30, December 2020
Boko Haram kills 12 French Cameroun fishermen in Lake Chad 0
12 French Cameroun fishermen from Darak and Blangoua were killed by Boko Haram on Christmas Day in Lake Chad.
Darak and Blangoua, are two districts in the Far North region of French Cameroon, in the Logone-et-Chari Division. These two communes are situated on the Lake Chad basin.
Cameroon Concord News was reliably informed that Boko Haram militants arrived on motorbikes in Darak and started shooting in the air and burning houses. The jihadists reportedly caught seven men and slit their throats.
Local sources revealed that a small regiment of the French Cameroun army in the area arrived late. Correspondingly, the Boko Haram fighters had plenty of time to commit their crimes against innocent civilians.
“Dozens of people had just returned from their farms and some were resting, they were taken by surprise,” a local resident told state radio.
Five other lifeless bodies of members of the community were found by elements of the vigilance committee.
This attack on the villages of Darak and Blangoua comes after several assaults on numerous localities in the Far North.
In recent months, there has been an upsurge in violence and exactions by combatants of the Nigerian terrorist sect against the Cameroonian population.
The Biya regime has done all it can to reduce the international consequences of its failed militarization strategy against legitimate grievances in its Anglophone regions. Rather than seeking peace through political compromise and better governance, the regime confuses the international community by describing the crisis as a two-front war against “terrorists” and “criminals.”
After two years of painstaking research the international community is now aware that the Biya Francophone military operations against Anglophones in the Southwest and Northwest regions have noticeably weakened Cameroon’s efforts against Boko Haram and is now leading to broader regional insecurity.
Since 2019, Boko Haram has conducted larger-scale operations again, attacking Nigerian, Cameroonian, Nigerien and Chadian military targets and inflicting heavy casualties on soldiers and civilians alike. In late September, Nigeria’s Bornu state governor’s convoy was attacked twice in two days not far from the Cameroon border. But the Cameroonian regime is willing to ignore Islamist resurgence around Lake Chad because it perceives the Anglophone crisis as a bigger threat to its tight grip on power. And, unfortunately, it is confident the international community will again ride to the rescue if the situation appears out of control.
By Haggai Fung Achuo with additional reporting from Foreign Policy
31, December 2020
Germany to face ‘difficult times’ with COVID-19 in 2021: Dr Merkel 0
German Chancellor Angela Merkel says her country’s “historic” coronavirus crisis will extend into 2021 even if the vaccines bring some hope.
As part of her New Year’s greetings on Thursday, Merkel denounced the conspiracy theories advanced by virus sceptics as not just “false and dangerous” but “cynical and cruel” towards those who had suffered during the pandemic.
“These days and these weeks … are difficult times for our country,” Merkel warned. “And that is going to last for a good while yet.”
Speaking in what will be her final New Year’s address as chancellor after four terms in office, Merkel’s message was characteristically sober.
“Winter remains difficult,” she said. “The challenges that the pandemic pose remain immense.”
Merkel thanked what she said was the vast majority of Germans who had abided by the safety restrictions imposed by the authorities to try to check the spread of the virus.
But she had harsh words for the virus sceptics, many of whom have taken their protests to the streets, some of them ignoring safety measures such as wearing masks.
“I can only imagine the bitterness felt by those who are mourning a loved one because of the coronavirus, or those who are still suffering its after-effects, when the existence of the virus is disputed or denied by some,” she said.
“The conspiracy theories are not only false and dangerous, they are also cynical and cruel towards these people,” she added.
There was nevertheless hope for the coming year, she added.
“For some days, hope has a new face: That of the first vaccinated people” in retirement homes and among health workers, said Merkel.
In her 15 years in power, she added, “Never have we, despite the worries, been in such a hurry to enter a new year.”
Germany, praised for its handling of the first wave, has been hit hard by a second wave.
More than 32,000 people have now died from the virus in Germany, and on Wednesday the daily death toll passed 1,000 for the first time – although officials say this was partly due to late reporting of earlier figures.
The country is under a partial lockdown until Jan 10, with most shops closed along with schools, restaurants, cultural and leisure facilities.
New Year’s Eve festivities will be muted, with a ban on the sale of fireworks and tight restrictions on the number of people who can gather in public.
(Source: AFP)