thursday February 9, there were internal meetings with Customs transporters and the event ended on Friday 10 with internal meeting with Customs staff. A gala night is expected to close the evening.

“World Customs Day was initiated by the World Customs Organization (W.C.O.) in 1983. This day celebrates all the customs officials and agencies which toil day in and day out to ensure effective world trade management,” the sector chief said.

“Customs officials ensure smooth functioning of trade operations across international borders and put people at the very center of the transformation process,” Mr. Mongue Nyamsi explained.

For his part, the Coordinator of Save the Children Alliance,  Ivann Ngale, said that “We are so happy that these children are getting a touch of the government’s feeling within their premises through South West Customs. Thank you so much for this unprecedented visit which I know it was led by the heart.”

He also said that, they empowered the children with entrepreneurial skills to produce hair oil, vaseline among others

“God should take you to ministerial positions with your colleagues. With such hearts you people are helping.  The Cameroon Government should give you people more responsibility to enable you reach out to more under-privileged children in our society,” Ngale Ivann prayed.

By Cecilia Manjang

The Vice President of the Ambazonia Interim Government, denouncing the murder of General Transporter of Greater Meme Area recently by French Cameroun army soldiers says the crisis-stricken Biya French Cameroun regime is doomed to degenerate and decay.

In a press statement released on Thursday, Comrade Dabney Yerima said the vexatious measures by the occupying Francophone troops against Southern Cameroons Self Defense groups will fail to avert its imminent collapse.

“For a 40-year-old criminal regime beset with an array of domestic crises including the assassination of two journalists and two prominent lawyers in a week and facing a Southern Cameroons uprising on multiple fronts, vexatious moves against Ambazonia Revolutionary Guards will be of no avail,” Vice President Dabney Yerima stated.

“Decline and disintegration are inherent in the nature of the bogus Biya French Cameroun regime” Vice President Yerima furthered.

The Yaoundé criminal regime’s aggression in rural areas of Southern Cameroons has assumed alarming proportions recently with a spate of military raids and targeted attacks resulting in the cold-blooded killing of a number of young Southern Cameroonians in Akwaya, Menchum, Meme and Bui.

The Biya Francophone regime regularly carries out raids on various towns and villages in Southern Cameroons on the pretext of detaining what it calls “separatists fighters”. These raids usually trigger violent confrontations with armed Southern Cameroons Self Defense Groups.

Dabney Yerima in the communiqué condemned the brutal aggression of French Cameroun soldiers against Southern Cameroons women in rural areas in Ndian, Kupe Muanenguba and Mezam after a report by the Ambazonian Intelligence Services said that girls were assaulted and beaten violently.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

IPI, the global network for independent journalism, welcomes apparent preliminary progress in the police investigation into last month’s murder of Cameroon journalist Martinez Zogo. IPI urges authorities to pursue the investigation to its full conclusion and hold all culprits responsible according to the law.

Martinez Zogo, the director general of radio Amplitude FM, a privately owned media house based in Yaounde, the capital city of Cameroon, was a popular journalist and host of the radio program ‘’Embouteillage’’. He reported on government malpractice, the embezzlement of public funds, and corruption.

On January 17, 2023, Martinez Zogo was abducted by unknown individuals in Yaounde. Several days later, on January 22, his body was found with signs of torture, as IPI previously reported. His abduction and assassination triggered national and international outrage and condemnation. IPI and other press freedom groups have called for a speedy and thorough investigation.

On February 2, 2023, the minister of state and secretary general of the Presidency of the Republic of Cameroon, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, issued a press release announcing the arrest of several suspects. At least 20 individuals are reported to have been arrested or interrogated, including several with high public profiles in the country’s security services.

Among the highest profile individuals arrested is Léopold Maxime Eko Eko, who heads Cameroon’s General Directorate for External Intelligence (DGRE).

On February 6, 2023, authorities arrested another powerful figure, the business tycoon Jean Pierre Amougou Belinga, who is said to have connections to high-ranking public officials and ministers. According to reports, Jean Pierre Amougou Belinga is strongly suspected of involvement in the kidnapping, torture, and killing of Zogo. Belinga is also the owner of the L’Anecdote media group in Cameroon. Two other powerful people, journalist Bruno Bidjang, the director general of Anecdote media group, and Raymond Thomas Etoundi Nsoe, a retired colonel and former commander of the presidential guard, are also suspected of involvement in the assassination and were arrested in Yaounde on the same day.

