Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election on social media was more widespread than previously thought and included attempts to divide Americans by race and extreme ideology,reports released Monday said. The reports by private experts were released by US senators from both parties.

The Russian government’s Internet Research Agency, based in St. Petersburg, Russia, tried to manipulate US politics, said the reports, one by social media analysts New Knowledge and the other by an Oxford University team working with analytical firm Graphika.

The twin reports largely verified earlier findings by US intelligence agencies, but offered much more detail about Russian activity going back years that continues even now, said the reports and senior lawmakers.

For instance, one Russian troll farm tried to encourage US “secessionist movements” in California and Texas, the New Knowledge report said.

“This newly released data demonstrates how aggressively Russia sought to divide Americans by race, religion and ideology,” said Richard Burr, the Republican chairman of the US Senate Intelligence Committee, in a statement.

The Russian agency worked to erode trust in US democratic institutions and its activities have not stopped, he said. The committee collected data from social media companies that was used by the private analysts in their analysis.

Senator Mark Warner, the committee’s top Democrat, said, “These reports demonstrate the extent to which the Russians exploited the fault lines of our society to divide Americans in an attempt to undermine and manipulate our democracy.

“These attacks… were much more comprehensive, calculating and widespread than previously revealed,” he said.

‘Conspiratorialist and… junk political news’

Oxford/Graphika said the Russians spread “sensationalist, conspiratorialist, and other forms of junk political news and misinformation to voters across the political spectrum.”

The group said Russian trolls urged African-Americans to boycott the election or to follow wrong voting procedures, while also encouraging right-wing voters to be more confrontational.

Since Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, it said, Russian trolls have put out messages urging Mexican-American and other Hispanic voters to mistrust US institutions.

The report from New Knowledge said the Russians ran “comprehensive Anti-Hillary Clinton operations,” such as efforts to organize Muslims to stage a pro-Clinton demonstration.

The report said Russian hackers also targeted Republican senators Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Lindsey Graham and the late John McCain, as well as former FBI chief James Comey, special prosecutor Robert Mueller, and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

A US intelligence report in January 2017 said Russian President Vladimir Putin directed a sophisticated influence campaign including cyber attacks to denigrate Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and support Trump.

The Kremlin has denied the allegations of meddling. Trump has denied any collusion between Russia and his campaign.

The matter is being investigated by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, whose long-running inquiry has clouded the Trump presidency and netted guilty pleas and indictments against former close Trump associates.

(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)

Sudan’s president has become the first Arab leader to visit Damascus since the Syrian civil war began eight years ago.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad greeted Omar al-Bashir at the airport Sunday, the state-run news agency SANA reported.

Most Arab countries have closed their embassies in Damascus and condemned Assad for using overwhelming military force and failing to negotiate with the opposition.

Syria was also expelled from the 22-member Arab League.

No official reason was given for the visit, but SANA said the two leaders held talks at the presidential palace about developments in the region and in Syria.

As the war in Syria winds down in Assad’s favor, some Arab nations have called for normalizing ties with Damascus and even of allowing it back in the Arab League.

Source: VOA

I believe I saw Michael Akachi walk to his death. He was escorted to the “stake” by two armed soldiers of the Rapid Intervention Brigade (BIR). He just could not see his sympathizers or mourners watching, bemused at his final walk; he was blindfolded with a red piece of cloth. Neither could he give them a goodbye wave, though obviously hearing their voices and movements around; his hands were bound in front of him.

This is the story of the summary execution of a suspected combatant of the Ambazonia restoration forces or “Amba Boys” at Mabanda, just outside Kumba, along the Kumba-Mamfe road.

My multiple mission was to convey relief supplies from a humanitarian organization abroad destined for my village IDPs, which had been stuck for weeks in Douala as none of those assigned for the dispatch was ready to brave the gun battles infested Kumba-Mamfe Road.This was a few days to the dreadful countdown to September 16, initial debut date of the announced lockdown ahead of October 1 (“Amba Independence” celebration) and October 7 (presidential election), when people were fleeing the Southwest and Northwest in droves, most of them to Francophone cities for sanctuary.

I thought there was no better time to bring humanitarian supplies to our suffering people stuck in the forest.Another reason for braving the Kumba-Mamfe road was to check on village home before the lockdown, especially after reports of soldiers breaking into homes hoping to find weapons.  But above all, as a journalist, that was an opportunity to jot some notes on the unfolding drama. I jotted a few.A fraction of my fellow passengers were young women doing the reverse journey from Anglophone and Francophone cities to their villages to both support their ageing parents camping in the forest under precarious conditions, and to “enjoy” the safety of the forest at a time of uncertainty of what the city held for anyone, should the looming confrontations from the October lockdown snowball into the unknown.

Our driver began receiving advice and warnings against engaging our journey prior to our take off from Mile 17 park, Buea because, he was told, there had been skirmishes between Government forces and Amba Boys along the way. Arriving Muyuka, our driver transfered us into another bus that brought passengers from Kumba; a kind of passenger swap so that each driver engaged the stretch of road he mastered better.Just over an hour into our journey, we ran into an unusual checkpoint. Two armed men in civilian clothes, all-black, with “necklaces” and other things that looked like amulets, flagged our bus. They told us to contribute to their effort. “We di fight na for wuna” (It’s your cause we are defending), they said. They urged us to make hey and drive on fast. The formalities done, we drove on.Great was our surprise that, just around the bend, not quite 20 metres on, we were at the Mabonji “mixed control” checkpoint, the last before Kumba.”So, they operate so close to each other?” a fellow passenger wondered. “It looks like they have come to an understanding to respect each other’s space until when there is combat,” said another. It was confusing.

Traffic controls, disembarkment in Kumba and other travel hassles, by 5pm, I was taking off from the Mabanda park right across town. A couple of minutes on, we were at the Mabanda checkpoint. We went through the now usual practice of alighting before the “gate”, being checked by officers, and embarking again across the gate. Three or four other vehicles had arrived the checkpoint from both sides, so there were more than a dozen passengers crisscrossing each other or loitering around the checkpoint.Just then, I saw two BIR officers with guns, escorting a young man dressed in all-black. He was possibly taller than both of them. His eyes were bound with a piece of red cloth. His hands were apparently bound infront, handcuffed, maybe. I could not tell, watching them from behind.They led him towards a right hand branch off, a few metres from the checkpoint facing Kumba. It led to the local GHS or GBHS Mabanda. I was told the military camped there. I could read gloom on the faces of three young women by me also watching, they too waiting to board their vehicle. I guessed their guess was my guess.The driver told me he had noticed that young man sitting with soldiers under a shelter at the checkpoint when we arrived there, guessing he had been arrested and kept there for some time. It looked like they decided to take him away at that moment for the many passengers transiting at that time, to be eyewitnesses and travel with the word to serve as a deterrent to other young men.I wished for a few more minutes there to take some more mental notes, but the driver said we had to get going because he had to return before nightfall with some passengers waiting in Nguti.

A few minutes on, just before we entered Ikiliwindi, about 10km from the checkpoint, we saw dead bodies on the road, some in culverts. The driver had to wabble through them carefully.About 30 minutes later, between Konye and Supe, the village that precedes the flyover, we met another unusual all-black checkpoint. A single gunman. He was about done with a vehicle ahead of us when we arrived. When the formalities were done, he greeted me in a familiar tone. When I looked at him, surprised (or scared?), he laughed and said, “Brother, you surprise? I know you. I know you,” he said chuckling now as he walked away and we drove off.Arriving Manyemen just before nightfall, I narrated the eyesaw of my journey to my acquaintances, the few village folks who braved it to stay on in the ghostly deserted village, mainly people selling fuel along the road or food to people camping at the famous Manyemen Hospital. I described the young man I had seen being taken away by the soldiers and what I guessed was his fate. “Someone said, ” Hmmn, I hope it’s not… hmmn, because that description and the colour of the dress, that could be… hmmn!” Someone else said, “Ha! Leave that your own. Anyone can be dressed in black and black.”Next morning, Friday, September 14, a young lady walking towards me said, “Brother, hmmn, it looks like that boy you described yesterday is a boy from our village o! His sister has called that they say they have found his body somewhere around Ikiliwindi. He is the son of Mami Agie Sunday.”The next time I met her, she said another call had disproved the story. But by noon, she told me again the death had been confirmed, that a family member had identified the body and plans were afoot to bury him there. Shortly after, a few women walked with Mami Agie Sunday in tears to the roadside, support her on both sides. They sat her down in front of the hospital gate to help her to find transport for the “funeral”.

In a small group apart, people took turns to narrate Michael Akachi’s last day. He had been living or working or farming in some village in Manyu division and had not been seen Manyemen for a while. That Thursday, he stopped over in the village to give some provisions to his mother before travelling on towards Kumba. At the roadside when he pulled out his wallet to pay his fare, something that looked like an amulet fell from his pocket. Onlookers, alarmed, said they warned him that could land him into trouble with Government defence and security forces who suspect such objects as the charms they believe are used by Amba Boys. They said they believed the amulets were found on Akanti at the Mabanda checkpoint, and that might have led to his arrest and his doom.

