Russia attacks Ukraine amid international outcry, reports of first casualties

24, February 2022

Russia attacks Ukraine amid international outcry, reports of first casualties 0

Russian troops launched a wide-ranging attack on Ukraine on Thursday, as President Vladimir Putin cast aside international condemnation and sanctions and warned other countries that any attempt to interfere would lead to “consequences you have never seen”. World leaders decried the start of a long-anticipated invasion with far-reaching consequences and reports of casualties on both sides. Follow our live blog for all the latest developments.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a military operation in Ukraine, in a surprise televised address shortly before 6am local time. He warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with Russia’s invasion would lead to “consequences they have never seen”.

Explosions were heard in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odessa and other Ukrainian cities. Interfax Ukraine reported rocket attacks on military facilities throughout the country, as well as staff and passengers evacuating Kyiv’s Boryspil airport.

US President Joe Biden, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, French President Emmanuel Macron and other international leaders swiftly condemned the attack.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky released an emotional video address early Thursday morning local time, appealing to Russians not to support a “major war in Europe”.

The EU on Wednesday imposed sanctions on Russia’s defence minister Sergei Shoigu and military chiefs as part of a package of measures over the Kremlin’s recognition of two separatist Ukrainian regions as independent.

Source: France 24

Murder of Bamenda Business Tycoon: Was Mou Ibrahim target of a ‘hit’

23, February 2022

Murder of Bamenda Business Tycoon: Was Mou Ibrahim target of a ‘hit’ 0

Mou Ibrahim, a Bamenda-based business tycoon who also moonlighted as CEO of Mawa Hotel was gunned down by a Cameroon government army soldier.

Cameroon Intelligence Report senior correspondent in Bamenda who is currently with the police officers investigating the case alongside the military and the Ministry of Territorial Administration said investigators  are now of the opinion that the premeditated murder was related to a dispute involving the victim’s business empire.

Bamenda detectives believe the owner of Mawa Hotel shot outside the famous Ayaba Hotel was the target of a ‘hit’.  We gathered that police will in the coming days question the dead man’s family and others about the killing.

Mou Ibrahim was slain Wednesday by a soldier who pumped three bullets into his body as he stood outside Ayaba Hotel.

Senior police officers contacted by Cameroon Intelligence Report refused to reveal any more details about the investigation.

Security camera footage from Ayaba Hotel shows the soldier as he approached Mou Ibrahim who was sharing a conversation with a close aide before shooting both men repeatedly.

Mou Ibrahim owned a number of businesses including Mawa Hotel.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Soldier kills two in Bamenda, Yaoundé planning to label victims Amba terrorists

23, February 2022

Soldier kills two in Bamenda, Yaoundé planning to label victims Amba terrorists 0

A Cameroon government army soldier shot dead two men in the Ayaba Hotel area in Bamenda after troops invaded the community. Three persons reportedly sustained bullet injuries.

Cameroon Concord News gathered that the soldier opened fire unprovoked saying he was in Bamenda to kill Anglofools.

An eyewitness said the officer was arrested by his colleagues who shot sporadically to prevent mob action.

The gunshots woke up many customers at the Ayaba Hotel as soldiers were ordering people to lie down. One of them said anyone that runs should be shot.

A source inside the military hinted our correspondent in Bamenda that the spokesman for the Cameroon government army has been told to say that the victims were Ambazonian fighters.

By Fon Lawrence in Bamenda

Southern Cameroons: Exiled leaders express solidarity with Amba prisoners in French Cameroun jails

23, February 2022

Southern Cameroons: Exiled leaders express solidarity with Amba prisoners in French Cameroun jails 0

The Vice President of the Ambazonia Interim Government, Dabney Yerima has called on Southern Cameroonians in the diaspora to support Ambazonian prisoners languishing in French Cameroun jails and detention centers.

Dabney Yerima told members of his cabinet on Tuesday that shouting slogans against the Biya French Cameroun regime in the West is not enough and will not secure the release of all Southern Cameroons prisoners.

“Southern Cameroons prisoners are political prisoners and they are regarded as heroes and freedom fighters by all Ambazonians” Yerima noted.