“IPI welcomes these signs of apparent progress in the investigation into the horrific murder of Martinez Zogo in Cameroon”, IPI Deputy Director Scott Griffen said. “However, these initial arrests and interrogations of suspects are only a first step on the path to justice. Cameroonian law enforcement must deliver on this initial progress and ensure that all those involved in this crime – including the masterminds, regardless of their position or prominence – are held to account.”

“We will be closely following this investigation, and call on the authorities to ensure sufficient transparency as the investigation moves forward in order to maintain its credibility. The world’s eyes are on Cameroon to firmly defeat impunity in this case.”

We are deeply concerned about the safety of journalists in Cameroon following the killing of a second journalist in the country in two weeks.

Jean-Jacques Ola Bebe, a radio presenter and Orthodox priest, was found dead on 2 February near his home in the Mimboman district of the capital Yaoundé, apparently shot dead by unknown assailants. His killing came 11 days after Arsene Salomon Mbami Zogo, popularly known as Martinez Zogo, a prominent journalist and manager of privately-owned Amplitude FM, was found dead five days after he had been abducted outside a gendarmerie station in Yaoundé.

Both Ola Bebe and Martinez Zogo were outspoken voices against corruption, using their platforms on radio to denounce cases of alleged misappropriation of public funds. Ola Bebe was at the forefront in calling for justice and accountability for the murder of Zogo, his close associate.

In January, at least three other Cameroonian journalists reported that they had received credible threats from unidentified people.

The Cameroonian authorities must take all necessary measures to create an enabling environment for journalists to work without fear of reprisal, and to uphold the right to freedom of expression as guaranteed in international human rights law, and also set out in Cameroon’s Constitution. A free, independent, and diverse media environment is vital in ensuring citizens are informed and can hold public institutions to account.

We note that President Biya has ordered investigations into Martinez Zogo’s killing, and certain arrests have been made. We call on the authorities to ensure that Ola Bebe’s killing is also independently, effectively, and impartially investigated and that those found to be responsible for these killings, at all levels, are held to account.

Ottawa announced last month that it has been leading discussions between the government of Cameroon and separatist groups, which have been in a conflict that has violently escalated in recent years. After the announcement, the Cameroonian government stated it was not working with an external mediator. Previous attempts by Switzerland and the Vatican to bring about peace talks in Cameroon have failed.

“Peace processes are always messy and take time, and this is a conflict that has been going for 40 years,” stated Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly. Canada was seen as an ideal interlocutor because its Constitution accommodates both anglophone and francophone traditions, it has no colonial-era baggage or significant economic interest in the country, and it has long-standing diplomatic ties to Cameroon.

The crisis in the North-West and South-West regions began in late 2016, when Cameroonian security forces were accused of using excessive force against peaceful demonstrators, led by teachers and lawyers who were protesting the perceived marginalization of the country’s minority anglophone education and legal systems. Dialogue between the government, teachers and lawyers at the early stages of the crisis failed. The crisis escalated when separatist fighters used violence, restricting access to education, and put pressure on the government for political recognition and independence for the English-speaking regions. A Major National Dialogue in 2019 was greeted by many as a great first step, but it wasn’t enough. The use of military means to combat the separatist fighters has only escalated the violence, with civilians caught in the middle.

The UN estimates that the violence since the protests began has claimed more than 6,000 lives and has kept 600,000 children out of school. At least 800,000 people have fled their homes and are internally displaced or refugees in other countries. Attacks by armed separatist groups on students, teachers and schools in Cameroon’s North-West and South-West regions since 2017 have had an enormous impact on children’s education. This devastating reality has made the children of Cameroon more vulnerable to abuse, exploitation and violence.

The advocacy network Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict estimates that less than 18 per cent of peace agreements globally have included child-protection provisions. To end the cycles of violence we need to be able to ensure children’s issues and rights are not only embedded in peace agreements, but also become integrated into the entire peace mediation process. This would allow for unique opportunities to shape a joint vision for the future of a conflict-affected country.

