News

15, June 2017

Bishop Jean Marie Benoît Balla of Bafia, was “brutally murdered,” the country’s bishops have confirmed ⁰

Cameroon’s episcopal conference calls for full investigation and for justice to prevail after a series of homicides against the country’s clergy and religious which they attribute to “obscure diabolical forces.”

Bishop Jean Marie Benoît Balla of Bafia, was “brutally murdered,” the country’s bishops have confirmed, making him the latest in a number of Cameroonian bishops, clergy and consecrated persons to have been killed over the past 30 years.

In a June 13 statement issued by Cameroon’s episcopal conference and published by the missionary news agency Fides, the bishops called for justice to be done in the face of what they called “obscure diabolical forces.”

They said they were “convinced” that Bishop Balla did not commit suicide as had been initially thought, but that “he was brutally murdered.” Bishop Balla was just 58 years-old and would have celebrated 30 years as a priest next year.

Fisherman discovered the prelate’s body in the River Sanaga, June 2, a few miles away from where his abandoned car was found on a bridge on May 31. Inside the vehicle was a “strange message” together with some personal belongings.

“The body is now at the disposal of the authorities investigating the case to discover the causes and the perpetrators of this hateful, unacceptable crime,” the bishops stated, adding that his tragic death “shocked and upset the People of God, all Cameroonians and international opinion.”

“This is one more murder, and one too many,” the bishops added. They pointed out “the sad list of bishops, members of the clergy and consecrated persons assassinated in circumstances still not clear today.” In particular, they remembered “Mons. Yves Plumey, archbishop emeritus of Garoua (assassinated in Ngaoundéré – 1991), Fr Joseph Mbassi (Yaoundé – 1988), Fr. Antony Fontegh (Kumbo-1990), Sisters in Djoum (1992), Fr. Engelbert Mveng (Yaoundé – 1995), to mention only a few”.

“We have the impression that the clergy of Cameroon in particular is pursued by obscure diabolical forces,” the Cameroonian bishops declared. They called in their statement for “complete light to be shed on the circumstances and the motivation of the murder of Bishop Balla,” and demanded that “those responsible be identified and handed over to justice to be judged by the law of the land.”

They also urged the government “to assume the noble task of protecting human life,” and asked the media and all who use social media “to renounce defamation, lies, and calumny and to respect the dignity of human persons.”

The bishops appealed to Bishop Balla’s assailants “to strive for urgent and radical conversion,” and encouraged the faithful to “stay courageous” as “Christ has conquered the world.” “Your pastors carry with you the pain of this sad disappearance. Let not your faith fail. Draw the necessary strength from celebration of the Eucharist,” they said, and reminded them that the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Patroness of Cameroon, “accompanies us in this hard trial.”

Source: National Catholic Register

14, June 2017

Qatar pulls troops from Djibouti-Eritrea border ⁰

Qatar said Wednesday it has pulled all of its troops from the border of Djibouti and Eritrea, east African nations that have a long-running territorial dispute which Doha had helped mediate.

Qatar offered no explanation for the move, though it comes amid a diplomatic dispute with other Arab nations that have cut diplomatic ties and now are trying to isolate Qatar from the rest of the world.

While the dispute hasn’t escalated to a military confrontation, Qatar’s military is dwarfed by neighboring Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, two of its biggest opponents in the crisis.

The 450 Qatari troops controlled a mountainous border crossing between Eritrea and Djibouti, said Nasredin Ali, a spokesman for Eritrea’s biggest armed group, known as the Red Sea Afar Democratic Organization. Eritrean forces moved in after the troops departed, Ali said.

Eritrea’s top diplomat to the African Union, Araya Desta, told The Associated Press the move came after Eritrea cut diplomatic ties to Qatar. However, Desta said his country wanted no confrontation with Djibouti.

“We don’t want to take any of Djibouti’s land,” Araya said. “The last time we had some skirmishes. It was unnecessary.” Doha mediated the conflict between the two countries in 2010. Persian Gulf nations have stationed troops in both African countries, using that as a jumping-off point for the ongoing Saudi-led war in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have accused Qatar of supporting terrorism and severed ties with Doha last week. Qatar denies the allegations, but its ties to Iran and embrace of various extremist groups have put the country under intense scrutiny.

(Source: AP)

14, June 2017

Cameroon says 75 applications on child adoption under review ⁰

Some 75 applications on child adoption are presently under review at the Ministry of Social Affairs. State radio and television reported that the applications are those deposited in 2016. Officials at the Ministry of Social Affairs say the applicants are expected to abide by the following procedures before their requests are granted:

– Present their marriage certificate

– Certificate of non- conviction

– Being at least 35 years old

– Must have been married for over 10 years with no child with one of the spouses at least 35 years old.

– Maintain a 15 year gap between the adopter and the adopted.

– Show proves of financial eligibility

The list of documents has been published at the Ministry of Social Affairs for interested applicants. Documents that were deposited in 2016 are presently undergoing some scrutiny after which will be studied by the judicial bench before applicants will get a response.