Yerima’s message comes at a time when hundreds of Southern Cameroons detainees have been denied proper medical treatment in French Cameroun jails.

Some fifty-two Southern Cameroons detainees have died in French Cameroun prisons this year.

During a telephone conversation with Cameroon Concord News Berlin correspondent on Wednesday, Professor Carlson Anyangwe of the Southern Cameroons Department of Foreign Affairs condemned French Cameroun’s inhumane treatment of Ambazonian prisoners especially those suffering from chronic medical conditions.

Southern Cameroons prisoners are held in several French Cameroun prisons and detention centers where they are denied basic human rights.

The Ambazonia Interim Government recently demanded international protection for Southern Cameroons prisoners.

“Southern Cameroonians in Ground Zero and in Ground One are calling on the international community to come out of its silence and help Ambazonia prisoners” Professor Anyangwe said.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Lions keen on Manchester United’s Anthony Elanga, Yaoundé makes offer to switch nationality

22, February 2022

Lions keen on Manchester United’s Anthony Elanga, Yaoundé makes offer to switch nationality 0

Anthony Elanga has impressed for Ralf Rangnick’s Manchester United sop far this season, and the youngster could represent three different nations at international level with Cameroon keen on him

Manchester United’s young starlet Anthony Elanga has been approached to switch nationalities as his stock continues to rise at the Red Devils.

Elanga was born in Sweden to Cameroonian parents, but he moved to England at 12-years-old, making him eligible for all three.

However, the youngster has represented Sweden, the country of his birth, at youth level – and Sweden are confident he will represent them.

But after being called up by the first team, Elanga failed to make an appearance after Untied blocked the call-up.

And Cameroon are now attempting to swoop in to secure the services of the youngster.

According to Footazimuts, Cameroon are trying to tempt the youngster into representing the African side on the international stage.

Elanga’s father, Joseph Elanga, represented the Indomitable Lions between 1998 and 2002, earning himself 17 caps.

He was even part of Cameroon’s side for the 1998 World Cup which was held in France.

However, the report also claims that Elanga’s mother and agent aren’t sold on the side and the talks are ‘complicated’.

Source: Daily Star

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Catholic Bishops warn ‘those who take the sword will perish by the sword’

22, February 2022

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Catholic Bishops warn ‘those who take the sword will perish by the sword’ 0

As the separatist conflict continues to escalate in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions, the country’s Anglophone bishops warned that “those who take the sword will perish by the sword.”

The Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province covers Cameroon’s English speaking North West and South West Regions. Separatists in the two regions been fighting for the past five years to break away from the rest of Cameroon, which is majority French-speaking, and form a new nation they call The Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

In a statement after their 72nd ordinary meeting held Feb. 10-11, the prelates noted “with deep pain and regret, the deteriorating socio­ political situation that has prevailed in the North West and South West Regions for a very long time now.”

The bishops expressed “solidarity with the suffering, oppressed and displaced persons and refugees,” and said they will continue to “condemn violent methods of resolving disputes, because violence usually leads to greater suffering and “those who take the sword will perish by the sword,” quoting the Gospel of Matthew.

At least 4000 people have died in the conflict, and more than a million forced to flee from their homes, according to UN estimates.

They bishops said they shared “in the sorrows and anxieties, and joys and hopes of their people,” and invoked “our Lady of Lourdes, to intercede for all our sick brothers and sisters and for all of us in our search for lasting justice and peace.”

Source: Crux Now

Buea Diocese: Southern Cameroons Bishops express communion and solidarity with Bishop Michael Bibi

22, February 2022

Buea Diocese: Southern Cameroons Bishops express communion and solidarity with Bishop Michael Bibi 0

Some in the diocese have reacted negatively the various personnel changes made by the bishop since he assumed the office of apostolic administrator in 2019 (he became the bishop of the diocese in 2021.)

On June 20, 2020, he appointed Prof. Victor Julius Ngoh as Vice Chancellor of the Catholic University Institute of Buea, replacing Father George Nkeze Jingwa, who was asked to take a sabbatical leave.

Members of the University Council disapproved of the change and took the bishop to court, prompting the Vatican to intervene.

Bibi also outlawed certain lay associations which he said were created without due authorization.