The UN envoy for Central Africa on Thursday said he remained concerned with the situation in the northwest and southwest regions of Cameroon and reaffirmed the UN’s commitment to the territorial integrity and unity of the country.

In recent months, fighting between the separatists and Cameroon’s forces has sent hundreds of thousands of people fleeing, with hundreds of people killed in the two English-speaking regions in the largely Francophone country.

“Violence has not diminished, and allegations of human rights violations by all sides continue to be reported,” Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Central Africa Francois Lounceny Fall told the Security Council.

“Several schools remain closed in the southwest and northwest regions. I am particularly conceded with the effect of the crisis on women and children,” he said.

Fall recalled his visit to Cameroon in late November where he had met with key government officials and stressed to all actors the necessity for inclusive dialogue as a constructive and sustainable way forward for a peaceful resolution of the crisis.

In this regard, he appealed to the Cameroonian government to continue to safeguard access by humanitarian partners to the populations in need and to ensure that all human rights violations are addressed.

Fall said he was encouraged by the government’s commitment to putting in place plans to address the root causes of the crisis, including through accelerated decentralization and the activities of the National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism.

Cameroon’s Anglophone separatists sprang up last year from peaceful protests against the alleged marginalization of English-speakers in the country.

Since November, government forces have been clashing with the separatists who want the two regions to secede from the nation and to form a new country called “Ambazonia.”

Source: Xinhuanet

The United States demanded an immediate end to violence in Cameroon on Thursday and a speedy start to talks between the government and Anglophone separatists without preconditions.

U.S. deputy ambassador Jonathan Cohen told the Security Council that security and humanitarian conditions in Cameroon’s English-speaking North West and South West regions “have significantly deteriorated.”

October was the most violent month on record in recent years — and November is likely to surpass it, he said. Hundreds have been killed in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions in months of fighting between the military and separatists who claim they are marginalized in the largely French-speaking country.

“The violence must stop now,” Cohen said. “The United States calls for an immediate and broad-based reconciliatory dialogue, without preconditions. … We urge all sides to foreswear violence, to restore peace, and to resolve their grievances through political dialogue.”

He said the escalating violence is obstructing the delivery of humanitarian aid to over 430,000 internally displaced people as well as education and health access to children in rural areas.

Reena Ghelani, director of U.N. humanitarian operations, warned that Cameroon is “one of the fastest growing displacement crises in Africa,” saying that in addition to those who have fled their homes and remain in the country over 30,000 Cameroonians have crossed the border into Nigeria seeking refuge.

The majority of internally displaced Cameroonians “are hiding in dense forests, without adequate shelter and lacking food, water and basic services,” Ghelani said. “Schools and markets are also disrupted and there are alarming health needs.”

“We note with great concern the deteriorating situation with respect to the protection of civilians, including reported killings, burning of homes and villages, extortion and kidnappings in the South West and North West regions of Cameroon,” she said, adding that there have been multiple attacks on schools and threats to students and teachers.

British deputy ambassador Jonathan Allen said the United Kingdom takes Ghelani’s warning very seriously and announced a $3.1 million contribution from the government to the U.N. appeal for the Anglophone regions to address immediate humanitarian and medical needs.

This represents 20 percent of the U.N. appeal, he said, urging other countries to contribute.

Both Allen and Cohen stressed Cameroon’s important role in fighting against the Boko Haram group and other Islamic State extremists.

Cohen noted Cameroon President Paul Biya expressed confidence in his inaugural address on Nov. 6 that “there is an honorable way out in everyone’s interest.”

The United States encourages Biya “to make good on his commitment to accelerate the decentralization process” and implement recommendations of a Cameroonian commission on bilingualism and multiculturalism, Cohen said.

Allen said that “words alone will not improve things” and strongly urged Cameroon’s government to take urgent action to start a dialogue, undertake confidence-building measures, allow humanitarian access throughout the country, and ensure “accountability for all those responsible for human rights violations and abuses.”

Fox News

Several senior US senators in Congress have warned Saudi Arabia that Riyadh must change its leadership if itwants to maintain its close ties with Washington, saying Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has become “so toxic.”

In some of their strongest comments to date, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Senator Bob Menendez signaled Wednesday they would like to see Saudi Arabia remove from power bin Salman, the country’s de facto ruler.

Sentiment voiced in both the Senate and House of Representatives this week signals a shift in congressional support for Saudi Arabia and bin Salman, also known as MbS.