Source: CRTV

14, June 2017

Massive fire engulfs tower block in west London, deaths reported ⁰

A massive fire, which has engulfed a high-rise apartment block in west London, has left “a number” of people dead and several others injured, fire officials say.

The fire broke out in the 27-story Lancaster West Estate tower in the early hours of Wednesday when most of the residents would have still been in bed.

The fire brigade said 45 fire engines and 200 firefighters as well as 20 ambulances were sent to the building which has 120 flats and was built in 1974, but recently underwent a major refurbishment. “Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus are working extremely hard in very difficult conditions to tackle this fire,” London Fire Brigade assistant commissioner Dan Daly said.

“This is a large and very serious incident and we have deployed numerous resources and specialist appliances,” he said. Several people are trapped inside the building with reports that it might collapse. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said a “major incident” had been declared. A witness told CNN that he saw people jumping from the building.

Police officials said that they had started an evacuation of the block and the neighboring buildings, adding some people were being treated at the scene for smoke inhalation. At least 50 people have been taken to hospital so far, according to officials.

“We have now taken over 50 patients to five hospitals across London,” London Ambulance Service Assistant Director of Operations, Stuart Crichton, said. London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton said, “I am very sad to confirm that there have been a number of fatalities.”

“I cannot confirm the number at this time due to the size and complexity of this building and it would clearly be wrong for me to speculate further,” Cotton added. “Equally, the cause of this fire is not known at this stage.”

Emergency personnel near Grenfell Tower. (Photo via The New York Times)

The streets around the tower have been sealed off and there is a chaos there with “people in night clothes, no shoes, crying, looking for family.”

George Clarke, the presenter of Channel 4 TV program Amazing Spaces, told Radio 5 Live, “I’m 100 meters away and I’m absolutely covered in ash.” “It’s so heartbreaking, I’ve seen someone flashing their torches at the top level and they obviously can’t get out.”

“People can be seen at the windows, including one man waving a blanket from the window,” a witness told The Guardian. “Some shouting “put your head out the window” or calling the man with the blanket to shout his flat numbers so they can guide the fire services to him.”

Source: Presstv

12, June 2017

Ambazonia ghost town campaign boosts hopes for independence ⁰

The civil disobedience campaign that was staged today Monday the 12^th of June across the thirteen counties in Southern Cameroon has reportedly been a huge success. Cameroon Concord News sources say ghost town operations frustrated the political GCE currently going on in West Cameroon. There were more soldiers and police officers on the streets today than students writing the General Certificate of Education examination.

Our correspondent in the Fako constituency hinted that not a single student took part in the GCE in Muyuka. We also gathered that some few Francophone students who showed up at the GBHS and CCAS Kumba centers were given snake beatings by members of a group calling for an independent state of Ambazonia. Our Kumba informant revealed that some 100 students guarded by approximately 200 soldiers participated in today’s GCE in Meme Division.

In Mamfe the chief town in Manyu Division, troops were deployed by the controversial SDO to the GBHS campus to provide security for some 40 Francophone students. There was also a huge police presence in GBHS Muea and Lycee Molyko for some few Francophones students. Many Francophone GCE candidates deserted GHS Buea campus for fear of a second bee attack.

By Sama Ernest

Cameroon Concord News

12, June 2017

Congo Kinshasa: Gunmen raid prison, 900 escape, 11 die in exchange of fire ⁰

Eleven people were killed and more than 900 inmates escaped Sunday after unidentified assailants attacked a jail in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s restive east, an official said. “The Kangwayi prison in Beni was attacked at 3:30 pm (1330 GMT) by assailants whose identity is not yet known,” Julien Paluku, the governor of North Kivu Province, told reporters.

“In the exchange of fire between security forces and the attackers, authorities have (counted) 11 dead including eight members of the security forces,” Paluku said, adding, “For the moment, out of 966 prisoners, there are only 30 left in the prison.” Paluku said the Beni area and the neighboring town of Butembo had been put under curfew from 6:30 pm. “Only police officers and soldiers should be out from this time,” he said.

The attack came a day after the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) attacked a police station and a prosecutor’s office in the capital, Kinshasa, killing a police officer and seriously injuring four others after a series of similar strikes over the past three weeks. It also comes after two jailbreaks in the vast, unstable central African nation in the past month.

The violence has erupted as the Democratic Republic of the Congo is mired in a deep political crisis tied to President Joseph Kabila’s hold on power. Tension has been mounting across the vast mineral-rich nation of 71 million people since December last year, when Kabila’s second and final term officially ended.

Under a power-sharing agreement brokered by the influential Catholic Church on New Year’s Eve, Kabila is due to remain in office until elections at the end of 2017. However, Kabila earlier this month seemed to back away from the deal to hold a vote this year.

“I have not promised anything at all,” he told the German weekly Der Spiegel in a rare media interview. “I wish to organize elections as soon as possible.”

