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Battle for Southern Cameroons: Explosions hit Molyko, University of Buea, at least 200 students injured

10, November 2021

Battle for Southern Cameroons: Explosions hit Molyko, University of Buea, at least 200 students injured 0

Palpable fear has reportedly gripped residents of Buea, the chief city in the South West region as a taxi driver was  killed by the first blast, with some 200 hundred Buea University students left injured by the second explosion.

According to Cameroon Concord News sources,the explosions rocked Buea today, with the attacks occurring in the Molyko neighborhoods predominantly inhabited by students.

Footage circulating online shows one of the injured students completely engulfed in blood, surrounded by debris. It was not immediately clear whether the Amphi 600 was hit by a bomb or if the explosive device was inside the building.

The gruesome attack has not been claimed by any Ambazonia Restoration group, with the main adversary of the Cameroon government, the Southern Cameroons Interim Government, strongly denying involvement and condemning the attack on university students.

Fingers are all pointing to the Southern Cameroons minority group in Maryland in the USA known for its hardline views and particular hatred displayed towards children going back to school.

This item is still developing

By Fon Lawrence in Buea

Southern Cameroons: Vice President Yerima calls on Britain and the Commonwealth to recognize State of Ambazonia

10, November 2021

Southern Cameroons: Vice President Yerima calls on Britain and the Commonwealth to recognize State of Ambazonia 0

The Vice President of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government Dabney Yerima has called on the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations to recognize an independent Southern Cameroons state with Buea as its capital, urging the Commonwealth to enact laws and regulations that target the French Cameroun regime under President Paul Biya as well as senior military officials of the Yaoundé government.

During a zoom meeting with members of the Ambazonia Interim Government war cabinet on Monday, Dabney Yerima discussed the recent Toronto Southern Cameroons Retreat and the position of the Interim Government with La Republique du Cameroun and the exiled Southern Cameroons leader sounded a note of caution to Southern Cameroonians that the French Cameroun regime is involved in several diabolic harsh ploy to wreck prospects for the two-Cameroons solution through the atrocities of its occupational army and violation of Southern Cameroons rights.

Yerima also appealed to the Department of Foreign Affairs to concentrate on the onerous task ahead and not be distracted by detractors of the Toronto meeting.

Vice President Dabney Yerima then called upon the Commonwealth and other Western countries to stop La Republique du Cameroun from jeopardizing Southern Cameroon’s future by insisting on its French colonial policies and violations of human rights.

Since the Southern Cameroons crisis hit the global stage some five years ago, some 10,000 Cameroonians have been killed, with army soldiers accounting for close to 35% of the deaths.

Thousands of civilians and soldiers have been maimed and scarred for life in a conflict that could have been addressed through negotiations and genuine dialogue.

By Chi Prudence Asong and Isong Asu

France formally returns looted Benin artworks at Élysée ceremony

9, November 2021

France formally returns looted Benin artworks at Élysée ceremony 0

French President Emmanuel Macron hosted his counterpart from Benin, President Patrice Talon, on Tuesday to formally seal an agreement to return 26 artworks taken from the former French colony’s Palace of Abomey – today a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The 26 pieces, from a trove of objects snatched by French forces in 1892, were exhibited at the Quai Branly museum in Paris in the run-up to Tuesday’s ceremony. They will be shipped to the West African country in the coming days.

The decision to return them follows growing calls in Africa for European countries to return the colonial spoils from museums.

It is part of a drive by French President Emmanuel Macron to improve his country’s image in Africa, especially among young people.

The treasures are from the kingdom of Dahomey in the south of present-day Benin and include the throne of Dahomey’s last king, Behanzin, as well as three totemic statues, four palace doors, several portable altars and three warrior dance staffs.

The Élysée said Macron’s commitment for Africans to be able see their cultural wealth at home and not just in European museums “marks an important step in building a new relationship between France and Africa”.

Last month, Macron announced that a “talking drum” cherished by Ivory Coast’s Ebrie people, also at the Quai Branly, would be handed back as well.

Some museum directors have criticised the move to return works they deem of “universal” interest.

But Quai Branly president Emmanuel Kasarherou said he welcomed the “soul-searching” that those calls had triggered about the provenance of artworks.

‘Ripped from their cultures’ 

The Quai Branly, which has a vast trove of African artefacts, has begun a sweeping review of its collection of 300,000 objects.

The aim is “to identify works believed to have been taken through violence, without the owners’ consent, or as war booty or through the coercion of the colonial administration”, Kasarherou told AFP.

“Not all objects that are in European collections have been stolen,” he emphasised, but “what proportion were? Our objective is to find out.”

