Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plotted his next moves Thursday after his defence minister resigned over a controversial Gaza ceasefire, throwing his coalition into crisis and raising the possibility of early elections.

After Avigdor Lieberman announced his resignation on Wednesday, Netanyahu was clinging to a one-seat majority in parliament and one of his main right-wing rivals was also threatening to pull out of the coalition.

Education Minister Naftali Bennett of the far-right Jewish Home party was demanding to be given the defence portfolio or he would withdraw his eight seats from Netanyahu’s governing coalition.

Another key coalition partner, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon of centre-right Kulanu, reportedly told Netanyahu elections should be called as soon as possible because a stable government was needed to keep the economy on track.

Netanyahu was meanwhile seeking to contain the political fallout of his decision to accept a ceasefire deal on Tuesday that ended the worst escalation between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza since a 2014 war.

Lieberman said it was “capitulating to terror” when announcing his resignation and also criticised Netanyahu’s recent decision to allow Qatar to send millions of dollars in aid to the blockaded Palestinian enclave.

He formally submitted his resignation on Thursday.

Beyond that, there have been protests calling for tough action against Hamas by Israelis living near the Gaza border whose communities were targeted by barrages of rockets from Gaza this week.

A poll published on Thursday found some 74 percent of respondents were unhappy with Netanyahu’s handling of the escalation with Gaza and its Islamist rulers Hamas.

Giving further ammunition to Netanyahu’s political critics, Hamas has portrayed the ceasefire and Lieberman’s resignation as a victory.

“This government has failed to establish deterrence,” Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, from Bennett’s Jewish Home, told army radio on Thursday.

‘Mr. Security’

Netanyahu’s political popularity is in large part due to his reputation as Israel’s “Mr. Security”, as he has often been dubbed, and he has defended his decision saying: “Our enemies begged for a ceasefire.

“In times of emergency, when making decisions crucial to security, the public can’t always be privy to the considerations that must be hidden from the enemy,” he said.

His Likud party has hit back at suggestions he will be forced to call early elections, saying Netanyahu will take over the defence portfolio at least temporarily in addition to the premiership, foreign affairs and health portfolios he already has.

A Likud spokesman said Netanyahu would continue consultations on Thursday aimed at stabilising his coalition. There has long been speculation that Netanyahu may call elections before they are due in November 2019, particularly with police having recommended charges against him in two corruption probes.

The attorney general is expected to announce in the coming months whether to pursue charges against him, and some analysts believe he would be better positioned to combat them with a fresh electoral mandate.

But Netanyahu would want to make the move at the most advantageous time and likely not with public attention focused on the Gaza ceasefire.

Qatari cash

The Gaza violence had erupted on Sunday with a botched Israeli special forces operation inside the territory that turned deadly and prompted Hamas to vow revenge.

Palestinian militants responded with rocket and mortar fire, as well as an anti-tank missile that hit a bus that Hamas says was being used by Israeli soldiers. A soldier was severely wounded in the attack.

Around 460 rockets and mortar rounds were fired from the Gaza Strip, wounding 27 people, three of them severely.

A Palestinian labourer from the occupied West Bank was killed when a rocket hit a building in the Israeli city of Ashkelon.

Israel hit back with widespread air strikes on some 160 targets in the Gaza Strip before the Egyptian-brokered truce took effect on Tuesday. Seven Gazans were killed.

The escalation came despite Netanyahu’s decision to allow Qatar to transfer millions of dollars in aid to Gaza for salaries as well as fuel to ease a chronic electricity shortage.

The cash transfers had led to calmer protests along the border after months of deadly unrest. But they also drew criticism from within Netanyahu’s own government, and Lieberman slammed them in announcing his resignation.

(AFP)

US President Donald Trump insists his Republican Party has won the 2018 midterm congressional elections despite losing the House of Representatives to Democrats, threatening the opposition party against using their newly found power in the lower chamber of Congress to hinder his political agenda.

The Republican head of state took to Twitter on Tuesday to take credit for his party’s success in widening their narrow majority in the Senate by winning more seats in midterms.

“Those that worked with me in this incredible Midterm Election, embracing certain policies and principles, did very well. Those that did not, say goodbye! Yesterday was such a very Big Win, and all under the pressure of a Nasty and Hostile Media!”

While Democrats were never projected as the favorites to flip the Senate, it is still surprising to see how they failed to make a splash despite receiving intense support from party heavyweights such as former President Barack Obama, former VP Joe Biden and former First Lady Hillary Clinton.

In a major blow to President Trump, Democrats score a critical victory by flipping the House of Representatives, while the Senate remains in Republican control.

Trump wrote only the “fake news” would refuse to “give us proper credit for this great Midterm Election.” Trump then went after Democrats, advising them against launching House level investigations into his administration like some party members have suggested.

 “If the Democrats think they are going to waste Taxpayer Money investigating us at the House level, then we will likewise be forced to consider investigating them for all of the leaks of Classified Information, and much else, at the Senate level. Two can play that game!”

Immediately after it became clear that Democrats had won the lower chamber of Congress for the first time in eight years, there were speculation that they would use the opportunity to give Trump more headache.

While impeachment seems a distant possibility now that Democrats have failed to secure a big enough majority, they still can put Trump under pressure by frustrating his legislative agenda and also dig deep into his business career.

The president has already been accused by Democrats of obstruction of justice in the ongoing investigation into his alleged ties with Russia which is led by Justice Department’s Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

Trump took a jab at the probe in his post-election Twitter rant, calling it a “witch hunt.” Keeping control of the Senate was the highlight of the night for Republicans as they lost ground in pretty much every other aspect of the midterms.

In addition to losing the House, they were also projected to lose seven gubernatorial races to Democrats as well. Overall, however, it seems like Trump managed to do well  enough in what shaped up as the first chance for many Americans to pass judgment about his presidency.

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US citizens have started voting in the 2018 midterm congressional elections in which 35 million early votes have already been cast.

Polling stations opened at 6:00 am (1100 GMT) Tuesday on the East Coast, Republicans were keenly aware that losing their majority will hamstring his divisive, nativist political agenda over the next two years.

Republican President Donald Trump has warned voters that a Democratic victory in the  elections destroys the American economy and makes way for a “socialist nightmare.”

At stake in the elections are all 435 seats in the House of Representatives, 35 seats in the 100-member Senate, 36 governor’s posts and seats in state legislatures across the country.

Americans will elect lawmakers for all 435 seats in the House of Representative and 35 seats of the 100 seats in the Senate will be contested. In addition, 39 state and territorial governorship as well as numerous other state and local elections will also be contested.

Trump has acknowledged that members of his Republican Party could lose their majority in the House of Representatives.

Trump said Democrats may win by a narrow margin. He expressed more optimism about Republicans retaining control of the Senate.

In his final pitch to voters before Election Day, Trump told a huge crowd of supporters in Fort Wayne, Indiana on Monday that America’s “single best economy” was at stake and voting Republican on Tuesday was the only way to save it.

“If the radical Democrats take power, they will take a wrecking ball to our economy and to the future of our country,” he said.

“The Democrat agenda will deliver a socialist nightmare,” he added. “The Republican agenda is delivering the American dream. Optimism! The American dream.”

The president then repeated what his critics call a “doomsday message” that he has been preaching over the past days, in an attempt to spread fear about a migrant caravan that is currently moving through Mexico to reach US border.

Democrats are generally favored to win the 23 seats they need to wrest the majority from Republicans in the US House of Representatives for the first time since 2010, according to opinion polls and nonpartisan forecasters.

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The Cameroon Concord News Group Board wishes to inform its faithful readers that for more than a decade, it has been providing world-class reports of the situation in Southern Cameroons.  The Board has been priding itself on its reports which have helped the world to gain a greater understanding of the crisis playing out in Southern Cameroons. It hails its reporters who have also helped the readers to have a broader perspective of the political situation in Cameroon.

The Board wishes to thank its readers who have continued to trust Southern Cameroon’s leading news platform. It is therefore using this opportunity to state that its reporters are willing to provide more quality information to the readers.    However, due to the changing global financial context, the Board is urging its readers to play a significant role in the financing of the news organization.  It is therefore calling on its faithful readers to make whatever financial contribution they can to ensure they get the latest developments in their native Southern Cameroons, in particular, and Cameroon in general.

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The shooting of a American missionary on Monday (Oct. 30) has for the first time publicly pulled the United States into Cameroon’s long-drawn conflict raging in the English-speaking parts of the country.

Charles Truman Wesco, who had barely spent two weeks in the central African nation, died in hospital after being shot as he and his family drove through Bambui, on the outskirt of the city of Bamenda. Wesco and his family were reported to have been caught in crossfire between armed separatists and the armed forces.

Over the past two years, the country has seen peaceful protests by English-speaking minorities against what they claimed was marginalization by the French-speaking led government of president Paul Biya escalate into outright conflict in recent months. The Anglophone fighters now seek to carve out their own state called the Federal Republic of Ambazonia (Southern Cameroons). The US Embassy in Yaounde has previously issued warnings to its citizens against traveling to the troubled regions in Cameroon’s southwest and northwest.

Hundreds of unarmed civilians have lost their lives in similar circumstances but the latest killing has provoked a ferocious trade in accusations, with each side blaming the other for the death of the American. It has also put an unwelcome international spotlight on the Biya government, which has been in power for 36 years.

Joseph Beti Assomo, Cameroon’s minister delegate at the presidency in charge of defense said a group of “terrorists” [separatists] who had taken cover shot and killed the US citizen. The defense minister said the army swiftly riposted and four separatists were gunned down, while a student and soldier were wounded. He warned all foreigners in the country to always inform the authorities and security forces of their movement in the north-west and south-west regions “due to the actions of terrorist groups.”

Separatists for their part, especially those in the diaspora on social media, have been blaming the army for Monday’s shooting.

As US officials became aware of the incident Cameroon’s government recruited Washington DC-based communications firm Glover Park Group to tell US and international reporters that authorities are urgently looking into the incident, “but as of yet, despite claims by pro-separatist sources on social media, the culprit and circumstances behind the shooting have not yet been determined.” But citing initial reports, the statement also claimed the weapon used in killing the US citizen was a shotgun and that such a weapon is commonly used by separatists, not by the military.

Wesco’s brother, Timothy Wesco, told ABC News their family believe the killing was targeted “quite probable because he was a white, English-speaking American.” He however did not specify which party perpetrated the “targeted” killing.

The recent developments could jeopardize bilateral relations between the US and Cameroon under long-serving Biya. In recent times, the US has increasingly given military assistance to Cameroon particularly in its battle with Boko Haram terrorists; providing training to the country’s elite military unit—the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR)—which has been deployed to the north-west and south-west regions. But that may change as the Cameroonian military has been racking up a record of human rights abuses.

In May, US ambassador Peter Barlerin accused government forces of ‘targeted killings’ and abuses in the fight against Anglophone separatists. But in Monday’s killing, the US State Department said the Wesco was caught in crossfire and was not deliberately targeted.

The tragic death has sparked outrage on Capitol Hill. Sen. Bob Menendez  of New Jersey, a senior member of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called on Cameroonian authorities to ensure transparency and thoroughness, and to strictly adhere to the legal process for swiftly bringing those implicated to justice. Meanwhile, Tibor Nagy, assistant secretary for US department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs has promised that the US government will provide all appropriate consular services.

Culled from Quartz

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The Cameroon Concord News Group Board wishes to inform its faithful readers that for more than a decade, it has been providing world-class reports of the situation in Southern Cameroons.  The Board has been priding itself on its reports which have helped the world to gain a greater understanding of the crisis playing out in Southern Cameroons. It hails its reporters who have also helped the readers to have a broader perspective of the political situation in Cameroon.

The Board wishes to thank its readers who have continued to trust Southern Cameroon’s leading news platform. It is therefore using this opportunity to state that its reporters are willing to provide more quality information to the readers.    However, due to the changing global financial context, the Board is urging its readers to play a significant role in the financing of the news organization.  It is therefore calling on its faithful readers to make whatever financial contribution they can to ensure they get the latest developments in their native Southern Cameroons, in particular, and Cameroon in general.

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An American missionary was shot dead on Tuesday in Cameroon during clashes between the separatists and government soldiers. Charles Wesco, 44, was traveling with his wife, son and a driver when they came under fire.

More than 400 civilians have already died in the conflict between the country’s French-speaking majority and its English-speaking minority. But perhaps the tragic death of a Westerner — one who had devoted his life to helping Cameroon — will now prompt the United States and Europe to stop looking away.

President Paul Biya, in power for 36 years, is set to be sworn in next week for another seven-year term after claiming victory Oct. 7 in elections marred by allegations of fraud. Despite ample evidence of vote tampering and insecurity on election day, Washington was quick to congratulate the people of Cameroon on what it called a “largely peaceful elections.”

Cameroonians, who have long been yearning for peace, can hardly be blamed for regarding that statement as a mockery. Most of them, not only the English-speakers who are fighting desperately for independence, had hoped that Biya would leave the palace. Those hopes are now dashed.