Canada and Cameroon both have an opportunity to reinforce commitments to the protection of children. In 2018, Cameroon endorsed the international Safe Schools Declaration, which Canada has also endorsed, and the Vancouver Principles on Peacekeeping and the Prevention of the Recruitment and Use of Child Soldiers, which Canada spearheaded. These commitments focus on the importance of protecting children from violence and ensuring access to education.

Unfortunately, for the children of Cameroon, this conflict in the North-West and South-West regions is not the only concerning exposure to violence that exists. Boko Haram, in the Grand North region bordering with Nigeria, has been accused of recruiting and using children in violence since 2014. Exposing children to violence can increase the likelihood that they will engage in violent behaviour in the future. Preventing recruitment and use in the first place is therefore paramount to breaking cycles of violence.

While national-led peace processes are critical, lessons from other contexts and best practices are essential. International calls for dialogue between the separatist groups in Cameroon and government authorities need to take place. If the leaders of all sides involved fail to prioritize the protection of children in the peace process, this will have a negative impact on future generations.

The children of Cameroon deserve the opportunities we all wish for our children, to live in peace and harmony so that they may reach their full potential. Now that we are in Black History Month, it is important to recall the wisdom of Martin Luther King, who said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy.” Let us stand collectively for children, peace and security in Cameroon, Canada and everywhere.

Culled from Globe and Mail

Jean Pierre Amougou Belinga and a young journalist he recently promoted to General Manager of his privately-owned television channel, Vision 4 were arrested at their respective homes shortly after 6am on Monday, February 6, 2023.

Cameroon Intelligence Report understands the mafia boss of the press group ANECDOTE Jean Pierre Amougou Belinga was auditioned in the premises of the Secretariat of State for Defense (SED) in the night of Thursday, February 2, 2023 in Yaoundé, before images of him touring one of his fraudulent financial establishments “Vison finances” were released Friday morning. An activity organized in order to deny his arrest.

This time around Jean Pierre Amougou Belinga is no longer free to move. He was arrested this morning, as well as his closest collaborator and trusted man, Bruno Bidjang.

Cameroon Intelligence Report has evidence that Jean Pierre Amougou Belinga teleguided the barbaric murder of journalist and whistleblower Martinez Zogo. The late host of the program “Embouteillages” had been very critical against alleged corruptors and embezzlers of public funds.

Zogo was kidnapped on January 17, 2023, and then found dead on Sunday, January 22, 2023. A joint gendarmerie-police investigation ordered by President Biya has already led to the arrest of some twenty suspects.

By Rita Akana

Divisional Commissioner Léopold Maxime Eko Eko, head of the General Directorate of External Research (DGRE), the Cameroonian counterintelligence service, had his presence requested at the State Secretariat for Defence on 1 February.

According to sources close to the investigation, Léopold Maxime Eko Eko has been summoned for questioning in connection with the assassination of journalist Martinez Zogo, whose body was discovered on the morning of 22 January, following that of Lieutenant-Colonel Justin Danwe, Director of Operations of the Direction générale de la recherche extérieure (DGRE), who is believed to have orchestrated Zogo’s kidnapping, custody, torture, and murder. Eko Eko’s arrest is the first significant step towards an investigation that has been slow to develop.

Use of force methods

It has long been believed that the authorities may have had something to do with the murder. On 27 January, Secretary General of the Presidency, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, ordered that the investigation be opened, causing hope to abound.

Before his August 2010 appointment as head of the DGRE, Eko Eko was Director of General Intelligence at the Délégation générale à la sûreté nationale, DGSN, (General Delegation for National Security). Already a police commissioner with a Doctorate in Information and Communication Sciences from l’université Paris-Est, Eko Eko has long been a supporter of treating perceived enemies of the state with force, as was the case with the disappearance of Guérandi Mbara’s as revealed in 2014 by us; Mbara being one of the masterminds of the 6 April 1984 coup d’état.

Mbara was kidnapped in Bulgaria, repatriated to Cameroon, and delivered into the hands of the DGRE, never to be seen nor heard from again.

