10, February 2018
Cameroon’s army denies alleged atrocities in Southern Cameroons 0
The Cameroonian army on Friday denied its troops were responsible for alleged atrocities against separatists in English-speaking regions after unverified footage apparently involving soldiers was posted online.
“These accusations of atrocities are dreamt up. We are victims of disinformation and fake news,” army spokesperson Colonel Didier Badjeck told AFP, just days after the appearance of the latest of a string of grisly video clips.
None of the clips could be independently verified by AFP, with Badjeck insisting the army had “a culture of respect for human rights” and accusing the separatists of being “skilled at disinformation”.
Since October, troops have staged a crackdown targeting activists in Cameroon’s restive western regions where the English-speaking minority has staged protests against the government in this predominantly francophone country.
In the absence of any formal acknowledgement of the toll among separatists, eyewitness accounts of brutality against civilians have proliferated on social media and in parts of the press.
On Wednesday, the European Union condemned the violence in Cameroon, referring to the recent deaths of three members of the security forces and a number of civilians as “unacceptable” and calling on the police and army to exercise restraint.
“It remains crucial for the security forces to be proportionate in their use of force while carrying out their duties,” it said in a statement which followed similar condemnation from the US State Department a day earlier.
But the Cameroon army spokesperson said they were at risk of falling foul of a campaign of disinformation.
“It’s important that the bodies with which we maintain good relations don’t just listen to one side,” he said.
‘We are harassed’
Cameroon’s Northwest and Southwest Regions are home to an anglophone minority that accounts for about a fifth of the country’s population and which has long complained of discrimination at the hands of the French-speaking majority.
In October, separatists issued a symbolic declaration of independence for the putative state of Ambazonia, prompting a crackdown by a government firmly opposed to secession.
Anglophone separatists have responded by escalating their own operations against state institutions. The spiralling violence has forced an estimated 30 000 Cameroonians to flee to neighbouring Nigeria.
Badjeck said a soldier had died on Thursday after being stabbed in the eye with a knife in the main western town of Bamenda, with his death raising the toll among the police and security forces to 23.
“Our soldiers are struck down every day. We are harassed. It may happen that there are reactions on the ground, that a soldier loses his self-control. But it hasn’t happened yet,” he said.
And last weekend, at least four civilians were shot dead by troops during several incidents in the Northwest Region, witnesses said. One told AFP that men “in military uniform came and started smashing up houses.”
Source: AFP
11, February 2018
Southern Cameroons Crisis: South West Governor suffers a stroke 0
Cameroon Intelligence Report has been reliably informed that the governor of the South West Region of Cameroon, Bernard Okalia Bilai, has moved out of his official government residence in Buea for fear of his life. The governor and his family have taken up temporal residence in Douala where he now commutes to Buea for work. The man who went on record for calling Anglophones dogs and terrorists had a strange manifestation at his official residence in Buea before he moved out for his safety.
We gathered that the “Odeshi Boys” stormed his residence last month and cautioned him to leave or face death within seven days. The loudmouth self-made macho pleaded for his life and spinelessly complied. The ailing governor who recently suffered a stroke has left his official abode which is currently being occupied by his kitchen staffs, security guards and cleaners.
It’s a massive setback for the government of La Republique as he is regarded within as a colossal figure who has the clout to impart fear and terror on the people in his region. As the resistance in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon continue to gain momentum and direction, his poor health and sudden fear for his life is a grave concern to Yaoundé. Some of his staff say they have noticed a considerable change in the governor’s countenance. “The thug who drilled considerable fear and verbal abuse into us when he was around the office has been suddenly very pleasant” said a worker who elected anonymity.
We must put on record that he was behind the decision to sever internet services in the Anglophone regions in Cameroon. His arrogance and obstinacy has seen him engage in unapologetic public name-calling of Anglophones. Suffering from a stroke, the ever increasing pressure from strong-minded Ambazonians and the encounter last month might just be proving too vicious a pill for this tyrant to swallow.
Sama Ernest in Buea