With at least 436,000 people currently internally displaced in Cameroon’s South-West and North-West – and in neighbouring departments – due to hostilities between armed groups and security forces, the country remains of urgent humanitarian concern.

Humanitarian presence and response are slowly increasing in the affected areas, with priority given to the South-West region which is the epicentre of the displacement crisis with 246,000 IDPs. OCHA has strengthened its capacity including on access and civil-military coordination, and other UN humanitarian agencies are establishing a presence in the two regions and are responding primarily through NGOs in the affected areas.

However, limited access due to insecurity and lack of funding remain impediments to the scale-up of humanitarian programming.

A special three-months response plan launched at the end of May to address the urgent needs of 160,000 vulnerable people in the South-West and North-West requested US$15 million in funding. But only a $5 million rapid response grant from the Central Emergency Response Fund has been received.

The overall 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan for Cameroon requesting $320 million is also underfunded at less than 37 per cent.

Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Germany has imposed travel bans on 18 Saudi nationals suspected of having links to the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdom’s diplomatic mission in Turkey’s Istanbul early last month.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas made the announcement on Monday, saying the 18 Saudi citizens had been banned from entering the country’s territory as well as Europe’s Schengen passport-free zone over Khashoggi’s killing.

“As before, there are more questions than answers in this case, with the crime itself and who is behind it,” Maas said on the sidelines of a European Union meeting in Brussels, adding that he had discussed the decision with his British and French counterparts prior to the announcement.

Berlin has “decided that Germany should impose an entry ban on 18 Saudi citizens, who are presumed to be in connection with this deed, in the Schengen information system,” Maas told reporters.

Mass’ office later announced that it could not release the names of those sanctioned Saudi nationals due to Germany’s privacy laws, but said the members of the 15-strong squad accused of carrying out the killing and a further three suspected of organizing the brutal act had been given entry bans.

The Schengen Area comprises 22 EU countries and four non-EU countries. Britain is not part of the passport-free Schengen zone but shares intelligence through Shengen Information System (SIS) for law enforcement purposes.

Germany has already imposed a ban on selling weapons to Riyadh until the circumstances of Khashoggi’s killing are fully cleared up.

The United States also imposed economic sanctions on 17 Saudi nationals last week, including suspected members of the alleged hit squad and senior advisers to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – who is alleged to have been involved in the killing of the 59-year-old critic.

US media reported on Saturday that the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) believed with “high confidence” that the Saudi crown prince directly ordered the killing.

 bin Salman ordered Khashoggi murder

Saudi Arabia is facing global criticism over Khashoggi’s killing inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

Khashoggi, a prominent commentator on Saudi affairs who wrote for the Washington Post’s Global Opinions section, had lived in self-imposed exile in the US since September 2017, when he left Saudi Arabia over fears of the Riyadh regime’s crackdown on critical voices.

The 59-year-old was seeking to secure documentation for his forthcoming marriage when he entered the Saudi consulate, but never came out despite Riyadh’s initial claim that he exited the mission less than an hour after completing his paperwork.

The Saudi kingdom, after denying the murder for several days, finally admitted that Khashoggi had been killed in the consulate during an interrogation by rogue operatives that had gone wrong after diplomatic pressure grew tremendously on Riyadh to give an account on the mysterious fate of its national.

I’m choking: Khashoggi’s last words revealed

However, Saudi Arabia said that it did not know the whereabouts of Khashoggi’s body, which is widely believed to have been dismembered.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the assassination was ordered at the “highest levels” of the Saudi government, but stopped short of pointing the finger of blame at the crown prince.

Turkey wants the 15-man team that it says killed the journalist to be tried there.

Source: Presstv

A Biya regime plot to assassinate Cardinal Christian Tumi has been revealed by a Southern Cameroons Interim Government’s police mission this week. According to a well placed source with strong ties to the Secretary for Homeland Security Hon. John Egyawan, the IG’s intelligence chief in the Fako County, said that some members of the French Cameroun secret service recently deployed to Buea have been operating in a hotel to act in Southern Cameroons in an assassination mission aimed at the top Roman Catholic prelate.

The Ambazonian Communications Secretary, Chris Anu is yet to publicly comment on the French Cameroun diabolic harsh ploy against the Retired Bishop of the Archdiocese of Douala who is expected to be part of the AAC III forum in Buea. However, a prominent member of the Ambazonian Defense Council who confirmed the news to Cameroon Intelligence Report added that Yaoundé intends to blame the killing of the Cardinal on Southern Cameroons Restoration Forces in the Fako County.

The French Cameroun secret service personnel were seen taking pictures of the hall and residence that will host the Cardinal. The Interim Government has accused the French Cameroun government of being accountable for several attacks in Southern Cameroons, which has claimed the lives of more than 4000 Southern Cameroonians.

Elsewhere, the Cameroon Concord News Group strongly called on Ambazonians to be extremely vigilant and cautions of the activities of vultures of the revolutionary war which have inflicted so much harm and are hampering the efficacious prosecution of the war. Ambazonians must be made to understand that the enemy is French Cameroun and not the IG or the Ambazonia Ground Zero self-defense forces.

Your IG needs contributions for the defense of the President His Excellency Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, members of the Interim Government as well as forty-nine other Ambazonians who were abducted from Nigeria and taken to French Cameroon. The IG needs resources for Ambazonia refugees in Nigeria and for other strategic diplomatic, strategic defense operations.  The vultures of the revolution have never done anything for Ambazonia refugees, abductees, or possess delicate diplomatic skills.  They do not have the ability and maturity to counter the enemy in multiple fronts through the resourceful coordination of the Ambazonia highly skilled and professional Ambazonians and members of the international community away from the self-seeking social frenzy antics of the vultures of the revolution.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

The United States will make final conclusions by early next week over the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, President Donald Trump said Saturday, following reports that the CIA had held Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman responsible.

Saudi Arabia has repeatedly changed its official narrative of the October 2 murder, first denying any knowledge of Khashoggi’s whereabouts and later saying he was killed when an argument degenerated into a fistfight.

Earlier this week, a Saudi prosecutor exonerated the crown prince of involvement in the brutal murder.

Speaking to reporters in Malibu, California after surveying damage from wildfires, Trump said “we’ll be having a very full report over the next two days, probably Monday or Tuesday.”

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert earlier said reports indicating the United States had already made final conclusions in the case were “inaccurate.” “There remain numerous unanswered questions with respect to the murder of Mr Khashoggi,” she added.

The State Department will continue to seek facts and work with other countries to hold those involved in the killing accountable, Nauert said, “while maintaining the important strategic relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia.”

“In the meantime, we will continue to consult Congress, and work with other nations to hold accountable those involved in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi.” She noted that Washington had already taken “decisive measures” against individuals, including visa and sanctions actions.

The remarks appeared to contradict reports that the Central Intelligence Agency had determined Saudi Arabia’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing of Khashoggi, a vocal critic.

‘Truly spectacular ally’

The killing and the international uproar it triggered has frayed ties between Washington and longtime ally Riyadh, which has sought to end discussion of the murder and rejected calls for an international investigation.

But ahead of a briefing by his secretary of state and CIA director, Trump demured when asked about possible retaliation against Riyadh.

“They have been a truly spectacular ally in terms of jobs and economic development,” Trump told reporters.

“And I also take that — you know, I’m president — I have to take a lot of things into consideration.”

The Washington Post, which broke the story, said the CIA found that 15 Saudi agents flew on government aircraft to Istanbul and assassinated Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate.

Khashoggi, a Post columnist, had gone to the consulate to obtain documents necessary to marry his Turkish fiancee.

European Union foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini meanwhile reiterated calls for a “thorough, credible and transparent” probe into Khashoggi’s killing.

“The need remains to shed full clarity on the circumstances surrounding this horrendous crime as well as to ensure accountability for all those responsible for it,” she said in a statement.

Reiterating the EU’s categorical opposition to the death penalty, Mogherini said “we will continue to stress that the kingdom of Saudi Arabia must put in place measures to ensure that something like this can never happen again.”

“In due course, the EU and its member states will consider how they can act together towards appropriate measures against those responsible, in support of the rules based international system,” she added.

In the latest version of the events presented by the Saudi prosecutor on Thursday, a 15-member squad was formed to bring Khashoggi back from Istanbul “by means of persuasion” — but instead ended up killing the journalist and dismembering his body in a “rogue” operation.

(AFP)

The Pentagon says it is reducing its counterterrorism forces in Africa and is studying whether to make similar moves elsewhere in the world.

The stated reason for a planned 10 percent cut in the counterterrorism forces of U.S. Africa Command is to shift the military’s attention toward security threats from Russia and China. That is in line with a revamped defense strategy announced in January by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.

The Africa reductions will amount to roughly 700 troops and their associated military support.

The Ambazonian Interim Government (IG) says French Cameroun military is using helicopters and machine guns in their strikes against Southern Cameroons civilians in rural areas, leaving huge casualties. “Troops loyal to the Biya Francophone regime in Yaoundé have resumed onslaughts against the Interim Government-controlled counties in Boyo, Manyu, Bui, Nkambe and Lebialem,” an IG representative in Bui who spoke to us on condition of anonymity said on Thursday.

