Southern Cameroons Crisis: 5 years of violent civil war

2, October 2021

Southern Cameroons Crisis: 5 years of violent civil war 0

Protesters criticize that English-speaking regions of Cameroon are far less developed than French-speaking parts. They also take issue with crude oil extraction off the country’s southwestern coast, arguing the proceeds only benefit Cameroon’s Francophone central government. Teachers and judges complain that English speakers are underrepresented in parliament, the government, public administration and universities.

Thousands of French-speaking judges and teachers were dispatched to Anglophone Cameroon at the start of the 2016 school term. Cameroon’s central government has been working to supplant the region’s British-style legal and education system with the French model. Anglophone Cameroonians complain that those French-speaking judges and teachers are undermining the region’s English-language culture.

November 2016: The central government first remains silent on the situation, then suppresses the Anglophone protest movement. Subsequently, tension escalate, with English-speaking Cameroonians variously calling to reestablish a federal system, or split from Francophone Cameroon. Elements within the separatist movement now regard English-speaking Cameroon as an independent state, calling it Ambazonia.

A whole range of different, Anglophone separatist groups emerge, who total some 4,000 members altogether. They are supported by Cameroon’s diaspora. The most influential separatists organizations are the Ambazonia Defense Forces, Ambazonia Self-Defense Council, African People’s Liberation Movement and its armed wing, the Southern Cameroons Defense Forces. The secessionist movement is riven by ethnic rivalries, lacking overall military and political leadership.

December 2016: Several people are shot and killed by security forces in the city of Bamenda, in Cameroon’s northwestern Anglophone region. Dozens are wounded in the clashes. The army fails to bring the situation under control.

January 2017: Cameroon’s central government launches a concerted campaign to weaken Anglophone separatist groups. English-speaking Cameroon is cut off from the internet from January to April 2017. Relatives of Anglophone activists are arrested. Cameroon’s army and police force crack down on renewed protests staged by English-speaking teachers and lawyers. Separatist groups like the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium subsequently call on all English speakers to participate in general strikes every Monday, bringing public life to a standstill.

Is a Biya political dynasty taking shape?

October 2017: Separatist leader Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe declares the Republic of Ambazonia an independent state on October 1, a national holiday officially celebrated as Unification Day. Several regions fall under the control of armed separatist groups. Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya, meanwhile, continues downplaying and suppressing the conflict.

International organizations become increasingly aware of the conflict. Human Rights Watch (HRW) reports some 4,000 people have died in clashes, with around 60,000 forced to flee to neighboring Nigeria. It says about 850,000 children are unable to attend school due to the ongoing conflict. Some 2.3 million out of the 5 million Anglophone Cameroonians depend on humanitarian aid, according to HRW.

October 2018: President Biya, in office since 1982, is reelected with 71.28% of the vote. The election is, however, marred by allegations of fraud. Political and ethnic tensions between Biya supporters and the opposition intensify.

Paul Biya was reelected in October 2018

February 2019: Maurice Kamto, who heads the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (MRC) opposition party, is sentenced to eight months behind bars for inciting violence. Kamto is has repeatedly protested against systemic discrimination.

September 2019: Biya announces though state-run media outlets that a grand national dialogue will be held on September 10 to resolve the country’s protracted conflict. Talks are planned from September 30 until October 4. The governing Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (RDPC) party, several religious organizations and civil society actors support Biya’s imitative. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomes the step.

Most opposition parties, however, reject the format, as key separatist leaders remain in jail. They also criticize the summit will neither address a potential return to federalism, nor possible independence for English-speaking regions of Cameroon.

Biya dismisses mediation efforts by the UN, African Union (AU) and Catholic Church.

Opposition leader Maurice Kamto was released from prison on October 5, 2019

December 2019: Biya ratifies several laws designed to promote bilingualism and decentralization in Cameroon. Opposition figures, however, decry the move as “window dressing” to keep Biya in power.

February 2020: Kamto’s MRC party boycotts the parliamentary and municipal elections. The ruling RDPC party wins the vast majority of votes. Voter turnout, however, has reached a historic low.

March 2020: Attacks by radical Islamic terror group Boko Haram on northeastern Cameroon intensify. Incursions are launched from Nigeria and Chad, where Boko Haram is based. The campaign brings further instability to Cameroon.