(Source: AFP)

11, June 2017

Yaounde CPDM man arrested for selling the same piece of land to three different people ⁰

The Yaoundé judicial police arrested a Francophone CPDM man for selling the same piece of land to three different people. The police said Ngono Antione, 50, was charged with two counts of felony theft by fraud and one count of a misdemeanor probation violation.

Ngono Antoine of Akak, a town in the district of Soa, Mefou-et-Afamba Division was accused by three persons including his brother-in-law for collecting millions of FCFA via fictitious sale agreements on a plot estimated at about 1,000 square meters.

The first buyer paid for the land in 2012 but decided to start construction some 5 years after purchase only to find a house already built and inhabited by a family, whose members informed him that they had acquired the land from Ngono Antoine. The first purchaser then decided to complain to the traditional ruler. An investigation was conducted and it revealed that there was a third buyer, who lives in France.

The judicial police in Yaoundé detained the seller who was later transferred to Kondengui prison. Police say they want to fight the phenomenon of resale of the same plot of land to several different individuals.

By Rita Akana

Cameroon Concord News

11, June 2017

Eight refugees drown as boat sinks off Libya’s coast ⁰

At least eight refugees have drowned when their Europe-bound boat sank off Libya’s coast, a coastguard official says. The eight bodies were on an inflatable craft that can carry up to 120 passengers, said Colonel Fathi al-Rayani, head of the coastguard in Garabulli, 60 kilometers east of Tripoli.

He estimated that “at least 100” refugees were missing. The boat was spotted deflated off Garabulli, and the coastguard found the bodies inside, AFP reported. Conflict-ravaged Libya has long been a stepping stone for refugees seeking a better life in Europe.

The UN says around 61,250 refugees have reached Italy since the start of the year after crossing the Mediterranean, while 1,778 more are dead or missing. The Italian coastguard has said that more than 900 refugees were rescued off Libya on Thursday and Friday.

Libyan navy spokesman, General Ayoub Qassem, meanwhile told AFP that coastguards patrolling off Zawiya west of Tripoli on Friday intercepted five inflatables and two wooden boats with more than 570 refugees on board.

He said the boats were being escorted by five Libyans on a jet ski and two outboards, and that three of the men were apprehended. “The migrants are Africans, Bangladeshis, Egyptians, Moroccans … and were delivered to the detention center in Zawia,” Qassem said.

Intercepted or rescued refugees are often held in detention centers before being repatriated. People traffickers have exploited the chaos in Libya since the 2011 uprising deposed and killed former dictator Muammar Ghaddafi to boost their lucrative but deadly trade.

(Source: AFP)

9, June 2017

Southern Cameroon nationalism spreading as Spain’s Catalonia declares date for independence vote ⁰

Catalonia will hold a referendum on splitting from Spain on Oct. 1-a similar date earlier chosen by the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium. The head of the region confirmed the news on Friday, setting the stage for months of confrontation with the central government which says such a vote is illegal and must not take place.

Previous secessionist challenges in Catalonia – a populous wealthy region whose capital is Barcelona and which has its own language – were blocked by Spain’s conservative government and the Constitutional Court. “The question will be: ‘Do you want Catalonia to become an independent state in the form of a republic’,” Carles Puigdemont, president of the government of Catalonia, said.

He said attempts to agree a date and the wording of the question with the Madrid government – which is vehemently opposed to allowing Catalonia to split from Spain – failed and left him with no other choice than moving unilaterally. “We have always made very diverse offers and all of them have been rejected without any exception,” Puigdemont said.

Pro-independence campaigners staged a symbolic ballot, organized by volunteers rather than government officials to get around court restrictions, in 2014, months after Scots voted to stay in the United Kingdom.

Some 2 million people voted in favor of secession in that non-binding ballot, though turnaround was relatively low. It is not clear how far the legal wrangling may go this time as the Catalan regional government has said it would throw all its weight behind the vote.

Under Article 155 of Spain’s constitution, Madrid has the power to intervene directly in the running of Catalonia’s regional government, forcing it to drop the vote.

This could involve sending in the police or suspending the regional government’s authority to rule. This is widely seen as a last resort move, however, and many analysts believe the clash will instead culminate in regional elections in Catalonia.

(Source: Reuters)

9, June 2017

Philemon Yang meets Chadian Minister of Infrastructure ⁰

Philemon Yang, the so-called Prime Minister and Head of Government has met with the Chadian Minister of Infrastructure, Transport and Civil Aviation. Yang held talks with the visiting Mr. Adoum Younousmi on the 8^th of June 2017 in the Star Building in Yaoundé.

Cameroon Concord News gathered the Chadian Minister was a special envoy of President Idriss Debby Itno. As usual, the Chadian member of government handed over a sealed message for onward transmission to President Paul Biya from Idriss Debby.

Speaking on state radio and television after the audience, Minister Adoum Younousmi said his discussions with Philemon Yang focused on the creation of a railway line between Cameroon and Chad. The railway investment project will add up to the existing road network to strengthen integration between both countries.

Source: CRTV