19, June 2022

French Cameroun: Eight abducted in North region ⁰

At least eight people have been kidnapped in Cameroon’s North region, according to local and security sources.

They were kidnapped overnight into Sunday in Baoudi, a locality in Mayo-Rey division of the region, a security official who opted for anonymity told Xinhua.

“Among those kidnapped were women. Gunmen raided the locality and rounded them up. The villagers were helpless and could not resist them,” the official said.

Mayo-Rey division has been plagued by rampant abductions in the last two months.

At least 30 people including women and children have been kidnapped in the locality since May, according to security reports.

Source: Xinhuanet

19, June 2022

Southern Cameroons Crisis: UN donates motorcycles, ambulance to aid Ambazonian refugees in Nigeria ⁰

United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) has donated four motorcycles and one ambulance to the Taraba State Government in Nigeria.

This is to assist the state in meeting the needs of over 19,000 Cameroonian refugees within its borders.

The separatist war taking place in the Republic of Cameroon has led to an influx of Refugees and is are taking its toll on Taraba state in Nigeria.

The state now plays host to over 19,000 refugees who fled the warring zones and have found safety in six local governments in the state which shares borders with Cameroon.

A delegation of United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) were in Taraba over the weekend to determine how the international body can to assist the state in meeting up with the needs of the Refugees.

The delegation, led by Rahmatu Abdallah presented an ambulance and four motorcycles to the state government.

Governor Darius Ishaku thanked the commission for the gesture, promising that his administration would not abandon the refugees and IDPs but would rather improve their life.

He informed the delegation that his administration had built schools and health facilities to cater for the needs of refugees in the state.

The commission’s visit is expected to result in more positive programs that will improve the lives of the state’s over 19,000 refugees.

Source: TVCNews

19, June 2022

Boxing: Usyk-Joshua heavyweight rematch set for August 20 in Saudi Arabia ⁰

World heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk will defend his titles in a rematch with Britain’s Anthony Joshua in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on August 20, promoters announced Sunday.

Ukraine’s Usyk defeated then WBA, IBF and WBO champion Joshua by a unanimous decision in London in September last year.

“Champion Oleksandr Usyk will put his IBF, WBA, WBO and IBO world titles on the line against Anthony Joshua in the coastal city of Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Saturday August 20,” said a statement issued by promoters Matchroom Boxing.

No sooner had Usyk defeated Joshua 117-112, 116-112 and 115-113 on the judges’ scorecards in London then a rematch clause was activated.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, however, placed a question mark over when former undisputed cruiserweight champion Usyk would be back in the ring.

The 35-year-old returned to Ukraine to fight for his country but was given special exemption from military duty in order to prepare for this bout.

“I have a goal, with the help of the Lord I will complete my mission!”, said Usyk in Sunday’s statement from Matchroom.

Joshua, 32, has made changes to his coaching staff as he bids to be crowned world heavyweight champion for a third time.

Rob McCracken, the trainer who oversaw 2012 Olympic champion Joshua’s rise from the amateur ranks, is no longer a member of the team, with Robert Garcia added to the corner to work alongside the already-installed Angel Fernandez.

August’s fight will be Joshua’s second bout in Saudi Arabia after he regained his world titles with a points win over Andy Ruiz Jr in Riyadh in December 2019.

Joshua labelled his recent career as a “roller-coaster”, adding: “Fighting championship level back to back has had its pros and cons, but I decide every day to get stronger, to learn from my experiences and grow.

“A happy fighter is a dangerous fighter and I am the happiest and most motivated I have been.”

Source: AFP

19, June 2022

UN peacekeeper killed in Mali mine blast ⁰

A UN peacekeeper was killed by a mine Sunday in restive northern Mali as he was participating in a patrol, the head of the UN’s MINUSMA Mali force El Ghassim Wane tweeted.

The peacekeeper was part of the Guinean contingent in MINUSMA, a MINUSMA official told AFP on condition of anonymity. “He was first wounded and died of his injuries at our hospital in Kidal,” he added.

The latest death comes amid tense negotiations on the renewal of MINUSMA’s mandate.

175 peacekeepers of MINUSMA have died so far

A total of 175 of its peacekeepers have died in hostile acts.

“Terrible news that adds to the long list of our colleagues who lost their lives during their service in Mali,” Wane wrote on Twitter.

Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are one of the jihadists’ weapons of choice against MINUSMA as well as Malian forces. They also regularly kill civilians.