According to our sources, Eko Eko has been temporarily replaced by Deputy Director General Monkouop Mouminou, Divisional Commissioner.

Source: Africa Report

Cameroon says separatists have killed and abducted villagers in the troubled South-West region in retaliation after the military this week killed a rebel leader and three of his men. The military blamed the self-declared general, nicknamed Transporter, for several atrocities, which the rebels deny.

Videos of improvised bombs exploding was shared on social media platforms, including Facebook and WhatsApp, by Cameroon separatist groups.

The separatists have been fighting since 2017 to carve out an English-speaking state from majority French-speaking Cameroon.

In one video, a man identifies himself as Sagon Jaguar, leader of the separatist group called the Ambazonia Restoration Forces, in Bamessing village in Cameroon’s English-speaking North-West region. He says the bombs fighters planted destroyed five military jeeps belonging to Cameroon government troops.

The military confirmed that fighters resumed the use of such bombs in several English-speaking towns and villages, including Bamessing, Oku, Kumbo, Nkambe and Kom this week, and says several civilians have been killed or abducted with their property torched. Officials added that military vehicles were destroyed and some troops were wounded but gave no details.

Cameroon said fighters resumed attacks after government troops on Tuesday killed Ayuk Ndifon Defcam, a self-proclaimed rebel leader known as “General Transporter.” Government troops said he was neutralized alongside his assistant and two collaborators in Wame, a village in Meme, an English-speaking administrative unit in Cameroon’s South-West region.

Chamberlin Ntou’ ou Ndong, the highest-ranking government official in Meme visited Kumba on Friday to encourage civilians to denounce suspected fighters hiding in towns and villages. He said fighters who are avenging the killing of Transporter will be killed by the military if they do not lay down their weapons and surrender.

Ndong told VOA the notorious self-proclaimed general Transporter committed many crimes against civilians, including abductions, rape, and the massacre of seven school children in the English-speaking southwestern town of Kumba on October 24, 2020. He said Transporter, who escaped and was hiding in the creeks around the Gulf of Guinea, returned to Konye village near Kumba and was planning attacks on public edifices and military installations when government troops surprised him and three of his fighters.

Ndong said the military seized weapons from the rebels and freed several people who were held hostage by the fighters. The military said Transporter was the leader of several hundred fighters hiding in the bush.

In December, Cameroon’s military said no major separatist attack had been reported within six weeks, an indication that peace is returning to the regions where 3,500 people have been killed in five years.

The United Nations says 750,000 have been displaced by the fighting.

Source: VOA

The UN Security Council should now push the Francophone Cameroun authorities to conduct a thorough and independent investigation into the killing of journalist Jean Jacques Ola Bébé, who also moonlighted as a priest of the Catholic Orthodox Church, originally from Lekié Division like the late Martinez Zogo, a journalist who was kidnapped and tortured to death two weeks ago in Yaoundé.

In the evening of February 2, 2023, unidentified attackers shot and killed Jean Jacques Ola Bébé near his home in Mimboman.   According to sources, the 41 year old communicator who had worked with several media houses in Yaoundé was shot dead by Cameroon government agents.

Journalist Jean Jacques Ola was found in the next morning with gunshot wounds to his chest and head.

A highly placed Cameroon government security official contacted by chief political correspondent Chi Prudence Asong, alleged that unspecified government security forces had killed Jean Jacques Ola Bébé. Cameroon Intelligence Report correspondent in Yaoundé also cited anonymous sources saying that they believed Cameroon government security forces were responsible for the killing.

Conflicting reports on the arrest and subsequent release of media tycoon Amougou Belinga and unanswered questions about the killing of journalists Martinez Zogo and Jean Jacques Ola Bébé both from the Lekié constituency is sending a message of fear to the broader media community in Cameroon, and is entrenching impunity in attacks on the press.

It is evidently clear that these killings are linked to the succession battle currently going on deep within the ruling Beti Ewondo clans on who to take over from the ailing President Biya who will be 90 this month.

The International Community must ensure that investigations into Zogo and Ola killings and their motives are swift and credible, make their findings public, and hold those responsible to account.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai