YAOUNDE, CAMEROON— At least seven people were killed and about 20 others were kidnapped by suspected Boko Haram militants in an overnight raid on a village near Cameroon's northern border, a senior military officer said Tuesday.

Tchakarmari, the village targeted early on Tuesday, lies north of Maroua, where dozens of people were killed in a series of suicide bombings by the Nigerian Islamist group last month.

"There was an attack at 1:30 a.m. (0030 GMT). We have a figure of seven dead. ... We were informed that this was an attack by gunmen from Nigeria," said the officer, who asked not to be named as he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The officer, deployed as part of a Cameroonian military operation aimed at stemming the spillover of violence from Boko Haram's traditional strongholds in northeastern Nigeria, said that the death toll was provisional and could rise.

After the spate of suicide bombings in July, Cameroon's government announced plans to send an additional 2,000 troops to boost security in the Far North region.

The regional governor has banned burqas since the attacks, which were carried out by veiled female bombers. And over the weekend, authorities rounded up and expelled about 2,800 Nigerians living in Cameroon without the required documents.

Cameroon has already deployed some 7,000 troops as part of a regional force which includes Chad, Niger and Nigeria to try to stop Boko Haram's six-year insurgency.

Snapshot 29 July–4 August 2015

Pakistan: Flooding has killed 118 people and affected more than 800,000 people in Pakistan. Hundreds of villages have been inundated. Most casualties were recorded in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Azad Jammu & Kashmir.

Myanmar : 46 people have been killed and 156,000–216,000 people are affected by flooding. Sagaing region and Kachin and Shan states have been particularly impacted. Another 350,000 people are estimated affected in Bangladesh and India.

DRC: 32,000 IDPs in Rutshuru and Masisi, North Kivu, are in need of WASH, health, NFI and shelter assistance. They fled clashes between the FARDC and a coalition of FDLR, Nyatura, and FPC. In Katanga, 17,800 former IDPs in Nyunzu territory are in urgent need of assistance: most of the population lacks shelter as 43 of 50 villages have been burned.

Cameroon: Cameroonian authorities have deported more than 2,000 undocumented Nigerians as part of new security measures introduced after a series of suicide attacks in July. They have also increased the number of troops deployed in the Far North.

Updated: 04/08/2015. Next update 11/08/2015.

Global Emergency Overview Web Interface

Afin d’éviter les doublons et des lacunes qui ont été enregistrés dans la réponse humanitaire, notamment dans la réponse au tsunami en 2004, les agences humanitaires (Nations Unies (ONU) et les organisations non-gouvernementales (ONG) intervenant dans l’humanitaire) ont initié une réforme pour assurer une meilleure coordination. Cette réforme a permis de mettre en place l’approche à responsabilité sectorielle sur la base de laquelle les agences des ONU et les ONG intervenant dans la réponse humanitaire ont pris des engagements selon leur secteur de compétences. Dans l’approche à responsabilité sectorielle, OCHA (le bureau de la coordination des affaires humanitaires des Nations Unies) assure la coordination générale de tous les secteurs.

Les fonctions centrales des groupes sectoriels dits Clusters sont les suivantes : (1) Soutenir la prestation des services ; (2) Guider le Coordonnateur Humanitaire (CH) (le représentant du PNUD en général), et l’Equipe Humanitaire Pays (EHP) dans la prise de décisions stratégiques relatives aux interventions humanitaires ; (3) Planifier et élaborer une stratégie ; (4) Défendre les intérêts et conduire des plaidoyers ; (5) Effectuer un suivi et élaborer des rapports ; (6) Planifier des mesures d’urgence, se préparer aux situations d’urgence, et renforcer les capacités ; enfin, dès le début de l’intervention, chaque groupe sectoriel doit incorporer le relèvement précoce, et travailler en tenant compte de la redevabilité vers les populations affectées

Yaounde, Cameroon — Cameroon has expelled more than 3,000 Nigerians as part of the fight against Nigeria's Islamic extremists who have launched attacks across borders, officials said Tuesday.

Authorities also arrested hundreds of Cameroonians and Nigerians accused of collaborating with Boko Haram, said Midjiyawa Bakary, governor of Cameroon's Far North region.

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CHIFFRES CLÉS

18,384
Réfugiés estimés par le Gouvernement Tchadien dans la Région du Lac

6,715
Réfugiés nigérians enregistrés à Dar Es Salam

424
Réfugiés nigériens enregistrés à Dar Es Salam

1,144
Abris construits

536
Personnes à besoins spécifiques assistés

PRIORITÉS

• Transfert des réfugiés qui sont sur les îles et dans des zones non accessibles vers le site de Dar Es Salam

• Effectuer le monitoring de protection de réfugiés, des IDPs et Retournés dans la région à travers les contacts avec autorités locales et leaders communautaires

• Organiser l’enregistrement conjoint de personnes déplacées internes (IDP)

HIGHLIGHTS

• The security situation in the northeast of Nigeria continues to deteriorate despite measures taken so far by the new administration. Insurgents have been attacking and killing with impunity, almost on a daily basis.

• Over 10 civilians were killed by insurgents on 14-15 July in an attack on Gamgara, Niger near Bosso, on the Nigerian border. Following weeks of relative calm, attacks in the Diffa region have increased.

• On the night of 12-13 July, insurgents carried out a double terrorist attack on a market in Fotokol, Cameroon on the Nigerian border. According to the authorities, at least 12 people were killed. This is the first terrorist attack on Cameroonian soil since the insurgency began.

• Due to worsening security conditions on the Lake, Chadian authorities have requested that the humanitarian community expedite the relocation of refugees, IDPs, and returnees in Kaiga and Kindjiria and surrounding islands to the Dar Es Salam camp.

Situation Update

WFP continues to reach people affected by the Nigeria crises in Cameroon, Chad and Niger; however insecurity continues to be a key operational constraint, along with the onset of the lean and the rainy season.

A third budget revision (BR3) for this regional Emergency Operation (EMOP) is under preparation. BR3 will (i) align beneficiary caseloads and programme tools with the latest registration and assessments findings, and (ii) integrate capacity development and augmentation activities that has been reinforced by Nigerian emergency management agencies.

WFP’s critical concern continues to be the securing of funds for support required by refugees, returnees, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and host populations in Cameroon, Chad and Niger. WFP has also been able to leverage committed potential contributions through its internal financial and supply-chain mechanisms.

8/5/2015 - 00:23 GMT

A former minister and member of the opposition was named head of Mali's Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission as the west African country looks to strengthen a peace accord, a statement said Tuesday.

Ousmane Oumarou Sidibe, a 60-year-old academic who has worked at the University of Bamako since 2006, was named to the post the previous day, a government statement said.

Sidibe held several ministerial posts between 1993 and 2000, and is a member of the URD, one of Mali's main opposition parties.

The commission, known by its French acronym CVJR, was established last year to investigate violence and abuses committed in the country over a period of more than 50 years, from Mali's independence from French rule in 1960 to 2013.

Along with a peace deal known as the Algiers Accord, it aims to bring stability to the country, which has seen several Tuareg uprisings since the 1960s and has been a sanctuary for Islamist fighters linked to Al-Qaeda.

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© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse

SECURITY COUNCIL
PRESS CONFERENCE

Ebola, security sector reform, and the role of regional organizations in addressing global challenges would be top priorities of the Security Council in August, said the Permanent Representative of Nigeria, President of the body for the month, at a Headquarters press conference today.

Outlining the Council’s work programme, U. Joy Ogwu recalled that Nigeria, during its 2014 presidency, had spearheaded the adoption of resolution 2151 (2014), the first stand-alone text on security sector reform. “We are not putting it away in the archives,” she said, noting that the Council would review its implementation on 20 August.

Next, the Council would highlight the role of regional and subregional organizations in fighting pandemics, she said, explaining that Ebola had negatively impacted countries in human, as well as socioeconomic, terms. The disease was re-emerging and on 13 August the Council would examine how to plan strategically for such transnational problems.

Along similar lines, on 18 August the Council would hold a thematic debate on the role of regional and subregional organizations in meeting contemporary security challenges. “They should be the first responders to crises,” she said, as they understood the complexities of their environments and systematically cooperated both with the United Nations and with one another.

In that context, she recalled that while African regional organizations had been created to accelerate economic integration, they were increasingly being called upon to deal with crises, which some had described as a “derailment” from their initial calling. Participants would be encouraged to highlight the unique aspects of their regions.

The Council would hold a wrap-up session on 31 August, she added.

Asked by journalists about chemical weapons in Syria, she said that bilateral discussions were ongoing and that the Council would await their outcome. There had been no requests for a briefing, following recent attacks in that country.

To a question on when the Council might consider the issue of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant/Sham (ISIL/ISIS) or Boko Haram, she said there was room on the schedule to address “the unforeseen”. As to whether there would be a resolution on Boko Haram, she recalled that a presidential statement had recently been issued. The Council’s focus now was on maintaining momentum. “We have not ignored it but we can only do so much during the month,” she explained.

As for who would brief the Council during the month, she said that the Chief of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Special Envoy on Ebola would provide updates on the disease, while the Secretary-General would brief the Council on regional organizations.

Asked about the situation in Burundi, she said it was natural for people to speculate about the country’s future. While it was not on the Council’s agenda, it would likely be addressed.

Turning to questions on Palestine, she said the Council would hear a briefing on the issue on 19 August, and hold consultations on the Middle East. To a query about the success of any negotiations between an “occupier” and the “occupied”, she expressed hope for a final solution to that issue. To another, she expressed confidence and “optimism” in the prospects for a resumed Middle East peace process this fall. In the meantime, the Council had no plans to visit Gaza.

She said that neither the President of Nigeria nor the Foreign Minister had plans to preside over any Council meetings, in response to a question.

Asked about the importance of regional integration, she said it was a means to an end; not an end in itself. Regional organizations were vehicles for achieving the objectives of regions and States. Some had failed, some had been “relatively successful” and others could serve as models. She acknowledged that regions and subregions had started to play a role in shaping development processes.

On whether the Council should take a position on the President of Sudan’s request to address the General Assembly, she noted that the United States was responsible for issuing visas.

Aside from the adoption on 21 August of a resolution renewing the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), the work programme envisioned briefings on the situations in Central Africa (5 August), Kosovo (21 August), Sudan and South Sudan (25 August), Libya (26 August), and on both the Middle East and Guinea-Bissau (27 August).

For information media. Not an official record.

Key Messages

• Poor agropastoral households in central and northern areas of the country who are unable to meet their food needs due to the negative effects of below-average 2014 harvests and limited pasture availability are reducing the size and, in some cases, the number of their meals, as well as resorting to other atypical coping strategies. Consequently, these households are currently facing Crisis (IPC Phase 3) food insecurity.

• This year’s rainfall deficits across the country have prevented the timely planting of crops in agricultural areas and improvements in pastoral conditions in livestock grazing areas. Unusually low levels of labor opportunities due to a reduction in the land area planted in crops this year, as well as low dairy production levels, are reducing incomes for poor agropastoral households.

• The availability of freshly harvested green crops should ease the severity of food insecurity from Crisis (IPC Phase 3) to Stressed (IPC Phase 2) levels starting in September. In October, the main harvest and expected decline in cereal prices will help ensure household food access, maintaining Minimal (IPC Phase 1) acute food insecurity between October and December.

This report covers the period: 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2014

Red Cross Staff receive confirmed Ebola patients at the then new Ebola treatment Centre in Kenema, Sierra Leone in September. More than 25,000 cases have been registered and more than 10,000 deaths in the worst Ebola epidemic the world has seen. National Societies continue to be on the forfront of the reponse and the IFRC, and its Secretariat have worked together to support them.
IFRC/2014

Overview

Programme outcome

The Africa Zone comprises the Africa Zone Office, plus 16 regional and country representations, which in turn support 49 African National Societies. The strategic direction for the period 2012-2015 is spelled out in the Long –Term Planning Framework, which was updated in 2014 and the current document reports against these revised objectives. The revised LTPF for 2014-2015 is available online at: http://adore.ifrc.org/Download.aspx?FileId=53557.

Overall in Africa in 2014, highlights include:

• Response to West African Ebola epidemic through six emergency appeals (Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Senegal, plus regional coordination and preparedness appeal).

• Support to help National Societies stave off Ebola in neighbouring countries and Africa transport hubs through 11 DREF preparedness operations.

• Response to 57 emergency operations (13 Emergency appeals; 44 DREF operations) –with budgets totalling CHF164M. Against this CHF 127M in funding was registered, the highest coverage in recent years.

• Development programmes with a budget of CHF 56M against CHF36M income, mainly in disaster preparedness and risk reduction, as well as in health and social services.

• Unrestricted/Statutory funding of staff and offices at Zone and regional level, providing representation, technical assistance and a range of other support totalling CHF 5M

• African Governance Group (AGG) innovative peer support to targeted Africa National Societies

Water is essential to human development and prosperity, but many people still live without reliable access to it. As the number of people in the world increases, water scarcity is forecast to worsen. The Safeguarding the World’s Water report documents USAID’s water sector activities that address key global challenges during fiscal year 2014. The report also shares progress made during the first year of implementing its Water and Development Strategy. To ensure the greatest transformative impact, the Strategy commits to concentrating the Agency’s water programs around two strategic objectives, water for health and water for food, across priority countries based on needs, opportunities, and strategic considerations.

This document collate and primarily analyze available information on key child protection issues from a compilation of reports. It includes pre-emergency and in-emergency information about the following child protection vulnerabilities: Abduction, Child Labour and Trafficking, Children Associated with Armed Forces and Armed Groups, Physical Violence, Harmful Practices, Dangers and Injuries, Psychosocial Distress and Mental Disorders, Sexual Violence, Unaccompanied and Separated Children. It also provides a section on information gaps, an overview of the legal framework and a list of documents used to create this report

Yaoundé, Cameroon | AFP | Wednesday 8/5/2015 - 12:52 GMT

Suspected Islamists have killed at least six people and kidnapped more than 50 in a raid on a village in northern Cameroon, according to a soldier sent to the scene.

The attack took place in the early hours of Tuesday in the village of Tchakamari in the region known as the Extreme North. A vigilante from a neighbouring village gave a higher toll, saying eight had been killed and 135 abducted.

Cameroon, which is part of a regional force fighting Boko Haram militants from neighbouring Nigeria, has been hit by a series of deadly attacks by the Islamists in recent months.

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© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse

Yaoundé, Cameroon | AFP | Wednesday 8/5/2015 - 16:28 GMT

Suspected Boko Haram Islamists have kidnapped 135 people in a raid on a village in northern Cameroon which left eight villagers dead, local sources said Wednesday.

The raid took place before dawn on Tuesday in the village of Chakamari in a region known as the Extreme North, which borders Boko Haram strongholds in neighbouring Nigeria.

Cameroon, which is part of a regional force fighting Boko Haram, has been hit by a series of deadly Islamist attacks in recent months.

The attack came as Guinea offered help in the regional fight against Boko Haram whose bloody insurgency in Nigeria has increasingly spread to neighbouring states.

"Men from Boko Haram attacked our neighbours in the village of Chakamari overnight Monday-Tuesday. They killed eight people, two women and six men," a member of a vigilante group in a neighbouring village told AFP.

The vigilante, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the attackers torched many homes before making off with the hostages.

A police source confirmed the death toll and the number of people abducted.

A soldier at the scene confirmed finding six bodies, describing them as vigilantes.

"The villagers told us that more than 50 people had been kidnapped by Boko Haram terrorists," he told AFP.

• Nigerians deported -

Meanwhile, Nigerian authorities said Wednesday that more than 1,000 nationals had returned home after being deported from northern Cameroon.

The refugees had sought shelter in Cameroon from Boko Haram, but were rounded up and sent home as Yaounde stepped up security measures to prevent Boko Haram suicide attacks.

Last week, local sources in Cameroon said Yaounde had deported more than 2,000 Nigerians living illegally in the north of the country.

But Nigerian officials put the number far higher, saying that around 12,000 people had already been expelled, with the number expected to rise to 17,000.

The deportations came after three deadly attacks in Cameroon's far north last month which left at least 44 people dead.

Also on Wednesday, Guinea's President Alpha Conde said his country was ready to help in the regional fight against the Islamist militants.

"We are ready to provide any assistance asked of us... in the fight against Boko Haram," Conde said on a visit to Niger's capital Niamey.

A beefed-up task force has been set up to replace the current regional force and is due to go into action soon, according to Nigerian official.

Boko Haram's bloody insurgency has left more than 15,000 people dead since 2009 and has increasingly spread across the country's borders, with Chad and Cameroon suffering deadly suicide bombings in recent months.

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© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse

About 12,000 Nigerians, mostly from Borno State, who fled insurgency attacks in their communities to the Republic of Cameroun, have started arriving home through the border post in Sahuda, Mubi South, Adamawa State. The returnees are currently being screened by the Nigerian Immigration Service and the security agencies.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has so far received 1,121 of the returnees from the Nigerian Immigration Service at the border post, out of which 650 have been transported to Borno State, while the remaining are still at Malkohi Internally Displaced Persons camp in Yola.

In the mean time, NEMA is providing food and non-food items as well as medical cover to cater for the returnees at the border while awaiting the conclusion of the immigration and security screening. Arrangements have also been concluded to locate the returnees to a new camp in Fufore, Adamawa State for proper care.

NEMA has also established contacts with the Borno State Government over the returnees who are mostly from the state.

Yaoundé, Cameroun | AFP | mercredi 05/08/2015 - 16:36 GMT

par Reinnier KAZE

Les islamistes nigérians de Boko Haram ont de nouveau attaqué l'Extrême-nord du Cameroun, tuant au moins huit villageois et en enlevant 135, dans cette région frontalière de plus en plus ciblée par le groupe qui y mène aussi des attentats-suicides.

"Les gens de Boko Haram ont attaqué nos voisins du village de Tchakamari dans la nuit de lundi à mardi. Ils ont tué 8 personnes, deux femmes et six hommes. Les hommes étaient des membres du comité de vigilance de Tchakamari", a affirmé à l'AFP un membre du comité de vigilance (milice d'autodéfense composée d'habitants) d'un village voisin, sous couvert d'anonymat.

"Ils ont pris 135 personnes et sont partis avec elles. Ce sont les habitants du village qui ont compté le nombre de personnes enlevées. Ils ont brûlé beaucoup de maisons", a-t-il ajouté.

Un bilan confirmé par une source policière qui fait état de "8 morts" et de "135 personnes enlevées". "Les populations ont donné l’alerte dès que Boko Haram est entré dans le village, mais ils (les soldats engagés dans la lutte contre Boko Haram) ont traîné", a accusé cette source.

Auparavant, un soldat dépêché sur place après l'attaque avait fait état d'au moins six tués. "Boko Haram a attaqué le village de Tchakamari vers 1 heure dans la nuit de lundi à mardi", a-t-il affirmé à l'AFP.

"Lorsque nous sommes arrivés vers 3 heures du matin, nous avons trouvé six corps des membres du comité de vigilance", a ajouté le soldat, précisant que Tchakamari se trouvait à environ 2 km de la frontière nigériane.

Le soldat a également constaté que "plusieurs maisons ont été brûlées". "Nous avons fait des recherches dans la zone jusqu’à 5 heures du matin, mais les assaillants avaient déjà traversé au Nigeria avec les otages", a-t-il rapporté.

Après une période d’accalmie, le groupe islamiste nigérian Boko Haram a repris ses attaques dans la région frontalière de l’Extrême-Nord camerounais, menant ces dernières semaines cinq attentats-suicides, dans les localités de Fotokol et Maroua.

Ces attentats-suicides, au Nigeria, comme au Cameroun et au Tchad, voisins du nord-est du Nigeria, relèvent d'une nouvelle stratégie des islamistes. Affaiblis par la mobilisation des armées régionales (surtout du Tchad) qui ont pénétré au Nigeria pour reprendre l'essentiel des localités dont ils s'étaient emparés, ils mènent ces attentats en se "noyant" au milieu des civils, notamment dans les grands marchés qui rassemblent traditionnellement beaucoup de monde.

Certains sont perpétrés par de jeunes femmes, vêtues de voiles islamiques intégraux se prêtant à la dissimulation d'objets, qui se font exploser ou dont les explosifs sont activés à distance.

Mercredi, le ministre camerounais de la Communication, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, porte-parole du gouvernement, a ainsi fait état sur la radio d'Etat de l'interpellation la semaine dernière de deux suspectes dans l'Extrême-Nord.

• Sacs à main contenant des explosifs -

"Deux jeunes filles âgées respectivement de 19 et 21 ans ont été interpellées en possession de deux sacs à main contenant des engins explosifs", a-t-il dit, sans précision de lieu ni de date.

"Les charges utilisées par les terroristes sont de nature militaire, vraisemblablement récupérées lors des attaques menées par Boko Haram sur des cibles militaires, ou alors acquises dans certains pays en proie à des conflits armés et à des situations d’instabilité", a-t-il poursuivi.

Selon le ministre, des "opérations de ratissage" menées dans plusieurs régions du pays ont permis "d'interpeller de nombreux suspects" actuellement interrogés.

Face à cette situation de plus en plus instable, Yaoundé a annoncé l'envoi dans le lointain Extrême-Nord de 2.000 soldats supplémentaires pour contrer Boko Haram. Sur place, la population craint de nouvelles attaques et les autorités, notamment par l'activation de comités de vigilance et les dénonciations, tentent de repérer et neutraliser les complices infiltrés des islamistes, n'hésitant pas à expulser les réfugiés nigérians ayant fui les violences de Boko Haram.

"Quelque 12.000 Nigérians, originaires de l'Etat de Borno pour la plupart, qui ont fui au Cameroun à cause des attaques contre leur communauté, ont commencé à rentrer chez eux", a déclaré mercredi Sani Datti, porte-parole de l'agence nigériane de secours (NEMA).

De son côté, le ministre de la Communication camerounais parle de "plus de 3.000 étrangers en situation irrégulière" expulsés.

Mercredi, sept islamistes ont par ailleurs été tués et deux soldats tchadiens blessés dans des affrontements entre l'armée de N'Djamena et Boko Haram sur une île du lac Tchad, a-t-on appris de source sécuritaire dans la capitale tchadienne.

L'armée de N'Djamena a lancé mi-juillet une vaste offensive sur les îles tchadiennes du lac, où les islamistes s'étaient repliés en attaquant une dizaine de villages.

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