March 2020: Amid the COVID pandemic, the separatist militant group Southern Cameroon Defense Forces declares a cease-fire from March 29, 2020, following a call by the UN secretary-general. The largest separatist militant group, the Ambazonian Defense Forces (ADF), declines to take part in the cease-fire. The attacks continue.

September 2021: Deadly attacks by various separatist groups on military posts and vehicles of the Cameroonian army continue to be a daily occurrence. Cameroonian security forces ready for robust clashes on October 1, which officially marks the founding of the Cameroonian state. On the same day, separatists celebrate the proclamation of the independent Republic of Ambazonia in 2017. The self-declared entity is still not recognized internationally.

Source: Deutchewelle

EU postpones trade talks with Australia amid submarine row

1, October 2021

EU postpones trade talks with Australia amid submarine row 0

A long-planned round of Australia-EU free trade talks have been postponed, a European official confirmed Friday, after fury over Canberra’s decision to cancel a major French submarine contract.

“The FTA trade round has been postponed for a month until November,” an EU official in Canberra told AFP, throwing the future of the far-reaching pact into doubt.

Australia last month abruptly cancelled a multibillion-dollar contract for 12 French submarines, opting to buy nuclear-powered US-designed vessels instead.

The decision prompted a major diplomatic spat with one of the European Union’s largest members and now appears to have hit ties with the entire bloc.

France has publicly said it can no longer trust Australia’s government, accusing officials of lying and questioning whether the trade agreement can go ahead.

Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan, who was scheduled to travel to Europe for the talks, played down the decision in a statement to AFP.

“We understand the French reaction to our submarine decision but ultimately any nation must act in its national interest — which is what Australia has done,” he said.

Tehan indicated he plans to meet EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis next week to discuss what would be the 12th round of negotiations.

“We will continue preparing for the 12th round of negotiations and working towards concluding a free trade agreement that is in the interests of both Australia and the EU.”

The EU is Australia’s third-biggest trading partner.

In 2020, the trade in goods between the two economies was valued at 36 billion euros ($42.4 billion) and at 26 billion euros in services.

The next round of talks was due to cover areas including trade, services, investment and intellectual property rights.

Source: AFP

Southern Cameroons Crisis: It is October again

1, October 2021

Southern Cameroons Crisis: It is October again 0

The month of October will forever be remembered in Cameroon not just because it is the month in which the trust territory of Southern Cameroons achieved its independence, but the month in which Cameroon as a nation was plunged into chaos that might never end.

But before the Cameroon Concord News Group delves into the analysis of the chaos playing out in the two English-speaking regions of the country, it would like to extend its congratulations to the people of former West Cameroon on the attainment of their independence which was captured by the Yaounde government and transformed into a nightmare that will not be ending anytime soon.

In remembrance of October 1, 1961, the recognized Interim Government’s Vice President, Dabney Yerima, wished the people of Southern Cameroons happy celebrations. He used the occasion to remind the population of the importance of the day, urging the people to protect their territory.

He also used the occasion to congratulate the fighters on the ground on their spectacular victories which have left the country’s military and government with bloodshot eyes.

Over the  last two months, Southern Cameroonian fighters have demonstrated that they are a force to reckon with and their back to back victories over the poorly trained Yaounde government’s military is gradually triggering a tectonic shift in the thinking of the country’s French-speaking majority.

Vice president Yerima also expressed his sympathy with the Southern Cameroonian population regarding the irresponsible and reckless lockdown declared by some members of the Southern Cameroonian Diaspora who simply want to remain relevant in a conflict that has exposed their greed and ulterior motives.

Since the commencement of this avoidable conflict, close to 4,000 army soldiers and special forces have been killed in Cameroon’s two English-speaking regions, with some 3,000 maimed and disabled due to the senseless fighting.

Also speaking to the people of Southern Cameroons on the occasion of their independence was Dr. Ikome Sako of the erstwhile interim government which has lost its popularity and the people’s confidence.

Dressed in a police uniform of the Yaounde crime syndicate, Dr. Ikome Sako, who looked more as a police officer and whose speech problems have been carefully documented, succeeded to thank the fighters on the ground for their brilliant success, urging them to keep the pressure on the beleaguered Yaounde government.

His Yaounde government police uniform has left many in doubt about his loyalty to the people of Southern Cameroons. Many Southern Cameroonians think he is in cahoots with the Yaounde government which has already killed more than 15,000 Southern Cameroonians in a war that lacks a raison d’etre.

Meanwhile, in East Cameroon, the population and government are in fear as Southern Cameroonians peacefully celebrate their much-cherished independence.

The Yaounde government has deployed soldiers in all major cities of the country in fear of what might happen. For over one week now, the country’s uniformed officers have not been having a good night’s sleep as it has been decreed that on October 1 or days preceding the independence day celebrations, Southern Cameroonian fighters might cross the Mungo to wreak havoc in cities in East Cameroon.

The fighters’ ability to manufacture bombs and IEDs has struck fear in the government’s mind. Six months ago, a delegation from China and the United States had trained the fighters to put together IEDs and this is a huge threat to the Yaounde government.

Rumor and fear are spreading in East Cameroon to the effect that large markets and shopping malls will soon come under attack as Southern Cameroons agents have been trained to deliver these deadly weapons to such soft targets in order to mount pressure on the government.

According to a fighter who elected anonymity, a rain of explosions will soon be falling on towns such as Douala, Dschang, Baffoussam and others.

“We will be changing the dynamics in the days ahead. We want to take the war and misery to East Cameroon where the people have been indifferent to the sorry plight of Southern Cameroonians. In Southern Cameroons, we have succeeded to sow fear in the police, soldiers and gendarmes and we want to replicate this in East Cameroon,” the fighter said.

The humiliating defeat of the military in many parts of Southern Cameroons has created mobid fear in the minds of the corrupt government officials who are clearly seeing the writing on the wall.

Speaking to the Cameroon Concord News Group’s Paris correspondent on September 30, 2021, at midnight Cameroon time, a senior gendarmarie officer said that for days he had not been sleeping in his house because he, like many officers of his corps, has been deployed in many parts of Douala, especially at the seaport which is heavily guarded because it is believed that Southern Cameroonian fighters might attack the seaport  considered as a den of corruption by many Cameroonians.

“We have not been sleeping for days as the government holds that Southern Cameroonian fighters have a plan to storm the seaport. There is total panic within the military and within government circles. Southern Cameroonian fighters have changed the game. Their use of IEDs to kill soldiers has changed the way Francophones see the conflict,” the senior officier who elected anonymity said.

“Southern Cameroonian fighters have succeeded to instill fear in the government. In the military, many of my colleagues are trembling. The deaths of many colleagues has demoralized the young soldiers and thousands are contemplating quitting the military for good,” he added.

“He highlighted that if the government did not hold out an olive branch sooner rather than later, it might lose everything in Southern Cameroons. The odds are stacked up against the government. The fighting has left the towns and cities of Southern Cameroons for the forest and the roads leading to the towns and the fighters who started out with machetes and hunting rifles are now clearly having an upper hand.”

To make their independence day celebrations more interesting, Southern Cameroonians fighters on September 30  killed some soldiers in kumbo in a humiliating manner, taking with them, the soldiers’ weapons and uniforms.

It should be recalled that  October is not only the month of independence for Southern Cameroons,  but a month wherein the conflict with the Yaounde government started. October 16, 2016, is a day that Southern Cameroonians will always remember as it changed their lives.

Years of marginalization by the government finally resulted in huge demonstrations across the country’s two English-speaking regions, resulting in the killing of many innocent civilians and citizens.

The events of October 2016 shattered Cameroon’s image as an oasis of peace in a desert of chaos. Many lives have been lost and ruined and confidence in the Yaounde government has evaporated.

The government has been humiliated and reduced. Its tough approach to the Southern Cameroons crisis has not only hurt the country’s image, it has resulted in a loss of life that is in many minds unpardonable.

The government like the separatists has remained frozen in its position and this is making it a lot more challenging to put an end to this conflict that has clearly hurt the country’s economy.

As Southern Cameroonians celebrate their independence today, they should always remember that the enemy is still strong, very manipulative and dangerous, though it has taken many punches to the liver.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Pentagon officials say Afghan govt’s collapse was rooted in 2020 US deal with Taliban

30, September 2021

Pentagon officials say Afghan govt’s collapse was rooted in 2020 US deal with Taliban 0

Senior Pentagon officials said Wednesday the collapse of the Afghan government and its security forces in August could be traced to the 2020 US agreement with the Taliban signed in Doha that promised a complete troop withdrawal. Joe Biden has faced the biggest crisis of his presidency over the withdrawal in Afghanistan, drawing criticism from Republican US lawmakers.

This week, the US House and Senate started hearings of a congressional review on the troop pull-out in Afghanistan and the war itself. During its second day, General Frank McKenzie, the head of Central Command, told the House Armed Services Committee that once the US troop presence was pushed below 2,500, as part of President Joe Biden’s decision in April to complete a total withdrawal by September, the unravelling of the Washington-backed Afghan government accelerated.

“The signing of the Doha agreement had a really pernicious effect on the government of Afghanistan and on its military – psychological more than anything else, but we set a date-certain for when we were going to leave and when they could expect all assistance to end,” McKenzie said.

On February 29, 2020, the Trump administration signed an agreement with the Taliban in Doha, Qatar, in which the US promised to fully withdraw its troops by May 2021, with the Taliban committing to several conditions, including stopping attacks on American and coalition forces. The stated objective was to promote peace negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government in Kabul, but that diplomatic effort never gained traction before Biden took office in January.

McKenzie had believed “for quite a while” that if the United States reduced the number of its military advisers in Afghanistan below 2,500, the Kabul government inevitably would collapse “and that the military would follow.” In addition to the morale-depleting effects of the Doha agreement, the troop reduction ordered by Biden in April was ”the other nail in the coffin” for the 20-year war effort, he added, because it blinded the US military to conditions inside the Afghan army: “our advisers were no longer down there with those units.”

Democrat Biden has faced the biggest crisis of his presidency over the war in Afghanistan, which he argued needed to be brought to a close after 20 years of stalemated fighting that had cost American lives, drained resources and distracted from greater strategic priorities.

Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, testifying alongside McKenzie, said he agreed with the analysis. The Doha agreement also committed the United States to ending airstrikes against the Taliban, “so the Taliban got stronger, they increased their offensive operations against the Afghan security forces, and the Afghans were losing a lot of people on a weekly basis,” he added.

War in Afghanistan ‘a strategic failure’

Wednesday’s hearing with Pentagon leaders was politically charged. Republicans sought to cast President Biden as wrongheaded on Afghanistan, and Democrats pointed to what they called ill-advised decisions during the Trump years.

The previous day, General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a similar hearing in the Senate that the war in Afghanistan was a “strategic failure,” and he repeated that on Wednesday.

When pressed Tuesday, Milley also told the Senate committee that it had been his personal opinion that at least 2,500 American troops were needed to guard against a collapse of the Kabul government and a return to Taliban rule.

Defying US intelligence assessments, the Afghan government and its American-trained army collapsed on August 15, allowing the Taliban to capture Kabul with what Milley described as a couple of hundred men on motorcycles and without firing one shot. That triggered a frantic US effort to evacuate American civilians, Afghan allies and others from Kabul airport.

The Taliban had ruled the country from 1996 to 2001.

‘Plain old politics’

US House and Senate started hearings which could become an extended congressional review of the US failures in Afghanistan. This after years of limited congressional oversight of the war although hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars were consumed.

“The Republicans’ sudden interest in Afghanistan is plain old politics,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, who supported Biden’s decision to end US involvement there.

Tuesday’s hearing also was contentious at times, as Republicans sought to portray Biden as having ignored advice from military officers and mischaracterised the military options with which he was presented last spring and summer.

Republican Senator Tom Cotton (Arkansas) asked why Milley did not choose to resign after his advice was rejected. The general, who was appointed to his position as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by President Donald Trump and retained by Biden, said it was his responsibility to provide the commander in chief with his best advice.

“The president doesn’t have to agree with that advice,” Milley said. “He doesn’t have to make those decisions just because we are generals. And it would be an incredible act of political defiance for a commissioned officer to resign just because my advice was not taken.”

(FRANCE 24 with AP & REUTERS)

Brazil football legend Pele leaves hospital, will now undergo chemotherapy

30, September 2021

Brazil football legend Pele leaves hospital, will now undergo chemotherapy 0

Brazilian football legend Pele was released from hospital Thursday after undergoing surgery for a colon tumor, but will continue undergoing chemotherapy, his medical team said.

Pele, 80, had been receiving treatment at Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo since August 31, after a suspected tumor was detected during routine tests.

The player considered by many the greatest footballer of all time is in “stable” condition, doctors said.

(AFP)

October 1: Vice President Yerima speaks of Ambazonia Defiance

30, September 2021

October 1: Vice President Yerima speaks of Ambazonia Defiance 0

Fellow Ambazonians,

I bring you revolutionary greetings from your leader, President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, and his team in detention. Their bravery is the anchor that givesour nation hope in moments of quiet despair in this journey we have embarked upon. Tomorrow marks the 4th anniversary of the restoration of our independence. Since that historic day on 1stOctober 2017, we have seen over 20,000 of our fellow citizens massacred, 521 of our villages burned down, and over one million people displaced from their homes.

The Southern Cameroons was one of the territories set for decolonization in the UN decolonization agenda. Britain’s devious handling of it and the British wheeling and dealing at the UN in 1959 and 1960 caused a great historical injustice to the people of the Southern Cameroons. This four-year-old war in Ambazonia was unleashed on us by Paul Biya in November 2017 after we affirmed our independence on 1stOctober 2017.

To attain freedom, humans must willingly and vigorously challenge what despots, colonialists and neo-colonialists impose upon them. We must choose between the challenging but necessary task of fighting for our freedom and the temptation to ignore our duty and hope for the best. The choice to move this struggle forward is on all of us. The solution is well within our grasp, but if we stop midway, we will send a signal of decline to our enemy.

Fellow Comrades, as we engage in our independence day celebrations around the globe, your Interim Government recommends that all our people in Ground Zero and Ground One remain vigilant and sensible in the decisions they make. Over the last two weeks, there was a lockdown of Ambazonia, announced by some impostors in the Diaspora. The Interim Government wants to apologize to all who suffered needless pain due to this poorly conceived and dreadful initiative. Collectively, we must consider the wellbeing of our people on the ground in any decisions we make, and the Interim Government regrets this continuous attempt by foes from within to undermine our struggle. Regrettably, the workings of the United Nations are fundamental but foreign to many of our so-called leaders in the Diaspora.

Fellow Ambazonians, our forces are getting the training and material support they need, and your Interim Government is making available to them the tools they require for combat operations. There is a new attitude towards serving in the ranks of our restoration forces, and I salute the great ability and demonstrated bravery of our freedom fighters.

Fellow Ambazonians, last week, the terrorist enemy desecrated our city of Bamenda. He sneaked in under heavily armed cover, hiding in an armoured vehicle. He held a one-way traffic meeting during which he blew a lot of hot air. Then he got his pre-owned moving coffins to edge their way into the hinterland of our territory labouriously. Those coffins on wheels carry hapless non-Bulu-Ewondo conscripts sentenced to death by being sent to our territory. Our security services monitor every day and night the movement of the enemy in our territory. I want to repeat the counsel of wisdom that diplomats and many others have given since 2018 to the Yaounde old man and despot;the corrupt, rotten, tribal, oppressive, tyrannous and tired Yaounde ethnic regime in the throes of demise can never win this war in a hundred years. Yaounde and its tribal warlords must know that there is nothing as powerful as the human will and spirit. Not even armoured tanks! We have recently heard them say Federalism is not out of the question. I have news for you in Yaoundé: Federalism might not be out of the question for you, but Federalism is out of the question for Ambazonians.

To the people of French Cameroun, we seek not continuous war with you but intend to live in harmony as peaceful neighbours. Your country obtained its independence on 1st January 1960, and the Southern Cameroons was not a part of that composition. Southern Cameroons has internationally recognized borders that must be recognized and respected. I urge you to liberate yourselves. I urge you to claim and exercise your inalienable right of self-determination. End your situation of being held captive by an illegitimate and cruel regime. Stand up for peace and justice. Champion the process of pacific settlement that tomorrow will enable our two nations to co-exist peacefully and in a spirit of good neighbourliness. There will be neither peace nor security in your nation for as long as your military continues to kill our people, rape our women, destroy our property and occupy our land illegally.

Fellow Ambazonians, we face a powerful and complex enemy backed by France, but we must not falter. They have powerful lobbying machinery, but we have truth on our side.  We find ourselves in this state as a result of failing to act over the last sixty years. Our independence is no longer a future hypothesis or a historical burden; it is on us here and now.

Fellow Ambazonians, when Justice Ebong, Chief Ayamba,Fon Gorji Dinka, Mola NjohLitumbe, stood against this tyranny and the monster in Yaoundé, they had not as many resources as we have today. So, we must live up to the standard of courage they demonstrated. Our quest for freedom holds the promise of changing our history as a people. There have been risks and challenges over the last four years, and results take time.

Blood, money and energy must be sacrificed for us to attain our freedom. If we stop now, we have chosen servitude and slavery instead of freedom and independence. And that we shall not do. Happy Independence Day 2021. God Bless the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

Thank you,

God Bless you

Dabney Yerima

Vice President

Federal Republic of Ambazonia

24 dead in Ecuador prison gun battle

29, September 2021

24 dead in Ecuador prison gun battle 0

At least 24 prisoners were killed in a battle between inmates equipped with firearms and grenades at a prison in Guayaquil, Ecuador, officials said Tuesday.

The national bureau of prisons (SNAI) confirmed the death toll in a statement and updated an earlier toll of wounded to 48 from 42.

The regional police commander, General Fausto Buenano, said that toll included prisoners shot to death and killed by detonating hand grenades.

President Guillermo Lasso re-tweeted an announcement from the prison bureau saying order “has been restored at the Littoral Penitentiary after the Tuesday incidents.”

Ecuador’s prison system has become a battle ground between prisoners linked to Mexican drug gangs — mainly the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels.

Guayaquil, Ecuador’s main port city, is a major hub for shipping South American cocaine to points north, especially the United States.

Last week, police confiscated two pistols, a revolver, some 500 rounds of ammunition, a hand grenade, several knives, two sticks of dynamite and homemade explosives at one of the Guayaquil prisons.

Two weeks ago, Guayaquil’s Prison Number 4 was attacked by drones, part of “a war between international cartels,” prison authorities said. There were no casualties in the attack.

Ecuador’s prison system has about 60 facilities designed for 29,000 inmates, but is burdened by overcrowding and staffing shortages.

The country’s human rights ombudsman said there were 103 killings in prisons in 2020.

Twenty-seven inmates died in prison riots in two jails in July, in an incident that forced the government to declare a state of emergency.

Source: AFP

US generals say they advised against complete pullout from Afghanistan

29, September 2021

US generals say they advised against complete pullout from Afghanistan 0

Top US generals said Tuesday that they advised President Joe Biden to keep American troops in Afghanistan and expressed concern that the Taliban has not severed ties with Al-Qaeda.

General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and General Kenneth McKenzie, commander of US Central Command, said they had personally recommended that some 2,500 troops remain on the ground in Afghanistan.

Biden, in April, ordered a complete pullout of US forces from the country by August 31, following through on an agreement reached with the Taliban by former president Donald Trump.

Milley, McKenzie and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin were grilled for nearly six hours by members of the Senate Armed Services Committee about the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the chaotic evacuation from Kabul airport.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden had received “split” advice about what to do in Afghanistan, which the United States invaded following the September 11, 2001 Al-Qaeda attacks on New York and Washington.

“Ultimately, it’s up to the commander-in-chief to make a decision,” Psaki said. “He made a decision that it was time to end a 20-year war.”

Milley, who shrugged off calls from some Republican lawmakers for him to resign, was asked whether the pullout and disorderly evacuation, during which 13 American troops were killed in bomb attack, had damaged US credibility.

“I think that our credibility with allies and partners around the world and with adversaries is being intensely reviewed by them to see which way this is going to go and I think ‘damage’ is one word that could be used, yes,” he said.

Milley said the Taliban “was and remains a terrorist organization and they still have not broken ties with Al-Qaeda,” which plotted the 9/11 attacks from Afghanistan.

