3, November 2023

Yaoundé: New Papal Nuncio to strengthen ties between Cameroon and the Vatican ⁰

The President of the National Episcopal Conference Archbishop Andrew Nkea has welcomed the new Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop José Avelino Bettencourt at the Nsimalen International airport.

As Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop José Avelino Bettencourt will represent the Holy Father in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. The role is the equivalent to that of an ambassador.

His Grace Archbishop Andrew Nkea said best wishes and prayers to Archbishop José Avelino Bettencourt and expressed his hope that his appointment will strengthen relations between Yaoundé and Rome.

Reacting to the news, the Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of the Cameroon Concord News Group the Right Honorable Soter Agbaw-Ebai said the coming to Yaoundé of an experienced Roman Catholic cleric who has spent most of his working life in the diplomatic service of the Holy See is a very significant appointment for the life of the Church in Cameroon.

Relations between Cameroon and the Holy See have greatly improved in recent years as there is now a much better understanding of the shared interests including the importance of peace and stability in Anglophone Cameroon.

The Portuguese-Canadian prelate was born in Velas, Azores, on 23 May 1962. He reportedly settled at a young age in Canada with his family and was ordained a priest in 1993 in the Archdiocese of Ottawa.

He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1999 and obtained a doctorate in canon law at Pontifical Gregorian University. He worked at the apostolic nunciature to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and then moved to the Secretariat of State of the Holy See.

On 14 November 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him head of the protocol of the Secretariat of State. He was also responsible for contacts with the embassies accredited to the Holy See and to the central Vatican authority.

On 26 February 2018, Pope Francis gave him the title apostolic nuncio and appointed him Titular Archbishop of Aemona. He was named nuncio to Armenia on 1 March and to Georgia as well on 8 March. He received his Episcopal ordination from Pope Francis on 19 March.

On 30 August 2023, Pope Francis appointed him as Papal Nuncio to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.

By Toto Roland Motuba with files

2, November 2023

Yaoundé launches airstrikes in Bakassi Peninsula creeks ⁰

Cameroonian air force has carried out airstrikes on the creeks of Akpankanya village in Bakassi Peninsula to flush out Biafra rebel group the Dragon Fighter Marine from the area, on Thursday 2 November, 2023.

However, no casualty has been recorded as at the time of report.

The attack is coming days after a suspected suicide bomber blew up oil installations at the maritime border of Bakassi.

Recall that the militant group executed numbers of members of the Rapid d’intervention Battalions, BIR, in the area few days ago resulting to retaliatory attacks by men of BIR which left two militants dead.

Simon Ekpa, a Finland based Biafra separatist leader sometime ago posted on Twitter he would aid the militant groups which he referred to as the Biafran Naval wing.

The Biafra Nations League, BnL, a group suspected to be the parent body of the Black Marine and Dragon Fighter Marine have continued to remain silent after threatening international businesses , oil exploitation in the Gulf of Guinea.

Source: Igberetv news

2, November 2023

646,000 Anglophones remained internally displaced in Southern Cameroons ⁰

Nearly 646,000 Cameroonians remained internally displaced in Northwest and Southwest as of September 2023 as conflict between non-state armed groups and government security forces persisted, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The conflict—which began in 2016—has resulted in human rights violations against civilian populations, the destruction of property, and the disruption of livelihood activities. Fighting has also hindered humanitarian assistance activities with reports of abductions of humanitarian actors and repeated lockdowns, the UN reports. An additional 428,000 people remained displaced in the Far North Region as of September 2023, where attacks by the Islamic State West African Province against the Cameroonian military and violence against civilians continue to drive both new and protracted population displacement and limit humanitarian access in the region’s Logone-et-Chari, Mayo-Sava, and Mayo-Tsanaga divisions. Several armed incursions during April and May 2023 displaced thousands of people in Mayo-Tsanaga’s Mayo-Moskota and Mokolo sub-divisions, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports.

Conflict and insecurity continue to disrupt livelihood activities, markets, and trade across Cameroon’s Northwest, Southwest, and Far North regions, resulting in reduced access to food and income and heightened staple food prices, according to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET). In the Northwest and Southwest regions, sporadic clashes between government forces and non-state armed groups continue to impede households’ access to income-earning activities and inflate production and trade costs. The price of maize remained elevated during September despite the seasonal harvest; specifically, maize prices increased by an estimated 14 percent in areas of Northwest and 35 percent in Southwest, FEWS NET reports.