Mali, a poor and landlocked country in the heart of the Sahel, underwent military coups in August 2020 and May 2021.

The political crisis has gone hand in hand with a serious security crisis since 2012 and the outbreak of separatist and jihadist insurgencies in the north. The country is now ruled by a junta that has turned away from France and its partners, and turned to Russia to try to stem the jihadist threat that has spread to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger.

The violence has left thousands of civilians and soldiers dead and hundreds of thousands displaced.

Source: AFP

19, June 2022

Manyu Women: Transform your tears into concrete actions! ⁰

Videos of Manyu women crying in Yaoundé following the burning down of the Mamfe General hospital by unknown arsonists have been trending online and many people have been asking very serious questions about the rationale behind such an action when many in the Division need more than tears.

Crying is not always a bad thing. It is an expression of a feeling which could be positive or negative. That is why a famous philosopher said that “crying is the noble language of the eye.” The Manyu women in Yaoundé were, for sure, demonstrating their frustration and anger with whoever undertook the ignoble action of robbing more than 100,000 people of quality healthcare in a region which is already in the grip of multiple issues.

Mamfe has no lights. Its water system clearly belongs to the distant past. It is still a miracle that water-related illnesses have not yet popped up in the town, especially cholera which has wreaked havoc in Limbe and Buea, two towns whose water supply systems are by far better than what passes for a water system in Mamfe.

There is no doubt that Manyu women in Yaoundé and indeed across the world love their native Manyu whose capital is Mamfe but converging on a small town hall in Yaoundé to shed tears because of a massive disaster that needs more financial resources than tears is indeed mind-boggling.

The crowd in Yaoundé a few days ago was impressive. Many of the women showed up with some of the finest worsted fabric the world could boast of. The heels of their shoes were so long and beautiful that you could think they were designed for a purpose and by the goddess of beauty. Their expensive eyewear spoke volumes of their love for earthly things. There was no symptom of poverty on any of the women. The occasion seemed to have been an opportunity for some of them to display their wealth and their love for material things. Indeed, that was not the right attire for mourning women.

A lot of tears were shed, but what is baffling to many minds is the real objective of those tears. But since no human being is a god, these women can be given the benefit of the doubt. The world can cut them some slack, especially if they transform those tears into real concrete actions. The walls of the cultural center on which they converged had been transformed into wailing walls and many of the women wept and cursed those responsible for the heinous crime.

Their coming together clearly demonstrated that there was power in numbers and these women can use their numbers to breathe faith and hope into the desperate people of Mamfe. The Mamfe population needs help and tears alone will not solve their mounting health issues that are staring them in the face.

Manyu women across the globe can use their numbers to mobilize resources which could be used to alleviate the pain of their fellow women in Manyu Division. The damaged hospital was where many women were delivered of their babies. With this facility up in smoke, the future looks very bleak for young women who look forward to having their own families in Mamfe.

While rebuilding the damaged hospital may not be the responsibility of the people of Manyu Division, it must be remembered that the primary beneficiaries of the quality healthcare that was provided by the General Hospital was the local Manyu population. It certainly will take a lot of time for the burned hospital to be rebuilt, but the women of Manyu can come up with the finances that will help local women have access to healthcare – not by wearing expensive clothes and crying, but by make huge sacrifices.

They could mobilize resources to enhance the capacity of the Preventive hospital which has now been transformed into a full-fledged hospital without proper equipment. Arrangements could be made with the two local clinics in the town for pregnant women and nursing mothers to receive the care they need at affordable prices in those two clinics. This is not an impossibility, and it will not cost anybody an arm and a leg.

Manyu women organizations such as MOHWA, which have brought together thousands of women, could depart from their original goal of promoting the culture of the region to raising funds for a cause that will put smiles on many faces. It is always a pleasure to see women leaving the United Kingdom to the United States to attend a MOHWA occasion, but it is also disheartening to know that ever since the Mamfe General Hospital went up in smoke, MOHWA has not issued a statement, nor has it even tried to raise funds for other women whose future is in danger because of the disaster brought onto the population by some lawless and devilish persons.

MOHWA should not only be a place to show off. It should be a medium through which women can help other women, especially those who need medical attention in Manyu Division. In this unfortunate situation, every bit will go a long way in alleviating the pain of the residents of Mamfe. The Manyu women in Yaoundé just like their sisters in the Diaspora should be leading key resource mobilization efforts to reduce the pain brought about by the burning of the Mamfe General Hospital.