In an online petition against Bibi, he was described as “an emperor and a tyrant bishop.”

The petition accuses the prelate of destroying Catholicism in the Buea Diocese, and of committing “xenophobia against innocent priests of God who are duly incardinated into Buea Diocese in accordance with Can. 265.”

But in their Feb. 11 statement, the bshops of the Bamenda province said they were shocked and saddened by the scale of the attacks, and expressed solidarity with Bibi.

“Our hearts were deeply saddened by the unfortunate turn of events in the Diocese of Buea, characterized by gross disrespect of the hierarchy of the Church, casting of aspersions on Bishop Michael Bibi, and deliberate distortion and manipulation of facts in order to misinform, divide and mislead the public through social media and other media organs, on certain important decisions taken by the Bishop in his attempt to bring the Diocese to align perfectly with the mind and practices of the Church.” the prelates said.

“We express our solidarity and communion with his Lordship Bishop Michael Bibi, whose decisions are in perfect alignment with the mind and discipline of the Church on these matters,” the statement added.

They called on the faithful of the Diocese of Buea to stay vigilant and work in communion with Bibi for the purpose of building a united and prosperous Diocese.

“While commending each one of you to Divine Protection through the intercession of Our Lady Queen of Peace, we ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will, with all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,” the bishops continued.

“With knowledge of God’s will, wisdom, and understanding that comes from the Holy Spirit, you will be able to live as the Lord wants and will always do what pleases him. Your lives will produce all kinds of good deeds, and you will grow in your knowledge.”

Bibi will be celebrating his first anniversary of his canonical possession of the Diocese of Buea on Feb. 25.

Culled from Crux Now

34 killed as cholera epidemic spreads in Cameroon

22, February 2022

34 killed as cholera epidemic spreads in Cameroon 0

At least 34 people have died so far in a cholera epidemic that is sweeping the Central African nation of Cameroon, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Monday.

The epidemic has hit at least four regions, including the Littoral region where the commercial capital Douala is located.

In the Southwest region, 28 people have died, and 1,055 others infected. There are 77 cases and four deaths in the Littoral region, the South region has 52 cases and two deaths and the Far North region has reported eight cases, OCHA said.

Cholera cases were first reported in localities in the Littoral and Southwest regions of the country in early January.

Last week, Cameroon’s Minister of Public Health Malachie Manaouda urged people to stay hygienic and report any infections to the hospital.

Outbreaks of the water-borne disease occur regularly in Cameroon, mainly due to poor sanitation and a lack of access to clean drinking water.

Cholera, which is spread by ingesting fecal matter, causes acute watery diarrhea and can kill within hours if not treated.

Source: Xinhuanet

Pope Francis appoints new Bishop to lead the Diocese of Mamfe

22, February 2022

Pope Francis appoints new Bishop to lead the Diocese of Mamfe 0

Pope Francis has appointed Rev. Aloysius Fondong Abangalo as Bishop of the Diocese of Mamfe. The cleric from the diocese of Buea was until the appointment a lecturer at the St. Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary in Bambui.

Cameroon Concord News understands His Lordship Bishop Aloysius Fondong Abangalo was born on June 5, 1973 in Limbe.  He studied Philosophy and Theology at the St. Thomas Aquinas Inter-diocesan Major Seminary in Bambui, in Bamenda.

Bishop Aloysius Abangalo holds a Licentiate in Canon Law from the Université Catholique d’Afrique Centrale UCAC (2011-2014) and a Doctorate in Canon Law at the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Italy.

He was ordained a priest on April 20, 2006 in Buea and subsequently held the following positions in the Church hierarchy: Vicar of the Holy Family Parish of Limbe (2006-2007); Dean of Our Lady of Grace College in Muyuka (2007-2009); Diocesan Treasurer and Member of the College of Consultors (2009-2011); Teacher and trainer at St Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary in Bambui and Defender of the Bond at the Inter-diocesan Tribunal of Bamenda (2014-2019).

This item is still developing

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with files

Defying West, Putin orders troops to pro-Russian breakaway regions of east Ukraine

22, February 2022

Defying West, Putin orders troops to pro-Russian breakaway regions of east Ukraine 0

President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops into two Moscow-backed rebel regions of Ukraine on Monday, defying Western threats of sanctions in a move that could set off a potentially catastrophic war with Kyiv. 