Since his election in 2017, Macron has gone further than his predecessors in admitting to past French abuses in Africa.

In a speech to students in Burkina Faso soon after taking office, he vowed to facilitate the return of African cultural heritage within five years.

An expert report commissioned by Macron counted some 90,000 African works in French museums, 70,000 of them at the Quai Branly alone.

The restitution calls culminated last year in a vote in the French parliament, where lawmakers overwhelmingly backed returning a group of artefacts to Benin and Senegal, another former French colony.

Macron has predicted that the 26 objects taken from the Abomey palace will be “the pride of Benin” when they are returned.

They will be exhibited at various sites in Benin, including a former Portuguese fort in the city of Ouidah, once a slave-trading hub, while awaiting the completion of a museum in Abomey to house them.

Benin’s Talon has previously said he was “not satisfied” with the “small steps” taken by France and called on Macron to go further.

Source:  AFP

Southern Cameroons Crisis:  Troops loyal to Biya receives C-Astral Slovenian drones as war escalates

9, November 2021

Southern Cameroons Crisis:  Troops loyal to Biya receives C-Astral Slovenian drones as war escalates 0

Amid escalating tensions in the Anglophone regions, the Cameroonian army has quietly received its first batch of Bramor observation drones from Slovenian manufacturer C-Astral to boost its ISR capacities, Africa Intelligence Reported last week.

While Southern Cameroonians across the globe have been scanning the horizon for five good years in search of ways of ending the war in Southern Cameroons, the Francophone dominated regime has been busy splashing out cash on weapons and ignoring international calls for a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

Since the Southern Cameroons crisis hit the global stage some five years ago, some 10,000 Cameroonians have been killed, with army soldiers accounting for close to 35% of the deaths.

Thousands of civilians and soldiers have been maimed and scarred for life in a conflict that could have been addressed through negotiations and genuine dialogue.

Some one million Southern Cameroonians are either  internally displaced or are seeking refuge in a neighboring country due to a conflict many observers say was avoidable.

Thousands of army soldiers whose consciences could not allow them to kill innocent civilians have left the country to escape the harsh punishment the government inflicts on soldiers who do not want to implement the decisions of the top military brass.

By Rita Akana in Yaounde

Brexit: Northern Irish bus hijacked and torched

8, November 2021

Brexit: Northern Irish bus hijacked and torched 0

Four men hijacked and set fire to a bus in a pro-British unionist community in Northern Ireland on Sunday evening, authorities said.

Police said they received a report of a hijacking incident in the Church Road area of Newtownabbey, a Belfast suburb, around 7:45 p.m.

“It was reported that four men got onto the bus and ordered passengers off before the bus was then set alight. Church Road is currently closed and diversions are in place and police would ask members of the public to avoid the area,” the Police Service of Northern Ireland said in a statement.

Bus operator Translink said the driver and a small number of passengers safely disembarked.

“Our driver is badly shaken and is currently being supported by colleagues,” the company said in a statement.

“We are very disappointed by this intimidating attack on our member of staff and public transport services in the area. We utterly condemn this behaviour and will be working closely with the PSNI to investigate this incident,” the statement said.

Last week, two masked and armed men hijacked and set fire to another bus in an attack that local media said was linked to tensions over post-Brexit trade barriers.

(Source: Reuters)

US finally reopens land and air borders after 20 months

8, November 2021

US finally reopens land and air borders after 20 months 0

The United States reopens its land and air borders Monday to foreign visitors fully vaccinated against Covid-19, ending 20 months of restrictions on travel from around the globe that separated families, hobbled tourism and strained diplomatic ties.

The ban, imposed by former president Donald Trump in early 2020 and upheld by his successor Joe Biden, has been widely criticized and become emblematic of the upheavals caused by the pandemic.

The restrictions were particularly unpopular in Europe and US neighbors Canada and Mexico.

In an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus, US borders were closed after March 2020 to travelers from large parts of the world, including the European Union, Britain and China, India and Brazil. Overland visitors from Mexico and Canada were also banned.

The months of restrictions affecting hundreds of millions of people helped fuel both personal and economic suffering brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It’s been so hard,” Alison Henry, 63, told AFP. “I just want to see my son.”

The British woman plans to fly Monday to see her son in New York, after 20 months of separation.

Families on both sides of the Atlantic are eager to finally reunite with their loved ones.

Although travel from the United States to Europe has been possible since the summer, foreign US residents holding certain visas have had no guarantee of being able to reenter the country.

To cope with surging demand, airlines have increased the number of transatlantic flights and plan to use larger planes, as they work their way out of the pandemic crisis.

