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Mass killings by Biya regime forces won’t make Ambazonians quit fighting

24, February 2022

Mass killings by Biya regime forces won’t make Ambazonians quit fighting 0

The Ambazonian Interim Government has condemned the recent killings of Southern Cameroons civilians by French Cameroun army soldiers, stressing that the trend will not make Ambazonians give up the fight against the occupying regime.

In a statement on Wednesday, the exiled leader Dabney Yerima denounced the murder of two Southern Cameroonians in the city of Bamenda and the arrest of dozens of Ambazonians by Francophone troops.

“These killings in both the Southern and the Northern zones of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia do not deter the Ambazonian people and its activists in the diaspora from continuing to resist and intensify the fight against the occupying army,” Vice President Dabney Yerima said.

Late on Wednesday, troops loyal to the Biya Francophone regime in Yaoundé killed two Southern Cameroonians including the CEO of Mawa Hotal in Bamenda and arrested dozens of innocent civilians in coordinated raids.

The Ambazonia Interim Government said these crimes were carried out in the context of the continuous aggression and organized repression of the French Cameroun occupiers against Africa’s newest nation-The Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

Vice President Dabney Yerima added that these acts of aggression would not succeed in defeating the growing resistance of Southern Cameroonians and would not affect their determination to confront the occupiers.

By Isong Asu with files from Chi Prudence Asong

Queen cancels virtual audiences due to Covid: palace

24, February 2022

Queen cancels virtual audiences due to Covid: palace 0

Queen Elizabeth II has cancelled two engagements on Thursday after she tested positive for coronavirus at the weekend, Buckingham Palace said.

“The two virtual audiences that had previously been scheduled to take place today will now be rescheduled for a later date,” a spokesman said.

Royal officials announced on Sunday that the 95-year-old head of state had tested positive and had “mild” Covid symptoms, but would continue with “light duties”.

Her eldest son and heir, Prince Charles, tested positive for the second time since early 2020 on February 10, two days after meeting his mother at Windsor Castle.

The Queen, who is in her record-breaking 70th year on the throne, cancelled similar virtual engagements planned for Tuesday but spoke to Prime Minister Boris Johnson Wednesday.

The monarch and the prime minister hold regular weekly meetings in private. They were conducted by telephone rather than in person due to coronavirus restrictions.

Palace officials said there were no further engagements planned for this week. The latest cancellation will inevitably stoke further fears for her health, given her advanced age.

As a precaution, the Queen and her husband Prince Philip moved to Windsor, west of London, in March 2020 as the global pandemic hit Britain.

The couple, who were married for 73 years, self-isolated with a reduced number of household staff. Philip, 99, died in April 2021, and his funeral was held under virus curbs.

Elizabeth returned to official duties after his death and as restrictions were lifted. But she was forced to slow down on medical advice in October last year.

The palace was forced to confirm that she had an overnight stay in hospital after going in for unspecified tests. Since then her appearances have become rarer.

She held a public engagement at her Sandringham residence in eastern England on February 5 on the eve of the anniversary of her accession to the throne in 1952.

Source: AFP

Russia attacks Ukraine amid international outcry, reports of first casualties

24, February 2022

Russia attacks Ukraine amid international outcry, reports of first casualties 0

Russian troops launched a wide-ranging attack on Ukraine on Thursday, as President Vladimir Putin cast aside international condemnation and sanctions and warned other countries that any attempt to interfere would lead to “consequences you have never seen”. World leaders decried the start of a long-anticipated invasion with far-reaching consequences and reports of casualties on both sides. Follow our live blog for all the latest developments.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a military operation in Ukraine, in a surprise televised address shortly before 6am local time. He warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with Russia’s invasion would lead to “consequences they have never seen”.

Explosions were heard in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odessa and other Ukrainian cities. Interfax Ukraine reported rocket attacks on military facilities throughout the country, as well as staff and passengers evacuating Kyiv’s Boryspil airport.