Earlier, the Kremlin leader had recognised the independence of two rebel-held areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions of Ukraine, paving the way for an operation to deploy part of the potential invasion force he has massed around the country.

In two official decrees, Putin instructed the defence ministry to assume “the function of peacekeeping” in the separatist-held regions.

The recognition of the breakaway republics, which form an enclave held by Russia-backed rebels since 2014, triggered international condemnation and a promise of targeted sanctions from the United States and the European Union – with a broader package of economic punishment to come in the event of invasion.

As news of the late-night recognition hit the streets of Kyiv, many were in disbelief, but ready to defend their country if called on.

‘Scariest news’ in 8 years

“I am very shocked,” Artem Ivaschenko, a 22-year-old cook originally from Donetsk, told AFP in the capital, calling the recognition the “scariest news” since he had fled the region eight years ago.

“I live here, I already lost a part of my homeland, it was taken away, so I will protect it.”

After a flurry of calls, US President Joe Biden, France’s Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned that Moscow’s gambit “would not go unanswered”.

The US announced its first sanctions, with the White House saying Biden will issue an executive order to “prohibit new investment, trade, and financing by US persons to, from, or in” the two rebel regions.

A French presidential official said the European Union was preparing a list of Russian entities and individuals to sanction in a “proportionate” response to the recognition.

In Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky convened a meeting of his national security council and was due to make a speech later in the night.   

Earlier, in an often angry 65-minute televised national address from his Kremlin office, Putin railed against ex-Soviet neighbour Ukraine as a failed state and “puppet” of the West, repeatedly suggesting it was essentially part of Russia.

He accused the authorities in Kyiv of persecuting Russian speakers and of preparing a “blitzkrieg” against the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Lugansk in Ukraine’s east.

“As for those who seized and hold power in Kyiv, we demand an immediate end to their military operations,” Putin said.

“Otherwise, all responsibility for the possible continuation of bloodshed will be fully on the conscience of the regime in power in Ukraine.”

Putin said it was necessary to “take a long overdue decision, to immediately recognise the independence” of the two regions.

He then signed partnership agreements with the rebels that declared the presence of Russian military forces “necessary to maintain peace… and ensure reliable security.”

EU ‘will react with sanctions’

The recognition effectively puts an end to an already shaky peace plan in the separatist conflict, which has rumbled on since 2014, after Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine, and has left more than 14,000 dead.

Russia will now deploy troops with the support of separatist officials and Ukraine will either have to accept the loss of a huge chunk of territory or face an armed conflict against its vastly more powerful neighbour.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the move “a flagrant violation of the sovereignty and integrity of the Ukraine”, with the UK cabinet’s emergency COBR committee due to meet Tuesday and foreign minister Liz Truss promising “new sanctions on Russia.”

EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel promised the bloc “will react with sanctions against those involved in this illegal act”.

The United States and allies including France requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council later Monday.

Putin told his Security Council earlier Monday that there were “no prospects” for the 2015 Minsk peace accords aimed at resolving the Ukraine conflict.

‘Very big threat’ to Russia

And he made clear the stakes were bigger than Ukraine, whose efforts to join NATO and the European Union have deeply angered Moscow.

“The use of Ukraine as an instrument of confrontation with our country poses a serious, very big threat to us,” Putin said.

The dramatic meeting – with Putin sitting alone at a desk as his government, military and security chiefs took turns addressing him from a podium – came after weeks of tensions between Moscow and the West over Ukraine.

Western leaders warned that Russia was planning to invade its pro-Western neighbour after massing more than 150,000 troops on its borders, a claim Moscow repeatedly denied.

Tensions then spiked in recent days after an outbreak of heavy shellfire on Ukraine’s eastern frontline with the separatists and a series of reported incidents on the border with Russia.

Monitors from the OSCE European security body on Monday reported more than 3,000 new ceasefire violations in east Ukraine the day before, a high for the year.

Ukrainian officials said two soldiers and a civilian died in more shelling of frontline villages Monday.

Source: AFP

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