According to local residents in the Bui County, Cameroon government forces are using helicopters and machine guns in their strikes. The Interim Government representative’s comments came after Cameroon government military spokesman, Colonel Badjeck announced that 30 Southern Cameroons Restoration Forces were killed in Nkambe.

Cameroon government troops have also reportedly targeted Fon palaces in Lebialem, Bafut including parts of the Western region and blamed the attacks on Ambazonian liberation forces. Local sources told Cameroon Intelligence Report that the French Cameroun army disguised as Fulani herdsmen and attack an Ambazonia camp in Nkambe. They also launched helicopter raid on Mbeme inside Kendem village in the Manyu County. There were no immediate reports about possible casualties.

On Monday, the Ambazonian Communications Secretary, Chris Anu condemned the recent military action by the Biya Francophone regime which left more than 40 innocent Southern Cameroons civilians killed and injured. Chris Anu further pointed out that the massacre of Ambazonians and the American missionary, Charles Wesco clearly points to the fact that the French Cameroun army has no respect for moral values, international rules and regulations as well as the lives of innocent Southern Cameroons civilians.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

The fighting in the country’s two English-speaking regions has intensified, leading to huge casualties. Over the last two days, more than 50 people have been killed in the region, including some 15 army soldiers. In Bui Division, some 20 separatist fighters were ambushed and killed by government troops on Tuesday.

Kumbo, the capital of Bui Division, has over the last two days witnessed some bloody fighting. Pictures published online showed that there was intense fighting as heavy smoke could be seen bellowing from many houses. On Wednesday, some 10 army soldiers have been killed by separatist fighters in Ndu Sub-division where lots of fighting has been going on between government forces and separatists.

From the number of soldiers being killed by separatist fighters, it is clear that the separatists have finally taken possession of their most cherished weapon, the AK-47, which is reputed around the world for its capacity to inflict a lot of damage.

In Lebialem Division, the red dragons have been celebrating the arrival of their consignment and they have promised to give army soldiers a run for their money. The same applies to fighters in the Northwest region who are bent on spreading death and destruction among government soldiers, especially after the killing of some 20 fighters by government troops.

It is being rumored that the killing of some 20 Southern Cameroonian fighters by government troops in Bui is an act of betrayal. Separatist fighters are investigating the matter and have vowed to take their revenge on anybody who was involved in the betrayal.

It is also being reported that government troops have run amok in the region and they are arresting people for no reason and are asking for money. Many of those who have been arrested and cannot pay the money requested by government soldiers are being threatened with death.

It should be underscored that Cameroonian soldiers have been given a shoot and kill order and this has enabled them to establish a business niche in the region. Their strategy consists in accusing innocent civilians of being part of the separatists and then imposes levies on them. The levies range from CFAF 200,000 to CFAF 1,000,000.

Since there are no control mechanisms in place, the soldiers are robbing the people blind and this is further radicalizing the people. According to a civilian in Kumbo, the fighting might never come to an end as the population is very bitter and the people want to take their revenge on the soldiers who have been killing and maiming innocent civilians.

He added that the most surprising thing is the rapping of women by soldiers who are supposed to be protecting the women and children. Atrocities committed by army soldiers are actually shocking the population and many people in the region are now openly stating that they are with the separatist.

It has even been reported that government troops dropped a child in hot palm oil in Muyengue in the Southwest region when they tried, in vain, to arrest a group of women who were processing their palm oil. The women, who escaped after seeing the troops, left the child behind as they feared for their lives. After returning to the oil processing location, they only found out that the soldiers had messed up their property and dropped the innocent child in hot oil.

These types of stories are pushing many young girls and boys into the arms of the separatists who are being considered as protectors and saviors in the region. The population is now sure that with their new weapons, the separatists can change the course of things in the region.

With this new weapon, it is obvious that the fighting in Cameroon’s two English-speaking regions has entered a new phase. After more than two years, separatist fighters have finally laid their hand on their weapon of choice and this is widely expected to wreak more havoc on government forces.

The fighters, who have been using den guns, have finally received their cherished weapon, the AK-47, and they have been celebrating. The shipment, which came through Nigeria’s Niger Delta, has already brought down more than ten army soldiers in the North West region alone.

The news about the arms shipment was delivered to the Cameroon Concord News Group’s global headquarters in the United Kingdom by a member of the armed separatist group’s inner cycle in a telephone interview.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the fighter who identified himself as Captain Destroyer said they had had been longing for these weapons and now that they have them, they would make Southern Cameroonians proud.