This is the time for Manyu women to demonstrate their sense of purpose. They can at least skip some of the parties organized by their groups just to help those who are at home. They can also forget about the long heels they want to buy and the expensive clothes and hairpieces just to bring joy to other people. They can cry if they so wish, but the ultimate way of demonstrating love and concern in this context will be to participate in fundraising efforts which will reduce the pain of those whose lives hang in the balance due to the massive fire which gutted the Mamfe General Hospital. Manyu women have to act now, if not, theirs will be the kingdom of tears for many years.

By Joachim Arrey, PhD

18, June 2022

Mamfe District Hospital Disaster: Where are the MOHWAs and MECAs? ⁰

For more than four decades, Chief Emmanuel Tabi Egbe, a true Manyu giant in every sense of the word, instilled upon the Manyus consciousness that the role of Manyu community associations was to bring development and delight to Manyu.

For decades, MECA, MOHWA and other Manyu associations around the world have supplied financial and human resources to schools, hospitals, and other community initiatives across the nation.

But over the last few years, legitimate questions have been asked if some of these Manyu associations in the Diaspora are still fit for purpose.

The torching of the Mamfe General hospital by sadists and arsonists on the 8th of June 2022 has brought new questions about two leading Manyu associations – MOHWA and MECA.

While renowned Manyu sons, Dr. Joachim Arrey of the Global Think Thank for Africa and Prince Julian Ebai of Manyu Solidarity Group UK are galvanizing global resources to support the poor and needy people of Manyu, MOHWA and MECA groups around the world have been loudly silent. And this is really disturbing.

MOHWA, in particular, is a gloomy, dismal and shameful case of a Manyu association. The group was conceived and sold to Manyu sons and daughters on the grounds that it would support the Manyu woman and child.

The burning of the Mamfe General Hospital should have, for once, brought MOHWA to the fore, leading a charge to raise funds for a good cause.

Strangely, MOHWA is gravely and deeply involved on both sides of the Atlantic in messy and avoidable disputes about patent rights on their wrapper which adds no real value to human life.

MOHWA in Europe is now profoundly entangled in social media mudslinging and has become the gossip hub and a marriage wrecking institution at a time when it should be leading a charge to help dying, desperate and impoverished people in Manyu.

MECAs in Europe and the USA have more cases of matrimonial impropriety among their members to resolve than the family law courts in Brazil.

MOHWA USA, Europe and MECA groups are now led by people who do not have Manyu at heart.

What MOHWA and MECA now have in common is a disdain for good causes, and they now pose a grave threat to the Manyu Diaspora, and we must say so.

This is the time for these organizations to come out and put smiles on many faces in Manyu Division. Time is of the essence! Manyu sons and daughters must start thinking differently.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

18, June 2022

Ambazonia blows to the Biya regime have grown multiple times ⁰

The Vice President of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government (IG) says Ambazonia undercover operations on French Cameroun have multiplied, but the IG cannot reveal the details.

“Beti Assomo and Paul Atanga Nji and their military generals know better what blows they have received from Amba fighters” Dabney Yerima told Cameroon Concord News on Friday.

“I have directed our fighters to hit the enemy where it pains most and these blows will continue until we get to Buea,” Yerima said, adding “These are the attacks that the Federal Republic of Ambazonia has inflicted deep inside French Cameroun and in Ground Zero”.

Vice President Yerima was commenting on a statement by Cameroon government military about some recent incident in Missong in the North West region, for which Yaoundé have tried to imply responsibility.

“When their Francophone army kills innocent Southern Cameroonians, they now openly declare it, like when their troops cowardly opened fire, killing four women, four men and an 18-month-old girl and slightly wounding a 12-month-old baby in Missong. It is similar to the blind murders in Ngarbuh,” he said.

Vice President Dabney Yerima said contrary to other restoration groups, the Interim Government cannot disclose many of the deadly blows it deals to the occupying Cameroon government forces. “The Ambazonia Interim Government mostly observes the lights-off and confidentiality principles in these attacks.”

“Southern Cameroons Self Defense Forces and other Ambazonia resistance groups have conducted far greater operations against Cameroon government troops, but we cannot disclose the details,” Yerima furthered, adding “Southern Cameroonians understand and comprehend this well“.

The exiled Southern Cameroons leader stated that, “If Biya regime carries out an operation in Southern Cameroons, it knows that it will receive a response several times.”