“To our friends in Saudi Arabia, you are never going to have a relationship with the United States Senate unless things change. And it’s up to you to figure out what that change needs to be,” Graham told reporters at a press conference in Congress.

“From my point of view, the current construct is not working. There is a relationship between countries and individuals. The individual, the crown prince, is so toxic, so tainted, so flawed that I can’t ever see myself doing business in the future with Saudi Arabia unless there is a change there,” Graham said.

“The relationship with Saudi Arabia is not working for America,” he added. “It is more of a burden than an asset.”

The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a resolution on Wednesday proposed by Menendez and Republican Senator Todd Young that would suspend weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and impose sanctions on people blocking humanitarian access in Yemen.

Menendez, who was joined at the press conference on Capitol Hill by Graham, said the resolution will pass when it comes to a full vote in the Senate and that it is meant to hold Saudi leaders accountable for human rights abuses.

“This sends a global message that just because you’re an ally of the United States, you can’t kill with impunity,” Menendez said.

The US Senate voted on Wednesday to advance another resolution to end US military support for the Saudi-led military campaign against Yemen, setting the stage for debate and a later vote in the upper chamber.

The United State Senate has voted to end President Donald Trump’s support for the Saudi war on Yemen. The nearly unprecedented break the 11 Republicans made from US President Donald Trump was largely symbolic because the House of Representatives is not expected to take the matter up this year.

Trump has threatened a veto the measure if it passes both chambers. The Saudi war against Yemen has killed over 15, 000 people in the impoverished nation and has been described by the United Nations as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

During an interview with Reuterson Tuesday, Trump said he hoped senators would not propose stopping arms salesto the Saudis. Trump also said he stood by Saudi Arabia’s crown prince despitea CIA assessment that he ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, inIstanbul, Turkey, on October 2. Trump has come under fierce criticism fromfellow Republicans in the Senate over the issue.

Source: Presstv

UN human rights experts have expressed concerns over a crackdown against protesters in Cameroon following President Paul Biya’s re-election, and called for the protection of freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association.

International human rights standards establish the right of everyone to participate in peaceful demonstrations, the experts said. Any restriction to the freedoms of peaceful assembly and expression must be provided by the law and be necessary and proportional.

“The restrictions imposed lately by the Cameroonian authorities on the rights to peaceful assembly and expression appear to ignore such criteria, provided for by the international instruments to which Cameroon is a party,” they said. In particular, the experts underline that the country’s 2014 anti-terrorism law should not be used to curtail peaceful assembly, marches or demonstrations organised by political parties during an electoral process. Under this law, police custody can be extended from 48 hours to 15 days, and jurisdiction transferred to military courts.

Independent experts appointed by the Human Rights Council have previously expressed concerns to the authorities of Cameroon that a broad definition of terrorism, such as “disruption of the normal functioning of public services”, could be misused to ban peaceful assembly.

These worries had still not been addressed, the experts said. The authorities should respect the national legal framework for demonstrations, which requires organisers to notify local authorities seven days prior to a demonstration.

The experts acknowledged as a positive step the dropping of charges against 52 militants of the Mouvement de la Renaissance du Cameroun on 4 December, at the request of the Attorney General at the Littoral Court of Appeal, under the instructions of the Minister of Justice.

“The allegations received last month seem to indicate the establishment of a repressive climate towards civil society, political parties, and people critical of the outcome of the elections, whether it concerns their right to express their views or to manifest freely,” the experts said.

The experts repeated their calls for a review of the 2014 antiterrorism law to ensure it is not used to restrict fundamental freedoms, such as the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association. They also urged the Government to ensure a wider democratic space is guaranteed before, during and after the forthcoming legislative and municipal elections scheduled in 2019.

Culled from Reliefweb

The United States has slapped a ban on former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh and his family from entering the country. The measure announced on Monday is largely related to charges of corruption and gross rights abuses during his 22 years in charge.

His wife, Zineb Yahya Jammeh, and his children, are also on the US blacklist relating to foreign leaders involved in large-scale corruption or serious human rights violations, according to a State Department statement.

The statement stressed the resolve of Washington in assisting the Adama Barrow -led government in the area of support for a transition to greater transparency, accountability and democratic governance.

Jammeh ruled The Gambia, a small English-speaking West African country, for 22 years until his defeat at the polls in 2016 by Adama Barrow.

He left power after the West African bloc ECOWAS threatened a military intervention. He is currently resident in Equatorial Guinea where regional leaders arranged for him to live in exile.

Source: Africa News