US President Joe Biden, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, French President Emmanuel Macron and other international leaders swiftly condemned the attack.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky released an emotional video address early Thursday morning local time, appealing to Russians not to support a “major war in Europe”.

The EU on Wednesday imposed sanctions on Russia’s defence minister Sergei Shoigu and military chiefs as part of a package of measures over the Kremlin’s recognition of two separatist Ukrainian regions as independent.

Source: France 24

Murder of Bamenda Business Tycoon: Was Mou Ibrahim target of a ‘hit’

23, February 2022

Murder of Bamenda Business Tycoon: Was Mou Ibrahim target of a ‘hit’ 0

Mou Ibrahim, a Bamenda-based business tycoon who also moonlighted as CEO of Mawa Hotel was gunned down by a Cameroon government army soldier.

Cameroon Intelligence Report senior correspondent in Bamenda who is currently with the police officers investigating the case alongside the military and the Ministry of Territorial Administration said investigators  are now of the opinion that the premeditated murder was related to a dispute involving the victim’s business empire.

Bamenda detectives believe the owner of Mawa Hotel shot outside the famous Ayaba Hotel was the target of a ‘hit’.  We gathered that police will in the coming days question the dead man’s family and others about the killing.

Mou Ibrahim was slain Wednesday by a soldier who pumped three bullets into his body as he stood outside Ayaba Hotel.

Senior police officers contacted by Cameroon Intelligence Report refused to reveal any more details about the investigation.

Security camera footage from Ayaba Hotel shows the soldier as he approached Mou Ibrahim who was sharing a conversation with a close aide before shooting both men repeatedly.

Mou Ibrahim owned a number of businesses including Mawa Hotel.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Soldier kills two in Bamenda, Yaoundé planning to label victims Amba terrorists

23, February 2022

Soldier kills two in Bamenda, Yaoundé planning to label victims Amba terrorists 0

A Cameroon government army soldier shot dead two men in the Ayaba Hotel area in Bamenda after troops invaded the community. Three persons reportedly sustained bullet injuries.

Cameroon Concord News gathered that the soldier opened fire unprovoked saying he was in Bamenda to kill Anglofools.

An eyewitness said the officer was arrested by his colleagues who shot sporadically to prevent mob action.

The gunshots woke up many customers at the Ayaba Hotel as soldiers were ordering people to lie down. One of them said anyone that runs should be shot.

A source inside the military hinted our correspondent in Bamenda that the spokesman for the Cameroon government army has been told to say that the victims were Ambazonian fighters.

By Fon Lawrence in Bamenda

Southern Cameroons: Exiled leaders express solidarity with Amba prisoners in French Cameroun jails

23, February 2022

Southern Cameroons: Exiled leaders express solidarity with Amba prisoners in French Cameroun jails 0

The Vice President of the Ambazonia Interim Government, Dabney Yerima has called on Southern Cameroonians in the diaspora to support Ambazonian prisoners languishing in French Cameroun jails and detention centers.

Dabney Yerima told members of his cabinet on Tuesday that shouting slogans against the Biya French Cameroun regime in the West is not enough and will not secure the release of all Southern Cameroons prisoners.

“Southern Cameroons prisoners are political prisoners and they are regarded as heroes and freedom fighters by all Ambazonians” Yerima noted.

Yerima’s message comes at a time when hundreds of Southern Cameroons detainees have been denied proper medical treatment in French Cameroun jails.

Some fifty-two Southern Cameroons detainees have died in French Cameroun prisons this year.

During a telephone conversation with Cameroon Concord News Berlin correspondent on Wednesday, Professor Carlson Anyangwe of the Southern Cameroons Department of Foreign Affairs condemned French Cameroun’s inhumane treatment of Ambazonian prisoners especially those suffering from chronic medical conditions.

