News

25, February 2018

Scuffles break out as France’s Macron visits farm fair ⁰

Demonstrators from vegan and animal activists group “269 Life France” demonstrated against French president Emmanuel Macron on Saturday, February 24, during his first visit as president to the country’s main agricultural fair in Paris.

Macron received whistles and other protests as he met visitors to the fair and journalists. French farmers are discontent over producer prices, European Union trade talks and Chinese land purchases.

In a country with a profound attachment to its pastoral roots, the Salon de l’Agriculture is a mandatory rite of passage for political leaders, who tend either to relish the event – as former president Jacques Chirac visibly did – or endure it. Nicolas Sarkozy, during his presidential farm show debut a decade ago, let rip with an expletive-laden insult against a man in the crowd who had declined to shake his hand. His words were caught on video and haunted him for the rest of his term.

Macron responded differently to provocation on Saturday, scrapping his itinerary to engage several of his hecklers in a lengthy and detailed exchange on trade policy, social charges and food standards in front of TV cameras.

25, February 2018

Mexico president shelves plan to visit US after Trump phone call ⁰

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has shelved a plan to visit the United States following a phone conversation with US President Donald Trump, in which the US president reportedly lost his temper.

The Washington Post first reported the development on Saturday, citing US and Mexican officials.

It said Pena Nieto was planning to visit Washington in February or March, but “shelved” his plan after a “testy” phone call with Trump on Tuesday.

The 50-minute phone call between the Mexican president and his US counterpart reached an impasse over Trump’s campaign promise of building a wall on the US’s border with Mexico and making Mexico City pay for it.

The report said the two leaders “devoted a considerable portion” of the phone conversation to discussing the border wall. Pena Nieto reportedly asked Trump to publicly affirm Mexico’s position that it will not pay for the wall. The US president refused.

According to the Mexican account of the conversation, Trump at some point “lost his temper.” According to the American version, he was frustrated by Pena Nieto’s demand.

In this file photo, taken on April 16, 2017, border agents patrol the US-Mexico border in a vehicle prior to an Easter mass at the fence separating the two countries at Friendship Park, in San Ysidro, California. (By AFP)

The Mexican president had canceled an earlier trip after Trump threatened to impose a tax on Mexican imports to pay for the border wall.

During his campaign for presidency, Trump had hinted that illegal Mexican immigrants to the US were “murderers” and “rapists.” That enraged the Mexican government and people. Once the US president promised to build the wall and make Mexico pay for it, Mexico City made it clear that it was not going to.

Meanwhile, an upcoming presidential election in Mexico scheduled for July is a determining factor and any compromise by Pena Nieto may risk damaging his public image and reducing his chances for re-election.

Some experts say that a trip to the US by the Mexican president any time before the election would be a risk.

Source: Presstv

24, February 2018

Intense fighting reported in Southern Cameroons’s Muyenge ⁰

French Cameroun army strikes against suspected Southern Cameroons fighters in the Federal Republic of Ambazonia have continued after the British Minister left the territory, with intense fighting occurring in the South West Muyenge community, where French Cameroun rockets have reportedly landed on houses. There are reports of massive killings going on in Ngolo, Melima and Bakundu and more than a thousand have escaped into the forest.

Thousands of families have also been displaced and the Christians churches are warning that the situation in Southern Cameroons is critical. The fighting in Muyenge pits French Cameroun government forces and their allies from Chad against local Ambazonian defense groups.

In a speech recently, the acting President of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, Dr. Samuel Sako Ikome endorsed the legitimate right of Ambazonians to self defense.

By Sama Ernest

24, February 2018

European Union to double funding for military force in West Africa’s Sahel region ⁰

The European Union is to double the budget allocated to a multi-national force in West Africa’s Sahel region as part of a declared mission to crack down on militancy and human trafficking there.

Europe fears that growing instability in the Sahel region of Africa — an arid land mass lying to the immediate south of the Sahara Desert and stretching east-west across the breadth of the African continent — could worsen the already high levels of human trafficking toward Europe and create a springboard for militant attacks on the West.

“There is a direct European interest in restoring stability to the region,” a senior EU diplomat said as quoted by media reports published on Friday. “There is a general awareness now that the future of the European Union is also the future of Africa.”

The deaths of two French soldiers in Mali this week and four US soldiersin Niger in October last year, where most Americans did not know the United States had forces, has highlighted the security threat in the vast scrublands spanning from Mauritania to Chad.

To address the mounting security threats, Brussels and Washington have devised a two-sided strategy, including military and development aid in Africa.