Along the border with Mexico, many cities in the US states of Texas and California have faced economic struggles due to anti-Covid trade restrictions.

Meanwhile, Canadian seniors will be able to resume their annual car trips to Florida to escape the bitter northern winters.

But the cost of the PCR tests Canada is requiring for cross-border travel — up to $250 a pop — can be prohibitive.

Ann Patchett, an Ontario resident, told the Ottawa Citizen that it will cost $500 for her and her husband to go south to visit family.

“Do you want to hug your children? Do you want to tuck your grandchildren into bed?… It’s very frustrating,” she said.

New York congressman Brian Higgins, whose district touches the Canadian border and includes the US side of Niagara Falls, plans to hold a news conference Monday with mayors from both countries to urge Canada to drop its testing requirement.

Some restrictions remain

Lifting the travel ban will affect more than 30 countries. But entry into the United States will not be totally unregulated: US authorities plan to closely monitor travelers’ vaccination status and will still require them to present negative Covid-19 tests.

The United States, from Monday, will require air passengers to be fully vaccinated and be tested within three days before travel. Airlines will be required to put in place a contact tracing system.

The land border opening will happen in two phases.

Starting Monday, vaccines will be required for “non-essential” trips — such as family visits or tourism — although unvaccinated travelers will still be allowed into the country for “essential” trips, as they have been for the last year and a half.

A second phase, beginning in early January, will require all visitors to be fully vaccinated to enter the United States by land, no matter the reason for their trip.

US health authorities have said all vaccines approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organization would be accepted for entry by air.

At the moment, this includes the AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech, Covaxin, Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines.

The United States has not yet commented on the increase in Covid-19 cases in Europe.

The WHO has expressed “grave concern” over the rising pace of infections in Europe, warning that the current trajectory could mean “another half a million Covid-19 deaths” by February.

But speaking for the United States, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said Sunday on ABC that he’s “cautiously optimistic about where we are,” while adding: “We can’t take our foot off the accelerator until we’re at the finish line.”

But in Berlin, 51-year-old Elisabeth Zours is ready to hit the gas — or as Mick Jagger would say, the “gas, gas, gas.”

A lifelong Rolling Stones fan, Zours had to miss a St. Louis show by the rock supergroup in September due to Covid-19 restrictions and was “frustrated” by the slow US reopening.

Now she plans to make up for lost time. “I’ve got tickets for four (US) concerts,” she said.

“Their music,” Zours added, “is like a good friend.”

Source: AFP

Biya, French Cameroun army soldiers will pay price for crimes in Southern Cameroons

8, November 2021

Biya, French Cameroun army soldiers will pay price for crimes in Southern Cameroons 0

The Ambazonia Interim Government (IG) has stressed that the issue of Southern Cameroons as an independent nation can’t be compromised, warning the 88-year-old President Biya and Cameroon government army soldiers deployed to Southern Cameroons that they will pay the price for their crimes in the Ambazonia homeland.

Vice President Dabney Yerima made the remarks in an IG statement that was issued after the Toronto Southern Cameroons Retreat.

The exiled Southern Cameroons official stressed that the IG is open to dialogue with international partners to end the war in Southern Cameroons but furthered that the people of Southern Cameroons will continue to reject any form of compromise.

Since the Southern Cameroons crisis hit the global stage some five years ago, some 10,000 Cameroonians have been killed, with army soldiers accounting for close to 35% of the deaths.

Thousands of civilians and soldiers have been maimed and scarred for life in a conflict that could have been addressed through negotiations and genuine dialogue.

As of today, some one million Southern Cameroonians are either  internally displaced or are seeking refuge in a neighboring country due to a conflict many observers say was avoidable.

Thousands of army soldiers whose consciences could not allow them to kill innocent civilians have left the country to escape the harsh punishment the government inflicts on soldiers who do not want to implement the decisions of the top military brass.

By Eyere Vera Asu

Southern Cameroons restoration groups stand behind President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and family

8, November 2021

Southern Cameroons restoration groups stand behind President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and family 0

The Vice President of the Ambazonia Interim Government says all Southern Cameroons restoration groups firmly support President Sisiku Ayuk and his family including all detainees in French Cameroun jails and detention centres.

“I say to you people of Southern Cameroons-Ambazonia: Your Interim Government and all restoration groups in the diaspora, Ground 1 and Ground Zero are standing behind the steadfast leader President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe who continues to defend the interest of British Southern Cameroonians,” the Foreign Affairs Department of the Ambazonia Interim Government quoted Dabney Yerima as saying.

The top Southern Cameroons leader hailed members of the NERA 10 families for their continues support to the Southern Cameroons struggle and for showing a high level of responsibility and awareness.

