13, September 2018
Southern Cameroons Crisis: Nigerian Governor raises alarm over influx of Ambazonian refugees 0
Gov. Ben Ayade of Cross River has raised alarm over the increasing number of Cameroonian refugees in the state following the arm struggle and demand of Ambazonia Republic in Cameroon. Governor Ben Ayade said this when the President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, paid him a courtesy visit in Calabar on Wednesday. The Senate President was in Cross River to solicit delegates support for his presidential aspiration.
Ayade told Saraki that Cross River was currently facing security challenges with the discovery of 27 illegal routes used by the Cameroonians to gain access into the state. “With the recent Ambazonia crisis, a lot of tension has been created in the state. It is so bad that as of today, Cross River has over 4,000 Cameroonian refugees. “We have about seven camps where we are keeping these refugees and over 27 illegal routes where these Cameroonians gain access into the state. “It is so bad that the arm struggle has led to a situation where Cross River has become a recruitment ground for mercenary to prosecute the war in Cameroon,’’ he said.
He commended Saraki for coming out to seek for the office of the president, adding that he had the capacity to lead Nigeria to a greater height. Earlier, Saraki said that Nigeria needed a digital president abreast with the new world social order. According to him, Nigeria desires a government that is private sector inclusive, and the time for Nigeria to witness a dynamic leadership is now. “I am in Cross River to solicit delegates support in the forthcoming presidential primaries of the People’s Democratic Party. “I have the intellectual ability and capacity to rule Nigeria and that is why I am soliciting the support of all Nigeria to achieve this aim,’’ he said. (NAN)
14, September 2018
Violence Continues to Disrupt Life in Southern Cameroons 0
People are deserting the English-speaking regions of Cameroon after hundreds of armed separatists and the military were involved in Tuesday’s bloody conflicts in five towns and villages leaving at least 15 people dead. Residents complain that the army was slow in responding to simultaneous attacks by the separatists.
Intensive shooting between an unknown number of armed separatists and at least 50 soldiers of the Rapid Intervention Battalion, BIR, an elite corps of Cameroon’s military is going on at Mile 16, Bolifamba, a neighborhood in the southwestern town of Buea.
As the military shoots, some of the troops clear the wreckage of vehicles, abandoned containers, trees and heavy metals that the armed separatists are said to have used in blocking all entrances into the town before the military arrived. The military said the attackers also burned vehicles, houses and shops.
Some residents are rushing to various destinations, including the bush.
Businessman Peter Bongkiyung, 24, says he saw two corpses, including that of a soldier, and no longer feels safe in the town.
“I am still believing that, come whatever, I have to go,” he said.
Jenine Ita, a 47-year-old jurist working in the town, is also leaving with her three children and wounded husband. She says the armed men invaded Mile 16 as early as 5 a.m. Tuesday, blocking the road and setting some transport buses on fire. Ita said she was surprised that the military, stationed at various entrances to the town, came late.
“We cannot continue living in such an environment where you cannot trust your neighbor. Where are the armed men coming from? How do they get into town without the knowledge of the military?” she said.
Similar simultaneous attacks were reported in four other villages in the Northwest and Southwest regions including Bamenda. Mamfe and Wum.
Bernard Okalia Bilai, governor of the Southwest region, said he is pleading with the separatists to drop their guns and stop the carnage. He said next month’s presidential election should offer an opportunity for them to democratically express their views should they be disgruntled with the government.
“The presidential election is a very important moment for all the countries in the world and the southwest should not miss to be fully involved in the presidential election on October 7. We should stop the killings, the kidnappings, the disturbances and all the nuisance that the present crisis has brought in our region,” he said.
The government has been assuring voters that they will be protected.
Unrest in Cameroon began in November 2016, when English-speaking teachers and lawyers demonstrated against the overbearing use of the French language. Separatists took over and started demanding the independence of the English-speaking from the French-speaking regions of the bilingual country.
Last Saturday, armed Anglophone separatists burned buses and blocked traffic into and out of the capital of the English-speaking Northwest region and said the action in Bamenda was to disrupt next month’s presidential election.
The United Nations reports that 300 people including 130 policemen and the military have been killed, hundreds of thousands have fled for their lives to the bushes and towns in the French-speaking regions. At least 20,000 crossed over to Nigeria.
Culled from the VOA