The West created the G5 Sahel force — made up of troops from Mali, Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, and Mauritania — to counter militancy in the region. The Western-backed force is to receive more than 400 million euros (494 million dollars) to be able to meet its declared objectives.

The new budget is almost double the 250 million euros it has now.

France, which has more than 4,000 troops in the region, has been frustrated that it is the only EU member with combat troops on the ground, although others have contributed trainers.

Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned that the military approach alone would not be effective and called for greater efforts to relieve the roots of the conflict, namely poverty, poor governance, and climate hazards.

“When you add more weapons, you add more suffering,” Patrick Youssef, the deputy head of the ICRC’s operations for Africa, told Reuters. “That needs to be accompanied with real measures to alleviate the suffering that is the main reason why this war was created.”

23, February 2018

Fru Ndi steps down from presidential race ⁰

The national chairman of the main opposition party in Cameroon, Ni John Fru Ndii, has declared that he will ‘not be presenting his candidature for the 2018 presidential elections’. The veteran politician founded the Social Democratic Front (SDF) in 1990 and has led the party since then.

Speaking at the special congress of the party held in Bamenda, 77 year old Ndii reportedly said he was leaving the stage for the younger generation. I will not present my candidature for the Presidential election, I want you to chose who is best to be the flag bearer.

Ndii has recently been embroiled in a war of words with secessionists in the Anglophone region who wanted the SDF congress moved from Bamenda to Yaounde.

Ndii maintains that he is an Anglophone citizen who is not pro-secession. Analysts will now watch whether 49 year old Joshua Osih, who is currently the deputy of the party, will now seek to be nominated as the party’s presidential flag bearer.

Electoral activities ahead of the presidential election , have already started, and the opposition party recently met in the restive Bamenda region and declared that it would participate in the March 25 senatorial polls.

President Paul Biya is expected to seek another term in office after over three decades in charge of the Central African nation. The country is currently riled by secessionist elements in the Anglophone regions – northwest and southwest regions.

Source: Africa News

23, February 2018

7 killed in Boko Haram attacks in Cameroon, Chad ⁰

At least seven people have been killed in Chad and Cameroon by militants of the Boko Haram Takfiri terrorist group, which is based in neighboring Nigeria.

A local source in the northern Cameroon border area said Thursday that five civilians had been killed in Boko Haram’s raid two nights earlier on a border town, which gives direct access to Nigeria.

“A group of Boko Haram fighters made an incursion during (Tuesday) night in Assigashia …The attackers killed five people and wounded five more,” said the source, who was close to administrative authorities.

An official in the Cameroon security services also confirmed the raid and the casualty toll.

Due to its geographic location, Assigashia has seen recurrent Boko Haram attacks in the past. The militants were blamed for a raid in January that left a civilian killed.

Meanwhile, a captain and a soldier were killed in Chad in an ambush by Boko Haram.

A senior military official said Thursday that the attack which took place a day earlier targeted the troops who were returning from a border patrol in the Lake Chad region near the Nigerian frontier.

“The Boko Haram attackers disappeared into the island” on the lake, said the source about the attack, which was the first known assault on Chadian territory by Boko Haram since May 2017.

More than 20,000 people have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced in more than eight years of insurgency by Boko Haram in Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger.

Nigeria’s government says the militants have been pushed from major strongholds in northern cities and towns. However, attacks targeting civilians and security forces have continued unabated over the past months both inside and outside Nigeria’s borders.

Source: Presstv

23, February 2018

Haiti suspends Oxfam operations amid sex abuse scandal ⁰

Haiti has suspended Oxfam Great Britain’s operations in the Caribbean country following allegations of sexual misconduct by some of the charity organization’s staff.

Oxfam entered Haiti after a devastating earthquake hit the island nation in 2010. There have been allegations of sexual misconduct against those sent to help the victims of the earthquake, which killed tens of thousands. Oxfam has formally apologized, expressing “shame” for the behavior of its staff.

Haiti’s Planning and External Cooperation Minister Aviol Fleurant said on Thursday that Oxfam’s suspension was ordered due to “serious failings” by Oxfam Great Britain between 2010 and 2011, and that a definitive decision on its ability to operate in Haiti would be made in two months following a review of the evidence.

“If during the two month-long investigation, I find out there is a link between the aid funds that Oxfam received on behalf of Haiti and the crime that has been committed, we will… declare Oxfam Great Britain persona non grata in the country,” Fleurant said.

In a separate statement, Fleurant accused Oxfam staff of committing acts of “sexual abuse” and exploitation.