Dabney Yerima further said that Southern Cameroonians have been lately under a lot of pressure to accept an unjust compromise that would continue to keep them as second class citizens in La Republique du Cameroun.

Since the Southern Cameroons crisis hit the global stage some five years ago, some 10,000 Cameroonians have been killed, with army soldiers accounting for close to 35% of the deaths.

Thousands of civilians and soldiers have been maimed and scarred for life in a conflict that could have been addressed through negotiations and genuine dialogue.

As of today, some one million Southern Cameroonians are either  internally displaced or are seeking refuge in a neighboring country due to a conflict many observers say was avoidable.

Thousands of army soldiers whose consciences could not allow them to kill innocent civilians have left the country to escape the harsh punishment the government inflicts on soldiers who do not want to implement the decisions of the top military brass.

By Chi Prudence Asong

Suspected Boko Haram militants kill two in French Cameroun

7, November 2021

Suspected Boko Haram militants kill two in French Cameroun 0

Suspected militants from the terror group Boko Haram killed at least two people and wounded four others overnight into Saturday in Cameroon’s Far North region, according to local and security sources.

The assailants raided Cheripouri village of the region when the villagers were asleep, shooting indiscriminately and vandalizing property, a security official who asked not to be named told Xinhua quoting the villagers.

Security has been beefed up in the locality and government forces are in pursuit of the militants, the source said.

Boko Haram group has been active in Cameroon’s Far North region since 2014, posing enormous humanitarian and governance challenges.

Source: Xinhuanet

UN Security Council voices ‘deep concern’ over Ethiopia escalation; calls for ceasefire

6, November 2021

UN Security Council voices ‘deep concern’ over Ethiopia escalation; calls for ceasefire 0

The United Nations Security Council has expressed “deep concern” over the escalation of fighting in Ethiopia, calling for a ceasefire and the initiation of peace talks in the restive northern region of Tigray.

“The members of the Security Council expressed deep concern about the expansion and intensification of military clashes in northern Ethiopia,” the 15-member body said in a joint statement on Friday.

“They further called to put an end to hostilities and to negotiate a lasting ceasefire and for the creation of conditions for the start of an inclusive Ethiopian national dialogue to resolve the crisis.”

The council also expressed concern over the humanitarian situation and national stability, and “reaffirmed their strong commitment to the sovereignty, political independence, territorial integrity and unity of Ethiopia.”

A public meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the Ethiopia issue is set to be held on Monday.

The UNSC issued the statement as members of the rebel Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) have threatened to march on the capital Addis Ababa, a year into the fighting, prompting Ethiopia to declare a six-month state of emergency.

Tigray has been the scene of conflict since November 2020, when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops there to topple the TPLF in response to attacks on army camps.

Three weeks later, the government declared victory when it gained control of the regional capital, Mekelle. However, the TPLF forces resumed fighting later and retook Mekelle and most of Tigray at the end of June after the government withdrew its soldiers and declared a ceasefire.

The fighting has continued since then.

The conflict between Ethiopian troops and TPLF has raised fears of a more devastating humanitarian crisis in a region the United Nations says is already in the grip of famine following a yearlong conflict.

Tigray is under a de facto blockade that is preventing most aid from getting in, according to the UN. Ethiopian authorities and the TPLF have blamed each other for obstructing deliveries. Ethiopian officials also accuse the international community of ignoring alleged abuses by the TPLF.

The conflict in Tigray has killed thousands of people and pushed 400,000 people to the brink of famine, according to analyses by UN agencies and aid groups. Ethiopia’s government, however, has disputed those claims.

Abiy’s government has faced criticism over the conflict, notably from the US, a longtime ally, with President Joe Biden signing an executive order allowing for sanctions against the warring parties if they fail to commit to a negotiated settlement.

Americans urged to urgently leave Ethiopia

In a separate development on Friday, the US embassy in Addis Ababa called on Americans to leave Ethiopia “as soon as possible” over fears of a rebel advance on the capital.

The US embassy warned in an advisory that, “the security environment in Ethiopia is very fluid.”

It urged “citizens who are in Ethiopia to leave the country as soon as possible.”

The TPLF said Wednesday that its fighters had reached the town of Kemissie in the Amhara region, 325 kilometers northeast of the capital, and were running “joint operations” with the so-called Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), which predicted Addis Ababa could fall in a matter of weeks.

The Ethiopian government dismissed rebel claims of territorial gains, saying on Thursday that the TPLF was “encircled” and close to defeat.

The TPLF and the OLA were officially designated as terrorist groups by the government in May.

Source: Presstv

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