Southern Cameroons prisoners are held in several French Cameroun prisons and detention centers where they are denied basic human rights.

The Ambazonia Interim Government recently demanded international protection for Southern Cameroons prisoners.

“Southern Cameroonians in Ground Zero and in Ground One are calling on the international community to come out of its silence and help Ambazonia prisoners” Professor Anyangwe said.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Defying West, Putin orders troops to pro-Russian breakaway regions of east Ukraine

22, February 2022

Defying West, Putin orders troops to pro-Russian breakaway regions of east Ukraine 0

President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops into two Moscow-backed rebel regions of Ukraine on Monday, defying Western threats of sanctions in a move that could set off a potentially catastrophic war with Kyiv. 

Earlier, the Kremlin leader had recognised the independence of two rebel-held areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions of Ukraine, paving the way for an operation to deploy part of the potential invasion force he has massed around the country.

In two official decrees, Putin instructed the defence ministry to assume “the function of peacekeeping” in the separatist-held regions.

The recognition of the breakaway republics, which form an enclave held by Russia-backed rebels since 2014, triggered international condemnation and a promise of targeted sanctions from the United States and the European Union – with a broader package of economic punishment to come in the event of invasion.

As news of the late-night recognition hit the streets of Kyiv, many were in disbelief, but ready to defend their country if called on.

‘Scariest news’ in 8 years

“I am very shocked,” Artem Ivaschenko, a 22-year-old cook originally from Donetsk, told AFP in the capital, calling the recognition the “scariest news” since he had fled the region eight years ago.

“I live here, I already lost a part of my homeland, it was taken away, so I will protect it.”

After a flurry of calls, US President Joe Biden, France’s Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned that Moscow’s gambit “would not go unanswered”.

The US announced its first sanctions, with the White House saying Biden will issue an executive order to “prohibit new investment, trade, and financing by US persons to, from, or in” the two rebel regions.

A French presidential official said the European Union was preparing a list of Russian entities and individuals to sanction in a “proportionate” response to the recognition.

In Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky convened a meeting of his national security council and was due to make a speech later in the night.   

Earlier, in an often angry 65-minute televised national address from his Kremlin office, Putin railed against ex-Soviet neighbour Ukraine as a failed state and “puppet” of the West, repeatedly suggesting it was essentially part of Russia.

He accused the authorities in Kyiv of persecuting Russian speakers and of preparing a “blitzkrieg” against the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Lugansk in Ukraine’s east.

“As for those who seized and hold power in Kyiv, we demand an immediate end to their military operations,” Putin said.

“Otherwise, all responsibility for the possible continuation of bloodshed will be fully on the conscience of the regime in power in Ukraine.”

Putin said it was necessary to “take a long overdue decision, to immediately recognise the independence” of the two regions.

He then signed partnership agreements with the rebels that declared the presence of Russian military forces “necessary to maintain peace… and ensure reliable security.”

EU ‘will react with sanctions’

The recognition effectively puts an end to an already shaky peace plan in the separatist conflict, which has rumbled on since 2014, after Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine, and has left more than 14,000 dead.

Russia will now deploy troops with the support of separatist officials and Ukraine will either have to accept the loss of a huge chunk of territory or face an armed conflict against its vastly more powerful neighbour.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the move “a flagrant violation of the sovereignty and integrity of the Ukraine”, with the UK cabinet’s emergency COBR committee due to meet Tuesday and foreign minister Liz Truss promising “new sanctions on Russia.”

EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel promised the bloc “will react with sanctions against those involved in this illegal act”.

The United States and allies including France requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council later Monday.

Putin told his Security Council earlier Monday that there were “no prospects” for the 2015 Minsk peace accords aimed at resolving the Ukraine conflict.

‘Very big threat’ to Russia

And he made clear the stakes were bigger than Ukraine, whose efforts to join NATO and the European Union have deeply angered Moscow.

“The use of Ukraine as an instrument of confrontation with our country poses a serious, very big threat to us,” Putin said.

The dramatic meeting – with Putin sitting alone at a desk as his government, military and security chiefs took turns addressing him from a podium – came after weeks of tensions between Moscow and the West over Ukraine.

Western leaders warned that Russia was planning to invade its pro-Western neighbour after massing more than 150,000 troops on its borders, a claim Moscow repeatedly denied.

Tensions then spiked in recent days after an outbreak of heavy shellfire on Ukraine’s eastern frontline with the separatists and a series of reported incidents on the border with Russia.

Monitors from the OSCE European security body on Monday reported more than 3,000 new ceasefire violations in east Ukraine the day before, a high for the year.

Ukrainian officials said two soldiers and a civilian died in more shelling of frontline villages Monday.

Source: AFP

Bomb explodes in Yaoundé; Biya regime blames Ambazonia Interim Gov’t

21, February 2022

Bomb explodes in Yaoundé; Biya regime blames Ambazonia Interim Gov’t 0

At least 9 people were seriously wounded in a bomb blast in the nation’s capital Yaoundé today February 21 2022, police and emergency services said.

A box of tomatoes packed with explosives was detonated inside Marche d’Etoudi in the first district in Yaoundé some two kilometers from the presidential palace, a senior police officer in the capital, confirmed to Cameroon Concord News.

The powerful blast caused destruction of a business center in the area, our source added saying 9 people were wounded and were rushed to a local hospital.

No Southern Cameroons group has claimed responsibility for the attack but the Biya Francophone regime in Yaoundé through a statement posted on social media has blamed the attack on the Ambazonia Interim Government.

The latest blast comes amid tight security measures in the two Cameroons during the Africa Cup of Nations.  

By Rita Akana

There are reasons why Ambazonian leaders should not visit or transit through Turkey

19, February 2022

There are reasons why Ambazonian leaders should not visit or transit through Turkey 0

Turkey is about to ratify an 8-year-old security agreement with Cameroon allowing joint operations against dissidents.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sent a security agreement signed with the Biya regime in 2014 to parliament on February 13, 2022, starting the approval process. The agreement, which includes extensive cooperation against terrorism, joint police operations and intelligence sharing, brings the possibility of new abductions or illegal deportations of Turkish citizens to the agenda since the Erdoğan government continuously calls political opponents “terrorists.”

Turkish intelligence had previously abducted a significant number of Erdoğan opponents in violation of international law as part of a witch-hunt that was launched following an abortive coup in 2016.

Similar to previous security accords, the text of the agreement, obtained by Nordic Monitor, contains ambiguous phrases that could be used by the Turkish government to suppress opponents living in exile and critics outside the country.

Source: Nordic Monitor

Top Northern Ireland politician Sir Jeffrey Donaldson under fire over trade mission to Yaoundé

19, February 2022

Top Northern Ireland politician Sir Jeffrey Donaldson under fire over trade mission to Yaoundé 0

The leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) the joint-largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the fifth-largest party in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has been challenged to explain why he abandoned Northern Ireland amid a political crisis for a trade mission to Cameroon.

Sir Jeffrey made his first visit to Cameroon this week after being named as trade envoy last summer. The Northern Ireland politician visited a divided nation described by Transparency International as the most repressive and corrupt state in Africa.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson was seen posing for the camera with the controversial Chief Ekoko Mukete whose chieftaincy title is still being contested deep within the Bafaw Royal Family in Kumba and he is considered by many English speaking Cameroonians as a traitor.  

Dolores Kelly of the Social-Democratic Irish Nationalist Political Party in Northern Ireland (SDLP) has been quoted as saying “it was unforgivable for DUP leader to make the trip during crisis” in his own country.

Founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who led the party for 37 years, the DUP currently led by Sir Jeffrey Donaldson is badly in need of decent man to run its affairs.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with files from Belfast Telegraph

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