Fleurant said the suspension of the charity’s right to operate was limited to Oxfam Great Britain and did not apply to Oxfam Canada.

Oxfam is a confederation of 19 independent charitable organizations with nearly 10,000 staff working in over 90 countries that use the name Oxfam and are led by UK-based Oxfam International, which is one of the UK’s biggest charities.

The charity, which receives hundreds of millions of dollars from government and private sources, aims to work for greater impact on the international stage to reduce poverty and injustice.

It said it had lost 7,000 regular donors since it was revealed that its staff sexually exploited vulnerable women in Haiti, according to British daily The Guardian on Tuesday.

Britain and the European Union are reviewing their funding of Oxfam amid the allegations in Haiti.

Meanwhile, Winnie Byanyima, the executive director of Oxfam International, has promised to appoint an independent commission to investigate the allegations of sexual abuse by the staff of the charity.

Byanyima described the majority of the rank and file working at the charity organization as people of values.

Source: Presstv

22, February 2018

Biya regime creates new military region based in Bamenda ⁰

Cameroon has a new military region created to cater for security needs in the west and northwest region, the state-owned CRTV has reported.

President Paul Biya signed directives reorganizing the country’s defense forces leading to the splitting into two of the former military region [Région militaire interarmées – RMIA] RMIA 2 which is based in Douala.

The new region becomes the fifth (RMIA 5) and is headquarted in capital of the northwest region Bamenda. It is to be headed by General Agha Robinson Ndong while General Julius Caesar Ellie has been appointed commander of its Gendarmerie region (RG5).

The measure is seen as a clear plan to deal with the raging Anglophone crisis that has rocked the country since October 2017. Separatists in the region continue to engage in deadly clashes with security forces.

Under the banner of the so-called Ambazonia republic, separatists are pushing a breakaway of the Anglophone regions (northwest and southwest) from French-majority Cameroon.

The government has insisted that the region remains secured and has declared the separatists terrorists. Last month, Nigeria deported about 47 separatists to Yaounde, the deportees included a known separatist leader, Julius Sisuku Ayuk Tabe.

Nigeria has also been bearing the brunt of the crisis in Cameroon with the continuing influx of refugees. The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, has reported that thousands of people have arrived in Nigeria over the past few months.

Cameroon’s Anglophone crisis

What began in 2017 as peaceful protests by Anglophone activists against perceived marginalization by Cameroon’s Francophone-dominated elite has become the gravest challenge yet to President Paul Biya, who is expected to seek to renew his 35-years in power in an election next year.

Government repression – including ordering thousands of villagers in the Anglophone southwest to leave their homes – has driven support for a once-fringe secessionist movement, stoking a lethal cycle of violence.

The secessionists declared an independent state called Ambazonia on Oct. 1. Since then, thousands have fled to Nigeria, including 2,300 who fled in a single day on Dec. 4 fearing government reprisals after raids by separatists militants killed at least six soldiers and police officers.

At the end of World War One, Germany’s colony of Kamerun was carved up between allied French and British victors, laying down the basis for a language split that still persists.

English speakers make up less than a fifth of the population of Cameroon, concentrated in former British territory near the Nigerian border that was joined to the French-speaking Republic of Cameroon the year after its independence in 1960. French speakers have dominated the country’s politics since.

Source: Africa News

22, February 2018

Nigeria aids refugees fleeing from Southern Cameroons ⁰

More than 25,000 refugees have travelled across the border from Cameroon to Nigeria and dozens continue to arrive every week. Caritas Nigeria is appealing for urgent support to fight an emerging humanitarian crisis as a growing number of refugees have been forced to flee political upheaval and armed conflict in neighbouring Cameroon.

“The situation is dire,” said Fr Evaristus Bassey, director of Caritas Nigeria. “According to some of the refugees, they escaped on bush paths with only the clothes they were wearing.” Caritas Nigeria says assessments show more than 25,000 refugees have travelled across the border from Cameroon to Nigeria and dozens continue to arrive every week. Caritas has launched an international appeal to provide 10,000 refugees in Cross River State with food, clean water, mosquito nets and other aid.

Fr Bassey said the influx was having a serious impact on already impoverished Nigerian communities.“Many refugees are staying with relatives or friends they have known on the Nigerian side,” he said. “Typically many of these villages are rural and housing conditions are poor and congested. Some of these communities in peace time had no functional latrines except designated spots for open defecation. Water sources are from the stream.”

The armed insurgency in Cameroon is largely driven by the Ambazonian group which is demanding the full restoration of statehood for what was a former British colony in southern Cameroon from 1922 to 1961. Their objective is the dissolution of the 1961 Union of Southern Cameroon with French Cameroon.

