Month: April 2022

Authorities in Cameroon say anglophone separatists have joined forces with Nigerian militants to shut down nearly all trade across the two countries’ border. Cameroon depends on Nigeria for 70% of basic commodities and most of them are transported across the land border. Authorities say about 90% of trade has been halted as militants from both sides attack and abduct merchants.

Njume Peter Ambang is a lawmaker from Cameroon’s restive southwest region on the border with Nigeria. He said fighters within the past two months have taken control of many businesses, including palm oil plantations in Ndian, a division in the Southwest region.

“Maritime business has collapsed. The oil business has all collapsed. Palm oil fields have been seized by the separatists. They harvest the crops, they mill and sell. These guys are working with area boys (armed groups) in Nigeria,” he said.

Ambang was speaking in the Ndian capital, Mundemba, Sunday during a meeting to plead with local fighters to drop their guns and stop harassing merchants.

Cameroon’s military says several hundred fighters chased from towns and villages during raids by government troops relocated to the border with Nigeria. The military says the fighters have killed at least two dozen merchants and abducted scores of others for ransom since January.

Capo Daniel is deputy defense chief of the Ambazonia Defense Forces, or ADF, one of the largest separatist groups in Cameroon.

He said many fighters have been deployed to the border with Nigeria but denies they fled intensive fighting with Cameroonian government troops.

Daniel said Cameroon’s separatists collaborate with Nigeria’s Eastern Security Network of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, a secessionist group that advocates for the creation of an independent state in eastern Nigeria.

Daniel said the Ambazonia and Biafra groups are collaborating to help each other and undermine government control of the border area.

“We want to put in place our own security network to regulate trade and to control the movement of goods and persons between Biafra and Ambazonia. We will no longer allow Cameroon and Nigeria to enforce their law on the border between Biafra and Ambazonia. We will put an end to the exploitation of the Biafra people as well as the Ambazonia people as we work in alliance with our counterparts across the border in Biafra land,” he said.

Daniel said the ADF and IPOB have been able to stop both Cameroon and Nigeria from collecting revenue from the sales of basic commodities and cash crops including rice, maize, tubers, plantain and cocoa in border localities.

He also said fighters are punishing merchants who collaborate with the two governments by paying taxes or agreeing to be escorted by government troops.

Nigeria and Cameroon have promised to crush all separatists who do not surrender.

The two countries’ governments announced in February 2021 that they would work together to combat separatists and armed groups.

Cameroon this week said it deployed more troops to the border to protect civilians, merchants and their goods.

Source: Voice of America

Clashes between Arab nomads and local farmers in Sudan’s West Darfur state that killed more than 200 people over the weekend spread Monday to the state’s capital, Al Geneina, with the United Nations condemning the surge in violence.

The mayhem that began Friday followed the discovery April 21 of two nomads’ bodies near Hashaba village, outside of the town of Kreinik.

According to a preliminary report, 201 bodies have been identified in roads and other public places, but the death toll is likely to climb, said Assadiq Mohammed, head of West Darfur’s humanitarian department.

“Many people have been killed inside their houses. The situation is not conducive to carry out additional counts. Definitely, the number may increase,” Mohammed told VOA’s South Sudan in Focus on Monday.

The Displacement Tracking Matrix in Sudan, produced by the U.N. International Organization for Migration, estimates that 7,500 to 12,500 households around Kreinik sought refuge in a local military compound over the weekend.

Adam Zachariah, a physician at Al Geneina’s main hospital, spoke with South Sudan in Focus reporters Monday. He said armed Arab nomads had stormed the hospital, demanding treatment for their colleagues wounded in the clashes.

“The exchange of gunfire continues this morning,” Zachariah said, adding that six Sudanese soldiers reportedly were killed by the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group.

Zachariah, who is in hiding, said he and other health workers have fled the facility.

“The situation in Al Geneina is tense and the main hospital is closed because health workers are not safe to carry out their duties. Some of us have been threatened, beaten and forced to treat wounded people,” Zachariah told VOA.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the fighting, which represents one of Sudan’s deadliest episodes in recent years. A statement released Monday said he deplored “the killings of civilians in Kreinik locality as well as the attacks on health facilities,” and called for “an immediate end to the violence.”

The U.N. Security Council ended its Sudan peacekeeping mission in 2020.

The Norwegian Refugee Council also called on all parties to immediately de-escalate and restrain from further harming civilians. “Safe and free passage of fleeing civilians and access for humanitarian assistance must be urgently restored,” said Will Carter, the organization’s country director in Sudan.

Sudan was plunged into political uncertainty after a military coup last October.

The World Food Program reported earlier this month that at least 18 million people across Sudan are likely to face acute food insecurity by September because of the combined effects of insecurity, economic crisis and poor harvests.

Source: Voice of America

New Orleans, New Orleans started its season 3-16. Now, the pesky Pelicans are proving to be a handful for the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference playoffs.

Brandon Ingram scored 16 of his 30 points in the third quarter and the Pelicans beat the Suns — playing without injured star Devin Booker — 118-103 in Game 4 on Sunday night to tie the first-round series. Game 5 will be Tuesday night in Phoenix, AP reports.

“Brandon is playing some of his best basketball of the season, and he’s doing it on the biggest stage, and it’s great to see,” said New Orleans coach Willie Green, a rookie head coach who kept his young team together in the midst of its early season struggles and now has forced a best-of-three playoff match with the top-seeded Suns. “I’m just trying to move out of the way and let him do his thing.”

Ingram says it feels like it is the Pelicans’ time.

“We’ve worked so hard throughout the year to become a better team,” Ingram said. “My teammates put me in the right spots and are making me look good.”

Jonas Valanciunas reasserted himself in the middle with 26 points and 15 rebounds, and rookie guard Herb Jones, a defensive specialist, played smothering defense against Chris Paul.

Paul, who had 19-point fourth quarters in the Suns’ two playoff wins, was held to four points in 35 minutes. He had 11 assists, but committed three turnovers.

It was a physical game. The Pelicans converted 32 of 42 free throws while the Suns went to the line only 15 times and made 10.

“It was like the old NBA,” said Paul, who was picked up in the back court by Jones nearly the entire game. “I told the refs, ‘Are we playing old NBA of new NBA?’ I was fortunate enough to play in both. Regardless, whatever it is, you’ve to adjust early in the game and figure it out.”

Jones said he simply tried to be more aggressive against Paul and not give him room to maneuver.

“We were trying to be more disruptive and more physical,” Jones said. “I feel like that’s been a huge part of our game, especially in the playoffs. You’ve got to play with a little more fire.”

Suns coach Monty Williams did not want to take away from the Pelicans’ effort, but he was upset by the disparity in foul shots.

“Forty-two to 15 in free throws — slice it any way you like to, in a playoff game that’s physical, that’s amazing,” Williams said. “Coaches shouldn’t have to come up to the microphone and feel like they’re going to get their head cut off for speaking the truth. It’s not like we didn’t attack the basket. That’s really hard to do. They outplayed us and they deserved to win, but that’s a free throw disparity.”

The Suns played their second straight game without Booker, their leading scorer, who strained his right hamstring after scoring 31 first-half points in the Suns’ Game 2 loss. He is out indefinitely.

“We can’t worry about that,” Williams said. “The guys who are on the floor just did it (win) the other day when we played hard and didn’t shoot the 3-ball well but still won the game. (The Pelicans) played much harder.”

Deandre Ayton led the Suns with 23 points and eight rebounds, and fellow center JaVale McGee had 14 points.

The Pelicans led 89-85 with 8:05 left and used a 12-0 run to ice it. Valanciunas, limited to six points in a Game 3 loss, scored 10 points in a 3:34 span of the fourth quarter to help the Pelicans pull away. He punctuated his scoring spree with a 3-pointer from the left wing.

“We showed aggressiveness and we were physical out there,” Valanciunas said. “(The Suns are) a physical team and their defense is good, and matching their physicality is the key.”

New Orleans had a 35-23 advantage in the third quarter. Ingram was the catalyst, making 7 of 10 shots and assisting on two other baskets as New Orleans took an 84-74 lead. His flurry started on the Pelicans’ first three possessions of the half, with a pair of 15-footers and a layup.

The Suns used a 20-10 run, with Mikal Bridges breaking down the New Orleans defense with three layups in the final eight minutes of the first half, to take a 51-49 halftime lead.

TIP INS

Suns: Paul had 28 assists and zero turnovers in Games 2 and 3, but had 11 assists and three turnovers on Sunday. In the first three games, his assist-to-turnover ratio was 38-2. … Cam Johnson had 13 points.

Pelicans: Herb Jones had three blocks — all on 3-point attempts. … The Pelicans committed 46 turnovers in the first three games to the Suns’ 28, leading to a point differential of 72-27. But New Orleans committed just seven turnovers in Game 4.

Source: Bahrain News Agency