“It remains to be seen whether or not the Taliban can consolidate power or if the country will fracture into further civil war,” he said. “But we must continue to protect the American people from terrorist attacks emanating from Afghanistan.”

A reconstituted Al Qaeda or Islamic State with aspirations to attack America remains “a very real possibility,” he said, but “it’s too early to determine their capability.”

‘Took us all by surprise’

Austin said the United States “did not fully comprehend the depth of corruption and poor leadership” in the Afghan armed forces.

“We helped build a state, but we could not forge a nation,” he said.

“The fact that the Afghan army we and our partners trained simply melted away — in many cases without firing a shot — took us all by surprise,” the Pentagon chief said. “It would be dishonest to claim otherwise.”

Austin said the United States had provided the Afghan military “with equipment and aircraft and the skills to use them” but “in the end, we couldn’t provide them with the will to win.”

‘De-escalate’

Milley also testified about calls he made to his Chinese counterpart in the waning months of the Trump presidency.

He said they were intended to “de-escalate” tensions and the former president had no aim of attacking China.

“I know, I am certain, President Trump did not intend to attack the Chinese,” Milley said.

“My task at that time was to de-escalate. My message again was consistent: stay calm and steady and de-escalate. We are not going to attack you,” he said.

The calls between Milley and his Chinese counterpart, General Li Zuocheng, were first revealed in the book “Peril” by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Robert Costa.

The first call was on October 30, four days before the US presidential election, and the second was on January 8, two days after supporters of Trump stormed the US Capitol in an effort to prevent certification of Biden’s victory.

Some Republican lawmakers have accused Milley of overstepping his authority and called for him to resign.

Milley defended his actions and said the calls were coordinated with the then-secretaries of defense.

“The specific purpose of the October and January calls was generated by concerning intelligence which caused us to believe the Chinese were worried about an attack by the US,” Milley said.

“These military-to-military communications at the highest levels are critical to the security of the United States in order to deconflict military actions, manage crisis, and prevent war between great powers armed with nuclear weapons,” he said.

“At no time was I attempting to change or influence the process, usurp authority, or insert myself into the chain of command,” Milley added.

“I firmly believe in civilian control of the military as a bedrock principle essential to this Republic and I am committed to ensuring the military stays clear of domestic politics.”

(AFP)

Southern Cameroons: Exiled Leader to address great nation on October 1

29, September 2021

Southern Cameroons: Exiled Leader to address great nation on October 1 0

The live televised speech of the Southern Cameroons exiled Leader Vice President Dabney Yerima of the Ambazonia Interim Government will be broadcast on Friday, Ocotber 1 by the Southern Cameroons Broadcasting Cooperation (SCBC).

The speech is going to be broadcast live through several Southern Cameroons news channels and radio as well as Ambazonia Revolutions’ official website.

Cameroon Concord News Group is going to air the live address of the Southern Cameroons Vice President with an exclusive interpretation.

October 1, marks the joyous occasion of the proclamation of Southern Cameroons Independence by President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe.

Ever since the declaration, millions of Southern Cameroonians around the world hold festivities to honor the national day.

In Ground Zero, people decorate streets with Ambazonia flags and gather outside nationwide to celebrate the auspicious occasion, but this year, Cameroon Concord News gathered from Interim Government sources that due to the outbreak of Coronavirus, there will be no gathering and mass celebrations.

By Haggai Fung Achuo

Kumba: Prominent Southern Cameroons politician dies of Covid

28, September 2021

Kumba: Prominent Southern Cameroons politician dies of Covid 0

A renowned Southern Cameroons CPDM politician Victor Nkelle Ngoh who moonlighted as Government Delegate to the Kumba City Council has died after catching coronavirus.

The pro Biya Bafaw elite was was found dead in his Alaska Street residence on Monday, September 27, 2021, under Coivd-19 circumstances.

Victor Nkelle Ngoh was well known in Kumba CPDM circles for his moderate lines he took against a military solution to the conflict in Southern Cameroons.

Nkelle Ngoh was last seen in a town hall meeting in Meme III, Konye Subdivision on Sunday, September 26, 2021.

The late Victor Nkelle Ngoh served as Government Delegate to the Kumba City Council – from February 2009 to March 2020.

By Rita Akana

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