English speaking parts of Cameroon have long complained of marginalization by the French-speaking dominated government, which has deteriorated into a brutal crackdown. Caritas Cameroon’s Fr Kisito Balla Onana said, “Our English-speaking brothers and sisters are in distress.

“Two weeks ago I went to the field with one of the bishops. We visited deserted villages where the houses were burned down. Many of their inhabitants had left and were living in extremely difficult conditions. Caritas brought them clothes, food and a small sum of money.”

Many refugees have fled their homes to Nigeria to escape the conflict which has destabilised the country and destroyed lives and livelihoods.

Caritas Nigeria says services are stretched and there is inadequate accommodation, food, water and sanitation available.“We want to urgently provide humanitarian relief to those in dire need, before this crisis becomes too monstrous and difficult to handle,” said Fr Bassey.

Caritas Nigeria conducted rapid assessments across some of the affected areas that have received a large influx of refugees from Cameroon. The assessment revealed that the Cameroonian refugees in Cross Rivers State were mostly based in the communities within Nigeria that are sharing borders with Cameroon.

Most refugees are living in host communities with relatives, in abandoned government quarters or uncompleted buildings and even open space. They have been dependent on the generosity of impoverished host communities for donations of food and clothing as most of them fled for their lives.

“Caritas Nigeria carried out an assessment two years ago on the Oban corridor in 18 communities because of an environmental program we wanted to initiate,” Fr Bassey said. “The clean water and hygiene conditions were appalling. These are aggravated now with the present crisis.”

While Caritas has carried out assessments in Cross River State where the refugees have the largest concentration, it is seeking input and guidance in other areas where refugees are being housed.

“Caritas has already made assessments in the Oban Corridor and the Boki and Ikom axis,” said Fr Bassey. “Caritas will soon carry out market surveys and establish relationships with vendors for food vouchers. The main challenge though is that markets are far from these communities and transportation is a huge challenge in transporting materials.”

The Nigerian Church is planning a national collection and Caritas Nigeria is appealing for urgent donations of food, clothing, blankets, medicine, cooking utensils and WASH materials.

Fr Bassey said in Nigeria systems and institutions often respond quickly to a crisis but pressure from the international community might assist Nigeria to face up to the challenge over the longer term.

He said language barriers with French speaking Cameroon made co-operation challenging across borders and the Nigerian government would need a lot of support if the situation escalates into a full-blown crisis.

Source: Reliefweb.int

22, February 2018

Nigerian army rescues 76 girls after Boko Haram terror attack ⁰

The Nigerian military has managed to rescue 76 schoolgirls and recovered the bodies of two others out of an estimated 90 girls who had gone missing following an attack by the Takfiri Boko Haram militant group on a school in the country’s northeast.

“Everybody is celebrating their coming with songs and praises to God almighty,” said Babagana Umar, a parent whose daughter had disappeared, on Wednesday. “The only sad news is that two girls were dead and no explanation.”

According to Umar and other residents of the small town of Dapchi in the state of Yobe, where a school was raided by the terror outfit on Monday evening, at least 13 other students may still be missing.

According to eyewitnesses, the Boko Haram militants descended on Dapchi in trucks, some with heavy guns mounted on them and painted in military camouflage. They then went straight to the Girls Science Secondary School and began shooting sporadically, forcing panicked students and teachers to flee.

There are conflicting reports about how exactly the girls went missing. Police and state officials said that 815 of the school’s 926 students had later returned to the school after fleeing into the bush outside the town during the attack.

Police and state officials said that there had been no evidence that the missing girls had been kidnapped by Boko Haram, suggesting that the rescued ones had been recovered from their hiding places.

However, the Yobe government later said in a statement that the military had rescued some of the students from the grips of the terror group.

Separately, Information Minister Lai Mohammed said Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari had on Wednesday dispatched his foreign and defense ministers to Yobe to investigate the incident.

Since 2009, the Boko Haram militancy has left at least 20,000 dead and made over 2.6 million others homeless.

Back in 2014, the Takfiri terrorist group kidnapped more than 270 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok in Borno State. The mass abduction triggered global condemnation and intense criticism of Nigerian officials in the country. An international campaign dubbed “Bring Back Our Girls” was also launched.

Of the 276 students originally abducted, nearly 60 escaped soon after the incident and some others have since been released after mediation. Some 100 are still believed to remain in captivity.

Last month, the terror outfit released a video allegedly showing some of the Chibok girls still in its custody, saying they do not wish to return home.

Source: Presstv