“We have been dreaming of this day. The government’s fire power has been superior because of the type of weapons its soldiers have. We will be reversing things now that we have got this weapon of mass destruction known around the world as AK-47. With our den guns, we have succeeded to bring down more than 1,300 army soldiers. I think they are in for real trouble. We are very happy with the efforts of our brothers in the Diaspora, especially the efforts of the Interim Government that is not relenting in his efforts to ensure that we liberate our land,” Captain Destroyer said.

“We will keep them busy. They have been working hard over the last two years just to keep us in check. With this weapon, we will tell them that we can make them bite the dust. We know they have killed many of our people. We have seen many houses being burnt. Some of our people have been roasted. But we are not giving in. We must revenge the deaths of our brothers,” he added.

“We are still looking forward to having more sophisticated weapons. The country has very porous borders and their so-called soldiers are poor and easy to corrupt. Many of them are tired and scared of dying. We will deliver them a huge surprise very soon. If we lay our hands on bombs, they will regret a lot. We have seen blood. I have seen comrades being mowed down by army soldiers and this has transformed me into a beast. I am prepared to die, after all, my fate is worse than death,” he stressed.

“In the days ahead, you will be having a huge surprise. Some of our Francophone brothers have crossed the Mungo to join us and they want to take death to their own people. We are still suspicious of them, so we have sent them to Nigeria for training,” he said, adding that “many of them want to engage in sabotage that will bring the government to its knees. The tables are slowly turning.  Mr. Biya and his people are in for trouble. They will soon be fighting a war on many fronts. Our partners from East Cameroon say their response will come in the form of a mushroom cloud and they will make sure civilian casualties are minimized,” he said.

“If Mr. Biya thinks it is all over because he has been sworn in, then he is deceiving himself. It is not Prof. Kamto who will be his nightmare, but the population. They may look docile, but when the time comes, the government will not recognize the same people who seem to have been intimidated into silence,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, the fighting has intensified in Kumbo, Bui County, with Southern Cameroonian soldiers destroying all bridges as news is spreading that army soldiers are advancing towards Kumbo. It is therefore challenging now to travel from Kumbo to Bamenda, as the number of checkpoints has increased.

Southern Cameroonian fighters have advised the population in Kumbo to head to the bushes as they prepare for a showdown with army soldiers. The fighters are excited to use their new weapons and they have promised hell to Mr. Biya’s struggling army.

Also, there have been many raids on the homes of Southern Cameroonians living in Yaounde. Many of those suspected by the soldiers have been arrested and taken to unknown destinations. Many Southern Cameroonians who had escaped to Yaounde during the election are already fleeing the capital city due to these raids and high cost of living.

The raids in Yaounde are being orchestrated by Beti soldiers and this has become their stock in trade. They have been arresting young Southern Cameroonians for cash and each person arrested is asked to pay CFAF 200,000 before he is released. Mr. Biya’s army has found a new way to make money and this trade seems to be netting the soldiers lots of cash, especially as the government is looking the other way.

Though Mr. Biya has been sworn in as the country’s president, it is clear that he is not having a good night’s sleep. Cameroon, which was once touted as a safe sanctuary for many people fleeing violence in their countries, has become a dangerous place for its own citizens, especially those who challenge Mr. Biya’s authority.

Meanwhile, pressure is still mounting on the government of Cameroon. The international community is urging the Yaounde government to negotiate a way out of the mess it has created in the two English-speaking regions of the country. Though the regime is still dragging its feet, it is becoming obvious that it will buckle under the pressure as some of its allies are insisting that the war is costing a lot and the government lacks legitimacy.

It should be recalled that Mr. Biya, the country’s president, had lost last month’s presidential election, but the constitutional council which is replete with members of his party did all it could to hand the 85-year-old dictator another 7-year term.

By Kingsley Betek in Yaounde

Hundreds of people filled a northern Indiana church to remember a missionary who was killed in Cameroon two weeks after arriving there with his wife and their eight children.

Charles Wesco died Oct. 30 after he was shot in the head during fighting between armed separatists and soldiers in the West African nation. The Mishawaka man was sitting with his wife, Stephanie, in a car being driven by another missionary when he was shot.

Wesco was the older brother of Republican state Rep. Tim Wesco of Osceola (o-see-O’-la).

The South Bend Tribune reports that during Monday’s memorial service at South Bend’s Community Baptist Church, fellow missionary Tom Needham told mourners that Wesco’s widow has already forgiven her husband’s killer, saying she “has no bitterness in her soul against anyone.”

Source: AP