By Chi Prudence Asong

18, June 2022

Cameroon heading for a civil war ⁰

Tribalism, nepotism, poor governance and corruption have plunged the Cameroonian nation into such dire social straits that conditions in society today look similar to those that led to the civil wars in Liberia, Rwanda including the Ivory Coast.

Rampant killings, kidnappings and attacks against Anglophones, Bamilekes and Sawas carried out by Beti Ewondo uniform officers in past years has increased in an alarming proportion.

Southern Cameroonians, Bamileke and the Sawa people have been subject to violence and dehumanization similar to what was practiced during the colonial era against the Bassas and after the 1984 April 6 Coup against the Hausas.

The destruction of Southern Cameroons and now the Littoral region aims to fight the potential political and economic power the Ambazonian diaspora and the Sawa communities in Cameroon could wield in the nearest future.

Beti Ewondo army soldiers will themselves to slaughter Anglophones at church service, Bamilekes at their shops and Sawas at their homes. These heinous acts are their way of saying that President Biya and his kinsmen are at war with the changing Cameroon. For them, hanging on to power in Yaoundé is now at stake!

Hatred is helping the Biya gang to fuel their violence, but ultimately, hatred is mostly a consequence of their beliefs in holding on to power.

Cultural and development associations too have morphed into political groupings and tension is mounting everywhere! Recently, Francophone soldiers killed nine civilians including a baby in the North West region in what the Francophone dominated Ministry for Defense painted in a statement as a “misunderstanding”.

The Cameroon government military said the four soldiers were searching for a missing colleague on June 1 when they encountered “a group of frenzied villagers”. The troops opened fire, killing four women, four men and an 18-month-old girl and slightly wounding a 12-month-old baby. The incident took place in Missong.

Nobody cares about Anglophone lives in Cameroon and today’s widespread killings in Cameroonian society, which is reflected in the numerous acts of Beti Ewondo state terrorism and hate crimes against Anglophones, Bamilekes and Sawas has now led to conditions that put Cameroon on the verge of a civil war.

Many in Yaoundé may find this thinking alarmist, but Cameroon is much closer to the conditions that led to civil wars in Liberia, Rwanda and the Ivory Coast.

At the end of it, President Biya may find himself in Kondengui prison soon and very soon if he continues to do nothing about Beti Ewondo provocative actions and the patriarchal politics that foment the anti Anglophone, anti Bamileke and anti Sawa sentiments.

By Enowtaku Ebanghatabi Christelle

17, June 2022

EU backs Ukraine’s ‘European dream’ as Russia cuts gas supplies ⁰

Europe sent a powerful symbol of solidarity with Ukraine on Friday, when Brussels backed Kyiv’s bid for EU candidate status, even as Russia shelled frontline Ukrainian cities and cut back gas supplies to the West.

With the European Commission’s backing, Ukraine could now be added to the list of countries vying for EU membership as early as next week, when member state leaders meet at their Brussels summit.

All 27 EU leaders will have to agree to the candidacy, but the heads of the European Union’s biggest members — France, Germany and Italy — already gave their full-throated support to the idea on Thursday, on a trip to a war-torn suburb of Kyiv.

Then on Friday, the European Commission gave the executive’s formal backing to the bid, and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen made her position clear by donning a striking jacket in Ukraine’s national colours.

“We all know that Ukrainians are ready to die for the European perspective. We want them to live with us for the European dream,” she said.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky immediately welcomed the decision as a “first step on the EU membership path that’ll certainly bring our victory closer”.

He thanked von der Leyen for the commission’s “historic decision” and said he expected that EU leaders would give Ukraine a “positive result” at the June 23 to 24 summit.

Once Ukraine joins the EU candidates’ list — alongside several countries in the western Balkans — it could still take years to meet all the formal membership requirements, even if Kyiv prevails in the war.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wore Ukrainian national colours to announce that the EU executive backs Kyiv’s bid for candidate status

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wore Ukrainian national colours to announce that the EU executive backs Kyiv’s bid for candidate status Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD AFP

“Yes, Ukraine should be welcomed as a candidate country — this is based on the understanding that good work has been done but important work also remains to be done,” von der Leyen said.

And in the meantime, the fighting continues, with Russian forces bombarding Ukrainian pockets of resistance in frontline Severodonetsk, including civilians holed up in a chemical plant in the eastern Ukrainian city.

And Moscow turned up the pressure on the Western allies, sharply reducing flows of natural gas in its pipelines to Western Europe, driving up energy prices.