As of September 2023, nearly 477,000 refugees—sheltering mostly in the Adamaoua, East, and North regions— remained displaced by armed conflict, intercommunal violence, the effects of climate change, and political instability in neighboring Central African Republic (CAR), according to UNHCR. Many of these refugees are unable to return to CAR, primarily due to fears of ongoing violence, and currently live in poorly protected and crowded conditions without access to basic services or adequate livelihood opportunities. The influx of CAR refugees has strained host communities’ response capacity as resources for relief efforts and government-led social services remain limited amid growing needs in other areas of Cameroon.

Culled from Reliefweb

2, November 2023

“Marriage is a union between a man and a woman. Anything short of that is witchcraft” Archbishop Andrew Nkea ⁰

The first assembly of the Synod on Synodality enabled all to express their opinions and the views of African delegates on natural marriage and family were certainly heeded, but the event’s legitimacy continues to be questioned and the synod organizers should reveal a breakdown of voting, a Cameroon bishop has said.

Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya of Bemenda, one of 16 prelates who make up the synod’s ordinary council that oversees the running of the process, said the assembly went “much better” than he expected and that the “conversation in the spirit,” an innovation to tone down polemics, was helpful as it “calmed down tempers.”

In this Oct. 28 interview with the Register in Rome, Archbishop Nkea also discussed what particular contribution African bishops gave to the synod, and how they were able to correct passages on human sexuality in the final report.

“In Africa, we understand marriage as a union between a man and a woman, and anything short of that is witchcraft,” he said. “This is something we said very strongly.”

Archbishop Nkea also explained why he is not bothered by attempts to change the Church’s doctrine through the process (he believes they will fail), and why he considers efforts to upend the Church’s structure of governance originate from a human rather than spiritual point of view, and would mark the end of the Church were they to succeed.

Your Excellency, what is your overall assessment of the synodal assembly? How did it go and what were the most interesting, important aspects to you?

I would sincerely say that it went very well, much better than I expected. The synod atmosphere was completely different. Coming to the round tables, changing tables all of the time, gave the impression we’re working as a group. We’re not just talking to one small section, but able to meet different people, share different ideas on different subjects. That was a complete innovation which really gave everyone the chance to express themselves. It’s not like you took the floor and spoke for three minutes and that was it. No, on all of the subjects you had the chance to say what you felt, what you thought.

So that was a very, very important aspect of the synod. Again, there was also the liberty with which we shared. We weren’t too sure how it would be, this atmosphere of bringing in the laity and non-bishops. That was another thing which made us a little anxious. But after the first week we enjoyed their presence and saw the wealth that came out of their presence. I think it was good. All the other canonical theological arguments notwithstanding, as a gathering of the Church, it was good.

Did you think there was enough variety of opinions, from all sides of the Church, because there was a great emphasis on it being a very inclusive event?

You find all kinds of opinions [in the final report]. I think for me it was a very interesting moment for our Church that we could put all these things on the table, yet have these heated arguments and go out and have coffee and come back and continue. This conversation in the spirit method really calmed down tempers and give us time to know that we’re not doing our work, we’re doing God’s work.

It gave you time to reflect, but did you think that the conversation in the Spirit also, in some way, constrained the ability to really get into subjects, because you’d have to stop speaking after three minutes?

No. Some actually described the conversation in the spirit as “a hijack of their arguments,” but I think that those moments gave us time to realize that it was not your argument. You can have your points, but in these arguments, you are talking about the Church [… ] That gave us time to always go back to the fact that it’s not about who wins or who loses. It’s all about the Church getting better.

I think it was a good synod. There are many canonical questions, which still remain hanging, which we have to continue researching and studying within this one year.

Do you mean canonical questions relating to the legitimacy of the synod?

Yes, the legitimacy of the synod, whether it’s still the Synod of Bishops if you bring in the laity and give them the power to vote. What percentage of laity can you allow into the synod of bishops? Those are some of the canonical questions that are still floating in the air.

The Vatican didn’t give a breakdown of who voted for what, so we couldn’t see how much bishops or laity voted for something. Do you think that’s a problem going forward as, at the moment, a cardinal’s or archbishop’s vote is no different to a layman’s who might hold views contrary to Church teaching?

That is something also that needs to be discussed, because some of the participants expressed the desire, especially the bishops, that we should know how the laity think, and how the bishops think.

As a member of the ordinary council, are you going to try to bring that up?

Oh, sure, I’ll try to propose it, because I think it’s for the good of the Church to be able to know this is a Synod of Bishops. It is not a general assembly or just a synod assembly.

Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, the general relator of the synod, said there was an openness for change in the Church at the synod and that resistance to the “hot topics” such as support for homosexuality, women deacons etc. was “not so great” as people had thought. Does it perhaps concern you that there are certain issues which are being raised and that are contrary to the Catholic faith could get through the synod and become part of the Church’s magisterium?

As a synod council member, … I understood, listening to the arguments, that this synod is not about change of doctrine. This synod is about journeying together, whatever journeying together means. I think those of us who came in there as faithful, adherent to the doctrine of the Church, were more or less surprised that the arguments were not as strong as we had imagined.

We are open to many things. From Africa, we argued about polygamy not because we want polygamy legalized, but because we want accompaniment. Now, we in Africa are given the chance to set up theological commissions, to study polygamy and get pastoral directives that would adapt to that situation in Africa. This is a big opening.

The argument against that is that just by opening this to discussion, it gives the impression that the issue is up for debate, and that the Church will change its teaching down the line. What do you say to that?

Although there are some accidentals that will definitely change, the essence will not change. To start a conversation with polygamists, we had to insert the word “conversion.”

Conversion to what?

Conversion to the values of the Gospel. Whether we’re talking to ‘LGBT’ people or we’re talking to polygamists or we’re talking about ourselves, there must always be the call to conversion, conversion to the Gospel. What are the Gospel values? Entering into dialogue with all of these people is always in view of conversion. If we take that out, then we stop being evangelical. We are no longer backed by the Gospel.

Can it be a genuine call to conversion if the teaching of the Church is not restated or, as Cardinal Gerhard Müller said, divine Revelation and even Jesus Christ were set aside during the synod?

When you get 360 people together, not everybody will think the same thing from the same perspective. I think we kept going back to the point that in the center, the focus is Christ. We kept going back to that point. Some people will think we didn’t go back enough, some will think we’re Christ-ifying the document too much, but I think from my perspective, we never lost sight of the fact that we kept going back.

Some observers argued that this causes harm as it can scandalize the faithful, because they feel that if these issues are allowed to go on being discussed rather than the Church just saying No, it appears that there’s a general will to get them through.

Yes, one of the things I have to say to you is that you must realize that the Church today is under the particular papacy of Francis. Francis is not John Paul II. These are the adaptations that must be in our mind. John Paul said “Enough,” Francis says “Talk,” but the important thing is that we are teaching what the Church says and we’re moving on. The Church remains. For me, this is a consolation.

The Church cannot be led into error.

No, the Church cannot. The Church is guided by the Holy Spirit.

What do you think was the African bishops’ general and most important contribution to the synod?

One of the biggest contributions that Africa brought to this synod is the idea of Small Christian Communities. If we don’t go back to Small Christian Communities, all this about broad-based consultation, getting everybody involved, is a pipe dream […] When you are looking at those Small Christian Communities, you’re looking at families and no one is left behind. That’s why Africa opted for the image of Church as a family, not a tent. I think this is something you see. At the end of this meeting, nobody talked about a tent anymore. We’re all about family. This is one of the big things that Africa brought on board, that in Church is the family of God.

Another contribution that Africa brought up within this synod was our view on the teaching of the Church, on the human person, and human sexuality. In Africa, we understand marriage as a union between a man and a woman, and anything short of that is witchcraft. This is something we said very strongly. We cannot be talking about sensitivities and orientations within the Church setting when this is what the Gospel says. This is what the teaching of the Church has said all along and this is what various cultures believe.

Did you feel you were listened to and your views taken on board?

Oh, yes. We were taken on board very seriously — very, very seriously. I’m very, very happy, especially with this aspect of the Church’s teaching on the human person and sexuality. It was a big concern for Africa. The fact that we moderated it and took out certain words that were very political, I think we are happy with that.

Also the cry of the poor was very strong at this synod. Did you think that was adequately dealt with?

We spoke about material poverty and then we didn’t focus as much, although we spoke about it, [about] spiritual poverty, because spiritual poverty is what is leading us a lot into material poverty.

One other big issue that was mentioned before the synod was this change of Church governance into an inverted pyramid. The final document talks about a profound spiritual conversion being needed as the foundation for any effective structural change, as though there’s a dominant wish to upend the Church’s governance and invert the hierarchy. What is your view on this?

If you invert the hierarchy, the Church is no longer Catholic. There is no time the bishops will cease from being successors of the apostles. There’s no time that the Pope will cease from being the successor of St. Peter […] People are looking at it from the purely human point of view. I think most of those who are bringing these arguments are taking a more human than spiritual or even physiological [standpoint].

Are you concerned that that way of thinking could become predominant, especially as the synod is considering the views of the laity who also get a vote?

I’m not really worried because those who argue this way are a tiny minority, but they speak very loudly. When you get down to the nitty-gritty of the issue and you start talking with people, they are not interested. They just want to go to heaven. From the time of the apostle, you’ve always had heretics trying to infiltrate, so it’s normal. We have a saying in French: Les chiens aboient, la caravane passe — “The dogs are barking; the caravan is moving on.” Nobody is bothered about those things. Christians understand their doctrine, the teaching of the Church, and they’re going on.

And the noise is ignored.

It’s ignored. I think we should look at the broader picture. We will get worried if the caravan stops. As long as the caravan does not stop, then the dogs bark.

Culled from National Catholic Register

2, November 2023

Communist Party of China delegation in Yaoundé ⁰

A delegation of the Communist Party of China led by Wang Junwei, director of the Academic and Editorial Committee of the Institute of Party History and Literature of the CPC Central Committee, visited Cameroon from Saturday to Tuesday.

During the visit, the delegation held meetings with Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Theodore Datouo and Jean Nkuete, the secretary-general of the Central Committee of the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement, elaborating on the Chinese path to modernization and China’s policy toward Africa.

The two sides also exchanged views on the implementation of the important consensus of the two heads of state and on deepening relations between the two parties and the two countries.

The Cameroonian side expressed its willingness to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with the Chinese side, draw on each other’s strengths and explore the path to modernization suited to its own national conditions.

Source: China Daily

2, November 2023

Southern Cameroons Crisis: 9 villagers kidnapped in Big Babanki ⁰

Suspected separatist fighters abducted nine villagers in Cameroon’s restive English-speaking region of Northwest, local and security sources said Tuesday.

Gunmen believed to be separatist fighters stormed Big Babanki village in the region on Monday night, threatening to kill those who were perceived to be working with government forces, a source living in the village said.

“They kidnapped about nine people, including quarter heads and elderly individuals, accusing them of collaborating with the military. They also set some houses on fire,” said the source, who asked not to be named for security reasons.

Army officials in the region confirmed that troops were searching for the hostages in the village where separatist fighters frequently operate.

Kidnapping for ransom is a common occurrence in Cameroon’s two Anglophone regions of Northwest and Southwest, where separatists seek to establish an independent nation. Government forces have been clashing with separatist fighters in these regions since 2017.

Source: Xinhuanet

31, October 2023

Hail to a Founding Patriot – Rev Dr Andrew Ambeazieh Ofembe ⁰

When the Jews left Egypt for their Promised Land, some of them fell on the wayside and did not enter the gates of that Land, including their leader Moses. By transitioning at the doorstep of the foot-of-the-mountain, Rev Andrew Ambeazieh has become one of the Moses of the Ambazonian quest for freedom and restoration of their Homeland. When the Americans fought their war of independence, valiant patriots fell on the battle field while some died from frost bite and even more died in prisons and detention camps. When the French rose up against Tyranny, most of them faced the guillotine for their convictions and their commitment to liberte, egalite and fraternite. When black South Africans stood up against Apartheid, patriots like Steve Biko, were murdered in detention.

Even so, Israel is today free and strong. Even so, America is today the light and the hope of democracy. Even so, the French today have no kings and their President can never again, state as a matter of fact and law that ‘L’etat c’est moi”. Even so, Mandela and the Rivona Nine walked out of Prison on the 11th of February 1990 to a free and eventually democratic South Africa.

Today, we are gathered to celebrate the life of a unique and singular Ambazonian Patriot. A man ordained by God to serve humanity. A man who, because he wanted his people to walk the narrow, slippery and steep road of righteousness, justice and brotherhood, was captured, abducted, persecuted and prosecuted and technically “executed” in detention by cancelling his Bail by the court of appeal for health reasons just to allow him waste in prison custody.

A man who had the foresight and the courage to challenge one of the most brutal institutions on earth – the LRC government. For this he was captured. A man who knew the real meaning of autonomy, sovereignty and national identity because he was young enough to understand when the British Southern Cameroons came out of the Western House of Assembly in Enugu to stand alone as an independent political entity in Buea.

A man who saw the inauguration, installation and workings of parliamentary democracy when the British Southern Cameroons had the first fair & free multi-party elections in Africa on the 24th of January 1959. A man who saw the first peaceful transition of power in African politics from Endeley to Foncha, before the deluge of orchestrated and Machiavelli independence charades that only served as precursors to neo colonialism and imperialism.

A man who lived the tomfoolery of pseudo independence and the stark nakedness of international illegality, fraternal inhumanity and LRC’s cruelty and incivility. A man who witnessed the legitimacy of typical Anglo-Saxon elections obliterated by the whims and caprices of a tyrant and his French masters – from 1966 to 1990 and then again, as a fluke in 1992.

A man who witnessed the Anglo-Saxon system of education and common law under which he grew, bastardized into an unrecognized smokescreen (poison) where corruption, nepotism, favoritism and mediocrity shamelessly took the places of meritocracy, fair play, equity and hard work.

A man who witnessed all of these and was disappointed. In his disappointment, he spoke up. When he spoke up, he was prosecuted. And when he was prosecuted, he protested. And when he protested, he was termed a terrorist, abducted, detained, sentenced and incarcerated until the date of his transition into eternity, 11th Oct 2023, at a Yaounde maximum security prison, the Kondengui Prison Principale, from where I write this eulogy.

A man, who has lived, seen, fought and died for a cause. In so doing he gave a different meaning to terrorism and patriotism. Through his non-violent protests, he mustered the courage and the effrontery to tell Ahidjo, Biya and their French Masters that Southern Cameroons was not francophone and hence was not on the market stall to be bargained, negotiated and exploited. He had the courage and effrontery to write the famous “Quit Order Notice” asking Mr Biya’s LRC government to leave Ambazonia.

In so doing, he followed in the footsteps of Albert Ndongmo, Albert Mukong, Um Nyobe, Ernest Ouandie and Roland Moumie. Like these nationalists, he demonstrated with his life that the fight for one’s homeland is worth paying the ultimate price for. Like these nationalists, he demonstrated with the tacit acceptance of his wrongful persecutions and prosecutions that justice delayed is justice denied, and justice denied is also justice destroyed. This is because denial is a function of time and destruction is a function of ancestral and divine ordination. Even on his dying bed, Patriot Rev Andrew Ambeazieh saw the confines of prison as only a premonition and precursor to the total and unconditional freedom of Ambazonia. He lived for it. He worked for it. He prayed for it. He believed unreservedly in it. And he died for it.

He died believing in the fundamental faith and convictions of all authentic Ambazonians in the fate of our Country as a free, independent and sovereign nation. He died believing in the tenacity, bravery and insurmountable courage of our self-defense fighters all over the territory of Ambazonia. He died believing in the unconquerable spirit of our Diaspora and their inexhaustible measure to give and keep giving, to sustain the liberation struggle by all means possible. He died believing that there is still hope that can be derived from the common humanity of the international community and all international stakeholders who can bring about a just and equitable mediation and resolution of this senseless and unnecessary war that has been cast upon the hapless population of Ambazonia.

With this belief, Patriot Rev Ambeazieh died a victorious soldier and Commander. He conquered the false fear that was perpetuated by LRC and nursed all over our land for 62 years and counting. In conquering this fear he won for himself and for all of us Ambazonians the freedom to speak freely, the freedom to associate with all other Ambazonians within and without Ambazonia, the freedom to think all the progressive thoughts that we bring all Ambazonians together under one national tent to self-determine and to self-realize. So even though his body died in the dungeons of an LRC maximum security prison, his spirit was free and is now flying all over the hills and valleys of Ambazonia.

Inspiring us and injecting us with the rejuvenation that is necessary to carry us across the Mungo to Buea, and across Matazem to Bamenda.

This is the ultimate certification and award that a Patriot can earn. Patriot Rev Ambeazieh has not only earned it but has valiantly, as any soldier imaginable or any Commander in chief that ever lived, worn his Patriotism and lived his nationalism. “We will get to Buea and enjoy the ‘Bonitas’ of our homeland” he always proudly said. We will have our autonomy and sovereignty, he always confidently declared.

Dear departed brother, friend, and father; Rev Andrew Ambeazieh Ofembe. The Ambazonian community at the Kondengui Prison Principale Yaounde (KPPY) has been missing you since the 11th of October 2023. We miss you every morning at our meditation, we miss you at our tea and bread sessions and during dinners (meals which we provide out of our own Ambazonian resources). We will continue to miss your daily routine of trying to build bridges in the best way you knew how. Your family will miss a devoted son, a generous husband and an irreplaceable father. Ambazonia will miss a hero, a nationalist, a leader and a blue blood Patriot Founder.

My first eulogy message on this occasion, captured as theme of our morning meditation on Monday 16th Oct 2023 was “We are still marching forward”. Today, we beseech all Ambazonians therefore, to go forth and remember that each time we see a beautiful sunrise and heavenly sunset, in the horizon, please stop and commune with the spirit of our Patriot Founder. Each time we feel the gentle breeze of the Mandara range in all of the Savanah State, please pause and commune with the enduring spirit of our fallen Patriot Founder. Each time we see the waves wash on the shores of Victoria and Idenau, we should pause, pick a pebble and throw into the Ocean to keep the faith with the interceding and protective spirit of our Founding Patriot. Each time we maintain a minute of silence, we say his name in our hearts, to remind us all of the founding mortar that we shall all cast at the foot of the flag when we formally lay the foundation of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

We are sure that ours will be called the Founding Generation of Ambazonia, because of what patriots like Rev Andrew Ambeazieh have left behind; a nation for us to defend, a flag for us to fly and an Anthem for us to sing … Hail, Hail, Hail this land of Glory …

Fare thee well dear brother, father and comrade. May the land of our ancestors be welcoming on to you and may your soul find peace & rest in the bosom of our Creator. REST IN PERFECT PEACE.

Sisiku AyukTabe

Kondengui Principal Prison Yaounde (KPPY)

31, October 2023

banque atlantique Cameroun rises to improve the quality of its service ⁰

Banque Atlantique Cameroun, a banking institution of systemic importance, has been in legal operations in the Cameroon’s banking market since 2009 and today, posts exceptional results driven by a dynamic evolution of its main indicators. These results served as basis for the award of the prize to the Best Performance in 2022 during Finance Week organized by EcoMatin Magazine.

In a bid to reach operational excellence and sustainably improve its infrastructure, banque atlantique Cameroun has embarked on a complete overhaul of its information systems, to acquire the best-in-class technologies and provide its valued customers with the best experience at its touchpoints.

Interieur

Based on the foregoing, banque atlantique Cameroun wishes to announce the migration of its core banking system and other technological and communication infrastructures, towards more modern, more stable, more efficient, more automated, and more secured systems.

For this purpose, banque atlantique Cameroun will observe a necessary shutdown of its systems, services, platforms and applications from Wednesday, November 1st to Saturday, November 4th, 2023. However, our Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) will remain in operation throughout this period. The restart of the systems is scheduled for Monday, November 6th, 2023 at 8:00 a.m.

banque atlantique Cameroun wishes to reassure the public and especially its valued customers that this operation aims to sustainably improve the quality of its products and services; to standardize its operations; and to make the customers’ experience exceptional across its network.

The Bank is aware of the inconvenience caused by this situation and sincerely apologizes in advance, and as well appreciates its customers’ sense of patience and understanding.

Note that our Customer Relationship Center will be available to assist you from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. by call to 8086.