I spent voting day in Buea, the capital of the southwest Anglophone region. I didn’t see a single person voting after midday — apart from the governor, who showed with a bodyguard of heavily armed soldiers. Most of the locals stayed indoors for their safety. In this region, where people have taken up hunting guns to fight his regime, Biya shamelessly claimed he won the majority of votes. Villages around Buea are entirely deserted — people are living in the forests, from fear of the president’s soldiers. Some 500,000 have been displaced by the fighting. I could hear gunfire before, during and after the election. More than a dozen people died in the Anglophone areas in the course of 24 hours. How could Washington give this farce a clean bill of health?

After the voting had closed, African Union observers said the ballot went well — despite the fact they couldn’t send any of their team to the far North, where the Boko Haram insurgency is wreaking havoc, or in the English-speaking regions, where the secessionists are fighting the regime. The AU verdict was not entirely surprising, because it routinely approves flawed elections; the U.S. statement in support of Biya was, however, a disaster.

If Biya, as expected, remains in office for the coming seven years, it is highly likely that the country will slide into a terrible civil war — one of which the world will take notice only when nobody is left to save. The worsening crisis is largely the result of the Biya regime’s refusal to address the grievances of the country’s English-speaking minority, who have long suffered from systematic discrimination. In silencing them, soldiers have killed about 4,000 Anglophone civilians, according to the Center for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa, a nongovernmental organization based in Buea.

Decaying bodies lie scattered on the streets of the capital. Sources tell me that hospital mortuaries in the city of Bamenda in the northwest are full, no place left for fresh bodies. The sights triggered memories of my own experience of Rwanda’s genocide against the Tutsis in 1994. The comparison is more apt than it might seem at first sight. France, Biya’s leading supporter in the West, is repeating the same mistakes it committed in Rwanda.

The killing of Anglophone Cameroonians is not only the problem that confronts the country. Corruption is also ubiquitous. Though I had valid documents to travel and work in Cameroon, I had to pay money to be allowed to pass through every police and military checkpoint. Even at the international airport in Douala, staffers there extort money from passengers. This is not fiction. It’s my personal experience.

Bribes are common in many African countries, but Cameroon has reached another level. The anti-corruption organization Transparency International ranks Cameroon among the most corrupt nations in the world, having it tied for the 153rd spot out of 180 countries.

Biya remains unconcerned. He has spent at least four and a half years in total on private trips in the 36 years he has been president, according to research conducted by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. He has made himself at home in Geneva’s five-star Intercontinental Hotel, spending an estimated $65 million on stays there since he came to power. Back home, most Cameroonians are struggling to make ends meet, and war-displaced women and children have no place to sleep. Meanwhile, critics are killed or locked away in maximum-security prisons; many others have gone in exile.

It’s high time for the West to reconsider its relationship with Biya — or at least to hold him accountable for the atrocities committed under his rule. Cameroonians, both English and French speakers, should stand up for their country and remove the leaders who are tearing them apart. Thirty-six years of pain is too much to endure. And they have nothing left to lose.

Source: The Washington Post

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The Cameroon Concord News Group Board wishes to inform its faithful readers that for more than a decade, it has been providing world-class reports of the situation in Southern Cameroons.  The Board has been priding itself on its reports which have helped the world to gain a greater understanding of the crisis playing out in Southern Cameroons. It hails its reporters who have also helped the readers to have a broader perspective of the political situation in Cameroon.

The Board wishes to thank its readers who have continued to trust Southern Cameroon’s leading news platform. It is therefore using this opportunity to state that its reporters are willing to provide more quality information to the readers.    However, due to the changing global financial context, the Board is urging its readers to play a significant role in the financing of the news organization.  It is therefore calling on its faithful readers to make whatever financial contribution they can to ensure they get the latest developments in their native Southern Cameroons, in particular, and Cameroon in general.

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Many countries have been trying to nicely draw the attention of the Cameroon government to the disaster that might play out in the country following the rigged October 2018 presidential poll.

Among those countries is Canada, the gentle giant that has been in the spotlight for the right reasons. A great economy, genuine democracy, universal health coverage, free education right up to high school, great housing and above all a great sanctuary for people running away from persecution.

After the comedy that was staged at the Constitutional Council, Global Affairs Canada has issued a statement, urging the government to implement the necessary reforms that might help the country avoid future political problems.

“On October 22, Cameroon’s Constitutional Council announced that president Paul Biya is the winner of the presidential election. Canada takes note of this result and takes this opportunity to encourage the Cameroonian authorities to continue implementing the necessary reforms to strengthen the electoral legal framework,” the statement says.

“We call on the Cameroonian authorities and all stakeholders to engage firmly in an inclusive dialogue in order to find long-term peaceful solutions to the crisis and put an end to the violence that rages in the northwest and southwest regions,” the statement stresses.

“This situation has serious social and economic consequences for the Cameroonian people and the country as a whole. It also had a negative impact on the participation of the populations of these regions in the electoral process,” the statement adds.

“Canada is a long-time friend of the Cameroonian people and seizes the opportunity to reiterate its commitment to support Cameroon in its future efforts to meet the challenges of peace and social and economic development. Canada remains ready to accompany Cameroon in its process for the return of peace,” the statement concludes.

It should be indicated that Canada hardly criticizes other countries openly, but it is always ready to lend a hand. This great country that has always been considered as the best country in the world to live in, clearly believes in peace. It holds that without justice and peace, no country will progress.

Canada has had to deal with minorities too. Understanding the importance of peace, successive Canadian governments have always worked for peace and they have always considered dialogue as the key that can enable people across the globe to live a peaceful and fulfilling life.  

It is therefore not in error that the notion of peacekeeping is associated with Canada. It remains a great country to raise kids and live a fulfilling life. A land of immigrants, Canada has touched many souls, including late Professor Bernard Nsokika Fonlon who had great admiration for Canadian bilingualism.

By Joachim Arrey

Now that you are here

The Cameroon Concord News Group Board wishes to inform its faithful readers that for more than a decade, it has been providing world-class reports of the situation in Southern Cameroons.  The Board has been priding itself on its reports which have helped the world to gain a greater understanding of the crisis playing out in Southern Cameroons. It hails its reporters who have also helped the readers to have a broader perspective of the political situation in Cameroon.

The Board wishes to thank its readers who have continued to trust Southern Cameroon’s leading news platform. It is therefore using this opportunity to state that its reporters are willing to provide more quality information to the readers.    However, due to the changing global financial context, the Board is urging its readers to play a significant role in the financing of the news organization.  It is therefore calling on its faithful readers to make whatever financial contribution they can to ensure they get the latest developments in their native Southern Cameroons, in particular, and Cameroon in general.

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We remain deeply concerned about the deteriorating situation in the Anglophone regions, which continue to suffer from high levels of violence and human rights abuses perpetrated by both security forces and armed separatists. The UK calls on the Government of Cameroon to now take urgent action to address the crisis in the Anglophone regions.

We hope that President Biya will reach out to all sections of Cameroonian society and work to build confidence and trust. It is crucial for all parties to engage in a peaceful and structured process leading to constitutional reforms, as previously set out by the President, and avoid excessive use of force.

The UK is concerned at the worsening humanitarian situation in the Anglophone regions and the impact this is having on the lives of ordinary people. We call on all parties to grant full and unhindered humanitarian access to the affected population.

The UK will continue to work alongside the international community to encourage and support efforts to resolve the Anglophone crisis. It is vital that all parties now work together to secure a peaceful future for all Cameroonians.

After throwing out Prof. Kamto’s application for members of the Constitutional Council to recuse themselves because of the numerous conflicts of interest outlined in the applicant’s application, the Kamto legal team put up an impressive show on the irregularities that actually marred the October 7, 2018 poll.

The team’s lead legal expert put the team’s collective effort and determination to expose the ruling party’s sloppy rigging strategy on display. The team outlined cases of massive fraud, with numbers for many polling stations not adding up and some results report signed without being properly verified if they had been signed by the right persons. The reported cases of fraud concerned, in particular, the Far North, the South, and the Northwest and Southwest regions.

In the two English-speaking regions, it was reported that since the population had been chased away by government forces that had resorted to shooting young men, army soldiers voted as many times as they could, oblivious of the fact that everybody was aware that the population had moved into East Cameroon and on voting day, there was no security for those who wanted to venture out to vote.

Some of the result reports did not even have the signatures of the returning officers and where there were signatures, the number of signatures on the first pages did not match the number of signatures on the following pages. Some results reports were produced based on the recommendations of the authorities who, in many cases, were ruling party supporters.

In the Far North region which has been given to Mr. Paul Biya, the number of votes cast was higher than the number of registered voters. The CPDM rigging machine in that region had actually worked overtime and it failed to take into consideration the number of registered voters.

But it was in the South region, which is the president’s region which the ruling party felt that it had a free hand to do whatever it wanted. Its sloppiness resulted in many mistakes, with even dead people voting.  The Constitutional Council session was put off to Wednesday at 9:30am Cameroon time after Council members were totally overwhelmed by the evidence Prof. Kamto’s team provided.

Meanwhile the Constitutional Council had rejected early on Tuesday the application for recusal filed by the Kamto Campaign. It was however said he could challenge the incompatibility of the person who appointed Council members and the person in question is President Paul Biya who himself was also a candidate in the October 7 presidential poll.

Knowing well that the outcome of the application could not be otherwise, Maurice Kamto felt it was necessary for him to follow the legal procedure as the best way to expose the Biya regime to the international community as being the judge and jury in a case on the country’s future and stability depend.

The debates are continuing, but what happened today during the hearing was just a foretaste of what will be playing out in the days ahead. In opening statements by Prof. Kamto’s legal team, the various lawyers called on the chair of the constitutional council to exercise justice, reminding him that the future of the country depended on whatever decision the Constitutional Council would take.

First to fire was Barrister Yondo Black who pointed out that all the members of the constitutional council were also members of the ruling party whose role in the just-ended election had been called to question. He added that the person who appointed them was himself a candidate in the election and it would be challenging to accept that the Constitutional council would be impartial in a case in which members of the constitutional council stood to gain.

For his part, Barrister Akere Muna added that Cameroon had never known a smooth transition as the country switched from a single party state to a single party democracy wherein the ruling party was in control of everything. He urged the President of the Constitutional Council to exercise sound judgment in taking a decision that could make or mar the peace of the country.

Other lawyers also pointed out the inconsistencies and the conflict of interest that would make it hard for the Constitutional Council members to be impartial. It should be recalled that the wife of the president of the constitutional council is a ruling party parliamentarian and the president of the constitutional council is still working as a lawyer and defending state interest with the latest situation taking place on September 30, 2018.

They also pointed out that various members of the constitutional council were either members of the central committee of the ruling party or had been appointed to serve as chairmen of the boards of directors of various state-owned corporation; a situation that made it hard for them to be impartial in addressing the post-electoral conflict in Cameroon.

With the application for recusal rejected, the debates on the various electoral irregularities will therefore continue and Cameroonians are looking forward to justice although many argue the outcome of the hearing is already known. With a Constitutional Council set up by Mr. Biya and comprising mainly members of his party, it is clear that many of the complaint on electoral fraud will be thrown out to give the incumbent another 7-year term.

Meanwhile, as the political crisis in Yaoundé continues, the country has continued with its descent to chaos. In the English-speaking region of the country, the killings have continued and soldiers loyal to Mr. Biya are continuing with their rampage. They have shooting carelessly in major cities in the region and this has led to the death of many young men.

Cameroon’s downward spiral seems to be unstoppable. As the political situation continues to decline due to the presidential election, some people are secretly amassing weapons in preparation for a battle that might plunge the entire sub-region into chaos.

By Kingsley Betek, Sama Ernest and Asu Vera Eyere

Burundi on Sunday accused former colonial power Belgium of ordering the assassination of independence hero and Crown Prince Louis Rwagasore in 1961, a move likely to further poison ties between the two countries.

A government statement said Belgium was the “true backer of the assassination of Rwagasore”, in the first direct accusation over the murder by Bujumbura, which said it plans to probe the six-decade old incident.

The statement said that Brussels “has yet to explain itself” over the killing of Rwagasore, who played a key role in Burundi’s anti-colonial movement.

Rwagasore was named prime minister in the run up to independence, but was shot dead a month later by a Greek assassin accompanied by three Burundian members of a pro-Belgian party at a hotel in the capital — a little over a year before independence was achieved in July 1962.

He is one of Burundi’s most beloved heros, with his name gracing stadiums, schools and roads across the country.

In the statement, the government said it “plans to launch a technical commission to investigate the assassinations … of Rwagasore” and his two young children a few months later.

The Kingdom of Burundi, believed to date to the 17th century, came under German colonial rule in 1890, but was awarded by the League of Nations to Belgium after World War II.

Rwagasore was the eldest son of King Mwambutsa IV.

Burundi has been gripped by political crisis since President Pierre Nkurunziza sought a third term in office in 2015, provoking severe civil unrest that has left at least 1,200 dead and displaced over 400,000 people.

In October 2016, Belgium withdrew its ambassador to Burundi and suspended several development projects, as Bujumbura’s relations with foreign allies worsened over the crisis.

The following month, the executive secretary of the ruling CNDD-FDD Evariste Ndayishimiye accused Belgium of “acting as if Burundi is still under its yoke,” on Twitter, after accusing it of backing the opposition.

 AFP