‘Die for the dream’

France’s network provider said it had not received any Russian gas by pipeline from Germany since June 15, and Italy’s Eni said it expected Russian firm Gazprom to cut its supplies by half on Friday.

Several European countries, including Italy and Germany, are highly reliant upon Russian gas for their energy needs and, as the West sides with Ukraine, Moscow is cutting supplies.

Berlin and Rome have rejected Russia’s argument that technical issues have caused the drop in supplies, arguing that state-owned Gazprom’s move is political.

The day before the EU Commission’s announcement the French, German, Italian and Romanian leaders had travelled to Kyiv to send a powerful symbol of support to Ukraine

The day before the EU Commission’s announcement the French, German, Italian and Romanian leaders had travelled to Kyiv to send a powerful symbol of support to Ukraine Sergei SUPINSKY AFP

But western Europe is sweltering in a heatwave and energy prices are already soaring, adding to runaway inflation and industrial action in several economies.

The situation is, of course, more stark in Ukraine itself, where Russian troops have occupied a swathe of the south and east of the country during the 113-day war, including much of the Donbas region.

“The humanitarian situation across Ukraine — particularly in the eastern Donbas — is extremely alarming and continues to deteriorate rapidly,” the UN humanitarian agency, OCHA, said.

The statement said the situation is “particularly worrying in and around Severodonetsk” — where bloody battles have raged for weeks.

‘God’s will’

Severodonetsk is in the Lugansk region, where governor Sergiy Gaiday called for a ceasefire, stating hundreds of civilians were trapped in the besieged Azot chemical plant in the city.

“It is now impossible and physically dangerous to get out of the plant due to constant shelling and fighting. There are 568 people in the shelter, including 38 children,” he said.

Gaiday said earlier this week that around 10,000 civilians remained in the city, which is controlled mostly by Russian forces.

In the frontline Donbas village of Adamivka near the city of Sloviansk, a community of Orthodox nuns have seen a rocket hole blasted into the wall of their well-tended garden.

Under near-constant bombardment by Russian forces, Sister Anastasi and a group of other black-clad nuns and pilgrims live day-to-day, praying for deliverance.

“We are all alive, yes. No one has left. This is our home,” she said quietly, her face framed by a black veil, as shells crashed in the distance.

“We trust in God’s will, in God’s help, in the help of all the saints and the Holy Virgin. This is our home, we have nowhere else to go.”

At least two people were killed and 20 injured in a Russian strike on a residential area in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, the local governor said.

Source: AFP

17, June 2022

Huge gap between statements from Biya Ministers and the reality on the ground in Ambazonia ⁰

The Biya Francophone policy towards the English speaking people of Southern Cameroons is failing completely and the reality reveals the depth of progress made by Ambazonian restoration forces despite Yaoundé’s efforts to maintain the present status quo.

Surprisingly, in the face of this fiasco, French Cameroun political elites continue to hold a questionable position on the armed struggle in Southern Cameroons while relying on an unrealistic old, frail and out-of-touch leader.

Continued military operations and deployments to Southern Cameroons, various covert operations, and thousands of arrests haven’t stopped the Southern Cameroons resistance nor changed the Ambazonia behavior, and it is now very doubtful if the Biya Francophone policy will succeed in the future.

There can never ever be a military solution to the crisis in Southern Cameroons. The concept of huge military presence in Southern Cameroons is no longer working! Weapons entering into Southern Cameroons from Nigeria illustrate this fact. President Buhari’s failures in Nigeria and his well documented hatred for the East region are providing Southern Cameroonians with help that they do not even need!! The arms flow will get worse in the days and weeks ahead.

The base for Yaoundé’s policy vis-a vis Anglophone Cameroon is still founded on the thought that Francophone’s are superior with their military might and the National Gendarmerie Force, even though Southern Cameroonians have achieved and excelled more than Francophones everywhere in the world and in every international establishment.

Southern Cameroonians have succeeded in overcoming significant financial barriers, especially in the West and North America. Their knowledge is now broad and they want French speaking Cameroonians to come to Southern Cameroons as partners and not as masters.

Moreover, according to Ground Zero voices, the quest for independence is now enjoying support in Southern Cameroons and, therefore, even if all the front line leaders are killed or arrested, it is unlikely that the struggle would be abandoned.

The bottom line is that Paul Biya’s French backed Anglophone Cameroon strategy is failing. We of the Cameroon Concord News Group think that there is a huge gap between the statements from Biya’s cabinet ministers and the reality on Ground Zero.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai