News

22, November 2016

Mali twin attacks blamed on militants ⁰

Twin attacks blamed on militants during weekend municipal elections in Mali have claimed the lives of at least five soldiers and one civilian, security sources say. In the first incident, security sources said on Monday that five Malian troops were killed after being ambushed while transporting ballot boxes in the restive north. “After the voting on Sunday, an army convoy taking the ballot boxes for counting was attacked in the north by jihadists. Five Malian soldiers were killed,” AFP quoted a source as saying

Separately, a group of militants nabbed several vehicles and killed a civilian in the town of Dilli in southwestern Mali overnight Sunday to Monday. “They arrived early Monday in Dilli. They attacked a council building. The jihadists then took off with two ambulances and a vehicle, after which they killed a civilian and made off for the Mauritanian border,” a local official said. This comes as Malians have voted in long-overdue local elections, which were tainted by a spate of violent attacks and opposition boycotts.

On Sunday, people in Mali cast their ballots in the first elections since 2013 to elect 12,000 municipal councilors across the troubled West African country. The elections, held with a two-year delay, were boycotted by a number of opposition parties and some armed groups, including the Tuareg rebel group, formerly known as the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA).

Malians gather outside a polling station in Gao during municipal elections on November 20, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

Reports by residents and officials said that voting was cancelled in some districts of the northern Mali region of Timbuktu after ballot boxes were burned by unidentified armed men. In 2012, Tuareg rebel groups seized control of northern Mali, which they call Azawad. However, al-Qaeda-linked militants took control shortly afterward. Then, the French military intervened in Mali, its former colony.

Since the al-Qaeda’s move, the impoverished West African country has been in turmoil. The UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali was deployed in July 2013 to bring calm. A year later, Tuareg rebels agreed to a ceasefire deal with the government.

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21, November 2016

Bamenda population protest against Government Delegate, Chinese contractors ¹

Some 2000 inhabitants of the city of Bamenda have staged a massive demonstration against the deplorable state of roads in the metropolis. The protesters also chanted anti-government slogans condemning the regime for the criminal neglect of the North West region. The Monday November 21st protest also clamoured for the departure of the Chinese contractors working with the Bamenda Urban Council government delegate.

The strike action that was led by a journalist took the city by storm and gained the support of the population that voiced appeals for a return to the Southern Cameroons state. State radio and television painted the strike action as a minor incident orchestrated by a group of young men armed with sticks who threatened to beat shop owners in the Bamenda main market.

The mammoth crowd blocked access points at Ngeng junction, Nkwen market and Cow Street. Police used teargas against the peaceful demonstrators but no casualty has been reported so far. The North West governor has not commented on the happenings. At press time, the police were clearing off the materials used in blocking the roads including burnt tyres. It is important to include in this report that the government delegate to the Bamenda urban council has come under serious attacks ever since he was appointed some 7 years ago.

By Cham Victor Bama in Bamenda

21, November 2016

Minister Edgard Alain Mebe Ngo’o and the Colonel Ghislain Joël Mboutou affair opens today in Yaounde ⁰

Investigations have opened today in Yaoundé, against Lieutenant Colonel Ghislain Joël Mboutou, military attaché at the Cameroon embassy in Morocco, for alleged money laundering in France, misappropriation and corruption which Cameroon Concord News sources say could pave the way for a case against Edgard Alain Mebe Ngo’o, former Minister of Defense and current boss of the Ministry of Transport.

According to our informant, the military hierarchy, set up and dispatched to Morocco, a commission which brought back to Cameroon, Ghislain Joël Mboutou. Colonel Mboutou was picked up at the Yaounde Nsimalen international airport and rushed to the national gendarmerie headquarters to be auditioned today. The defense attaché at the Cameroonian representation in Morocco was arrested by French intelligence agents as he was trying to finalize a real estate transaction in Paris.

The senior officer was arrested in possession of 700,000 Euros in cash (more than 455 million FCFA) and a search of his home in Paris, raised the amount to 1.3 million Euros. He reportedly told French intelligence officers that the money was intended for the acquisition of real estate. He was released on bail mindful of the diplomatic passport in his keeping.

We recently spoke to someone in Minister Alain Mebe Ngo’o’s entourage who hinted that the affair was mounted from scratch and was only manipulation and storytelling. However, a journalist with a sister publication, Cameroon Intelligence Report revealed that Colonel Mboutou Ghislain Joël, worked for 7 years as deputy head of the military secretariat when Minister Mebe Ngo’o was the powerful Minister of Defense.

Minister Mebe Ngo’o has been regularly presented as a nephew of the President of the Republic. The Transport Minister’s political future now depends on statements that Colonel Mboutou will make today. The Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime for 34 years has been rocked by multiples of scandals in a country where more than 20 million people live below UN poverty line.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with files from Rita Akana

21, November 2016

Fear of TAC, CATTU: Biya regime deploys troops to North West and South West regions ¹

The strike action announced by the Anglophone teachers’ trade unions is holding as planned. In a show of blind bravado and naive brutal force, the CPDM regime’s ill trained soldiers, Gendarmes and police have been deployed to the towns of Bamenda, Kumbo, Nkambe, Kumba, Muyuka, Limbe, Mutengene, Buea and Tiko. A spokesman for the teachers was quoted as saying that “this excessive show of force belittles the state of Cameroon because it has never dialogue with those who are complainants and have never solved the issues raised.”

The marginalization of English speaking Cameroonians have been complete and total in all the facets of life ranging from job opportunities, job creation, and educational facilities as well as the issue of attempting to gang up and rape all the cherished Anglo-Saxon values. Today the teachers have joined the already striking Common Law lawyers and other stake holders to continue denouncing this act of grave violation of the Constitution. The Biya Francophone Beti-Ewondo regime has always wanted to completely delete the Anglophone values. Francophones are now teaching in Anglophone High Schools as well as in our Anglo-Saxon institutions of learning like Universities and Polytechnics.

The government has drafted thousands of troops to Bamenda, Kumba, Victoria, Buea and Tiko. These are meant to foment trouble today Monday the 21^st of November 2016 and blame it on the unions. The unions have not called for street protests and have issued a strongly worded statement urging teachers to stay at home and also informing parents to keep their children home and watch over them closely.

The teacher’s statement signed by Tassang Wilfred of CATTU observed that when street protest shall become necessary, the unions shall do that and shall assume responsibility. Cameroon Concord News gathered the unions were not in the Yaoundé meeting and have stated they want SOLUTIONS not Resolutions.

By Bernard Ngouche Ndim

20, November 2016

Peru: Obama and Putin meet for 4 minutes ⁰

US President Barack Obama has held a brief meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to talk about the situation in Syria and Ukraine.

Sunday’s short talk on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru, was the first one the two world leaders had since Donald Trump won the US presidency and believed to be the last one to be held in person.

The US president called on Russia to be committed to the Minsk deal, aimed at controlling the crisis in eastern Ukraine, while stressing the need for continuation of talks on Syria, according to the White House.

“The president urged President Putin to uphold Russia’s commitments under the Minsk agreements, underscoring the US and our partners’ commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty,” AFP quoted a White House official as saying.

Obama also “noted the need for Secretary (John) Kerry and Foreign Minister (Sergei) Lavrov to continue pursuing initiatives, together with the broader international community, to diminish the violence and alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people.”

The four-minute meeting was held during Obama’s last foreign trip as the president. In the run-up to the 2016 presidential election held on November 8, Trump, the GOP nominee, called for a “very, very good relationship” with Putin, saying he is a better leader than Obama.

As Obama prepares to leave the White House, ties between Moscow and Washington remain at the lowest point since the Cold War, most notably over the situation in Syria and Ukraine.

Presstv

19, November 2016

US President-elect agrees to pay $25 million to settle lawsuit against Trump University ⁰

US President-elect Donald Trump has agreed to pay $25 million in order to settle the lawsuit against Trump University, according to New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. Schneiderman made the announcement Friday, saying that the settlement amounted to “a major victory for the over 6,000 victims of his fraudulent university.”

The settlement includes all the three lawsuits filed against the university. Trial for one of the cases was slated to begin on November 28. The money would be split among the suing students. According to Schneiderman, Trump would also pay an extra $1 million in penalties to the state of New York.

The university, which operated between 2004 and 2010, has been accused of being a sham aimed at ripping off students, who claim they were tricked into believing that the New York businessman would handpick the instructors. Apparently, the students were initially lured through free seminars, where the instructors steered them into higher cost ones.

Later on Friday, Trump’s office confirmed the announcement, saying that Trump agreed to settle the case in order to focus on his presidency. “We are pleased to announce the complete resolution of all litigation involving Trump University,” the Trump organization said. “While we have no doubt that Trump University would have prevailed at trial based on the merits of this case, resolution of these matters allows President-Elect Trump to devote his full attention to the important issues facing our great nation.”

During the presidential campaign, Trump had accused the federal judge overseeing the case of being hostile to him. “I believe he happens to be Spanish, which is fine. He is Hispanic, which is fine. And we haven’t asked for recusal, which we may do,” He said in May. “But we have a judge who is very hostile. Should’ve been thrown out. Wasn’t thrown out.”

Presstv

19, November 2016

Foreign journalists to boycott women’s AFCON ¹

Journalists from other African countries are threatening to boycott the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations beginning tomorrow in Yaoundé. While the Confederation of African Football has awarded accreditation to journalists for the media coverage of the female AFCON 2016, which will kick off tomorrow Saturday, the presidential security department is now forcing all CAF accredited journalists to present a special badge emanating from their service to gain access to the opening matches and the final.

Cameroon Concord News has learnt that the presidential security operates a different security system and their decision reigns supreme whenever President Paul Biya is expected to take part in an event. This is a security measure unprecedented in other countries in such circumstances. The measure taken by the security services of the 83-year-old leader is not shared by journalists some of whom are considering a boycott.

By Rita Akana

18, November 2016

Rigobert Song sends message to the Indomitable Lionesses ⁰

Canal 2 international has broadcasted a telephone conversation with the emblematic captain of the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, Rigobert Song still interned at the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital in France. In the news bulletin today, Rigo said he was getting better and better and thanked the Cameroonian people especially President Biya and his wife for their support. “For the moment, I feel good, I’m in full rehabilitation. I am aware of some few things”.

The former international defender has kept his lion’s heart and he shocked the Canal 2 journalist when he reminded him in the conversation that Cameroon was just 24 hours to the kick-off of the 10th edition of the 2016 Women’s Africa Nation’s Cup. “To my sisters, the indomitable Lionesses I convey to them the determination … I wish that everything goes very well,’ Song added.

Rigobert Song suffered a stroke last October the 2nd at his home in Yaoundé. After an emergency treatment in a hospital in Yaoundé, he was evacuated three days later to France on high instruction from the presidency of the republic.

By Chi Prudence Asong with files from CIN

18, November 2016

Boko Haram claims responsibility for three bomb attacks in Nigeria ⁰

Six people have been killed in three bomb attacks in the northeastern Nigerian state of Borno. The bombings were carried out in Maiduguri, Borno’s capital, on Friday. One of the explosions rocked Jiddari area near a mobile police post, Borno state police commissioner Damian Chukwu told reporters in Maiduguri.

The official added that two other bombings were carried out “along Maiduguri-Gamboru road.” The Boko Haram Takfiri terrorists have claimed responsibility for the bombings. Police said four assailants and two civilian defense fighters were killed in the bombings. One of the attackers was arrested.

Emergency personnel stand near the wrecked remains of a vehicle ripped apart following two bombings in Nigeria’s northeast city of Maiduguri on October 29, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

Maiduguri has been the epicenter of Boko Haram’s seven-year insurgency. Borno has taken the brunt of Boko Haram’s acts of terror, which started in 2009. The group has recently regained momentum after it was nearly obliterated months ago by a joint military force made up of Nigerian government forces and troops from neighboring countries.

Boko Haram has pledged allegiance to the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group, which is mainly active in Syria and Iraq. The United Nations has warned that areas affected by Boko Haram face a humanitarian crisis. Boko Haram terrorists have so far killed more than 20,000 people and forced over 2.7 million others from their homes. The group started its campaign with the aim of toppling the central government in Nigeria.

Presstv

18, November 2016

Mozambique: Scores of people killed in an explosion ⁰

Scores of people have been killed and more than a hundred others injured in an explosion that happened as they tried to siphon oil from an overturned truck in western Mozambique. The incident occurred on Thursday in the village of Caphiridzange in Tete Province, killing 73 people and injuring over 110, some of them critically, the government said in a statement.

The truck had been carrying fuel to Malawi from the port city of Beira. The exact circumstances of the incident were not clear. An early government statement had said the blast occurred “because of the heat.” Information ministry director Joao Manasses, however, said people may have ambushed the truck.

Government officials said the local hospital was reinforcing its staff to help treat those injured, saying more bodies might be in surrounding woods because some badly burned people had tried to run into a nearby river. Three government ministers were due to arrive to the village on Friday to monitor the rescue work.

The government in Mozambique increased fuel prices at the beginning of October, causing a rise in the inflation rate. Mozambique, one of the world’s poorest countries, has been suffering the consequences of an economic crisis since its civil war ended in 1992, according to the International Monetary Fund.

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