About BACM

banque atlantique Cameroun is a subsidiary of Atlantic Financial Group (AFG), a panafrican banking group founded in 2006 by the Ivorian businessman, Bernard KONE DOSSONGUI. In 2020, for the first time in its history, the Bank is listed among domiciliary banks for World Bank and African Development Bank projects, thereby consolidating its credibility and financial stability. With 23 branches across the national territory, the Bank successfully improved its footprint in the market, with an outstanding growth of its main indicators, closing the financial year with a total balance sheet of XAF 806 billion, compared to XAF 570 billion in 2021, thus an increase of 41.3%. In October 2023, banque atlantique Cameroun was awarded the 2022 Best Performance Prize during the Finance Week organized by Ecomatin Magazine. Find out more on our website at www.banqueatlantique-cmr.com or follow us on our social media networks.

Source: Business in Cameroon

31, October 2023

Yaoundé asks Ndjamena to withdraw border troops ⁰

Cameroon is asking Chad to withdraw its troops from a fishing and agriculture island in the volatile region of Lake Chad.

Cameroon says it wants its own troops to take total control of Birnigoni. Chad’s military began occupying the island in 2014 to fight Boko Haram militants and protect civilians.

The central African state’s military says peace is gradually returning to a majority of the 2,000-square-kilometer (770-square-mile) lake and its islands, including Birnigoni.

Even so, top Cameroonian military commanders are meeting with civilians who want assurances of their safety before Chad’s military departs.

Col. Tiokap Pierre Loti, commander of Cameroonian troops in the Multinational Joint Task Force fighting Boko Haram, said Cameroon and Chad have always preferred the rule of law, diplomacy and dialogue in settling disputes along their more than 1,100-kilometer (680-mile) porous land border.

Birnigoni was one of several hiding places for Boko Haram fighters when they were under heavy attack by army forces in Chad, Cameroon or Nigeria.

Cameroon says it approved Chadian troops occupying the island after a July 2014 Boko Haram attack killed at least 20 civilians.

Mahamat Souleymane, Chad’s infantry chief of staff, said President Mahamat Idriss Deby wants troops from Cameroon and Chad to launch joint operations to protect civilians before Chad’s army eventually leaves.

Souleymane did not give a specific date for withdrawal but said Chadian forces will leave as soon as Birnigoni civilians acquaint themselves with the new forces and start feeling protected by Cameroon government troops.

Amunitah Sule, a cattle rancher on Birnigoni, said people living on the island want the Cameroon military to work with their peers from Chad in protecting civilians for a few months before Chad withdraws its forces.

He predicted that several hundred ranchers and fishers who fled raids and heavy fighting between Boko Haram terrorists and Chadian troops would want to return to the island if Cameroonian troops can assure their safety.

He also said he hopes that roads and solar energy will be provided in areas that are relatively free from Boko Haram attacks.

Sule said Birnigoni has been attacked at least seven times within the past three months, with scores of civilians either killed or wounded. He said several Chadian soldiers were wounded in the latest attack, on September 16.

Chad’s military acknowledges there are regular jihadist attacks but denies some of its troops were killed.

The Lake Chad basin where Birnigoni is found encompasses parts of Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria. It is home to over 42 million people, mostly ranchers, fishers and crop farmers.

The 14-year Boko Haram insurgency and frequent attacks from other armed groups have destabilized the region and displaced millions of people.

In response, the Lake Chad countries, plus Benin, created the Multinational Joint Task Force in 2014. The force now has 11,000 soldiers fighting the jihadists.

By Queen Besumbu Agbaw

31, October 2023

5 Amba fighters killed in military offensive in Southern Cameroons ⁰

At least five separatist fighters have been killed in military raids in Cameroon’s war-torn English-speaking regions of Northwest and Southwest, army sources said on Monday.

Early Sunday, the military raided Furu Awa locality in Northwest region killing three separatist fighters “who had taken the area hostage,” an army official in the region said.

Late Sunday, troops attacked a separatist hideout in Mbalangui locality of Southwest region, killing two fighters.

“Two top commanders were among those killed in the raids,” the official, who asked not to be named, said. “Our brave soldiers will continue to secure the lives of civilians in the regions.”

There was no word of casualties on the side of government forces during the raids.

Cameroon’s Anglophone regions have been experiencing a separatist insurgency since 2017.

Source: Xinhuanet