BUEA, Cameroon: A young man from Cameroon’s English-speaking region was shot dead by security forces on the eve of an expected symbolic declaration of independence by anglophone separatists, medical and security forces told AFP Sunday.
“They fired at him during a security operation” in the city of Kumba, a nurse who requested anonymity told AFP. The incident was confirmed by a security source and several local residents contacted by phone.
Kumba is known as a rebellious city since the start of protests by the anglophone minority last November, with clashes erupting between security forces and the local population.
The majority of Cameroon’s 22 million people are French-speaking, while about a fifth is English-speaking.
The legacy dates back to 1961, when a formerly British entity, Southern Cameroons, united with Cameroon after its independence from France in 1960.
The anglophone minority has long complained about disparities in sharing out Cameroon’s oil wealth.
On Sunday, the date of the official reunification of the anglophone and francophone parts of Cameroon, the anglophone separatists are expected to make a symbolic proclamation of independence for Ambazonia, the name of the state they want to create.
On Thursday, the Cameroonian authorities announced a temporary curb on travel and public meetings across the Southwest Region, adding to a curfew in the neighboring Northwest Region, also English-speaking.
In Buea, the southwest’s main city, the streets were mostly deserted early Sunday as security forces patrolled the area including where the separatists are expected to gather, an AFP correspondent reported.
“I can’t go out, they asked us to stay home,” said one city resident who identified herself just as Nancy.
“Everyone is afraid... it’s not good,” added another resident Thom.
Since November 2016, the anglophone minority has been protesting against perceived discrimination, especially in education and the judicial system, where they say the French language and traditions are being imposed on them, even though English is one of the country’s two official languages.
Most anglophone campaigners want the country to resume a federalist system — an approach that followed the 1961 unification but was later scrapped in favor of a centralized government run from the capital Yaounde. A hard-line minority is calling for secession.
Both measures are opposed by the country’s long-ruling president, 84-year-old Paul Biya.
Youth shot dead in Cameroon’s troubled anglophone region
Youth shot dead in Cameroon’s troubled anglophone region
Families mourn those killed in a Congo mine landslide as some survivors prepare to return
GOMA, Congo: After a landslide last week killed at least 200 people in eastern Congo at a rebel-controlled coltan mine, families of the deceased and survivors are mourning their lost loved ones, and some survivors prepared to head back to the reopened mines.
On Wednesday, following heavy rains in eastern Congo, a network of hand-dug tunnels at the Rubaya mining complex collapsed, killing at least 200 artisanal miners and trapping an unknown number who remain missing. The mine, located around 25 miles (40 kilometers) to the west of the regional capital of Goma, has been under the control of Rwandan-backed M23 rebels since early 2024 and employs thousands of miners who work largely by hand.
Family members grieve
In the Mugunga neighborhood in Goma, the family of Bosco Nguvumali Kalabosh, 39, mourned his death Monday.
Since last Thursday, relatives, neighbors and loved ones have been gathering at the family home, sitting around a photograph of him placed up against a wall.
“He was supposed to return to Goma on Thursday,” said his older brother, Thimothée Kalabosh Nzanga.
Kalabosh had been a miner for more than 10 years. He owned his own mines on the site and came from a family where artisanal mining — mining for minerals using basic hand tools — had been passed down from generation to generation. He leaves behind a widow and four children, the eldest of whom is 5 years old.
Survivors head back to Rubaya
For survivors trickling back into town, the pressure to return to the mines is clear — despite the constant danger.
Tumaini Munguiko, a survivor of the collapse, came to offer his condolences to Kalabosh’s family. “Seeing our peers die is very painful. But despite the pain, we are forced to return to the mines to survive,” he said.
Munguiko calmly explained that he had already experienced several similar disasters. “It has almost become normal. We accept it because it is our means of survival. I was saved this time, but I lost five friends and my older brother.”
According to him, landslides are common in Rubaya, especially during the rainy season. “When it rains, the clay soils become unstable. Some take shelter, others perish, others survive, and others watch from afar,” he said.
Miners dig long tunnels, often parallel to one another, with limited support and no safe evacuation route in case of a collapse.
A former miner at the site told The Associated Press that there have been repeated landslides because the tunnels are dug by hand, poorly constructed and not maintained.
“People dig everywhere, without control or safety measures. In a single pit, there can be as many as 500 miners, and because the tunnels run parallel, one collapse can affect many pits at once,” former miner Clovis Mafare said.
“The diggers don’t have insurance,” said Mafare. Of potential compensation for families, he said: “It’s a whole legal process, and it’s very long. They might receive some money for the funerals, but that small amount isn’t compensation.”
Kalabosh’s family has not received compensation for their loss.
However, both Munguiko and Nzanga say they will return to the mines soon despite the risks.
“I have no choice. Our whole life is there,” said Munguiko.
Rare earth minerals
The Rubaya mines have been at the center of the recent fighting in eastern Congo, changing hands between the Congolese government and rebel groups. For over a year now, the site has been controlled by the M23 rebels.
The mines produce coltan — short for columbite-tantalite — an ore from which the metals tantalum and niobium are extracted. Both are considered critical raw materials by the United States, the European Union, China and Japan. Tantalum is used in mobile phones, computers and automotive electronics, as well as in aircraft engines, missile components and GPS systems. Niobium is used in pipelines, rockets and jet engines.
The mines at Rubaya are massive and attract people from across the region. Artisanal miners and workers have been flocking there for years, drawn to the site to earn a steady income in a region plagued by poverty and chronic insecurity. A disaster like this affects people across eastern Congo and the grief has spread to regional hubs like Goma.
For the last two weeks, Rubaya has been virtually cut off from the world. The mining town has no mobile network or Internet connection. Poor infrastructure, coupled with persistent conflict, means cellular service and electricity are unreliable. To communicate with the outside world, residents must pay around 5,000 Congolese francs — just over $2 — for 30 minutes of connection via a private Starlink system.
Congo’s government, in a statement on X, expressed solidarity with the victims’ families and accused the rebels of illegally and unsafely exploiting the region’s natural resources while blaming Rwanda. An M23 spokesperson accused the government of politicizing the tragedy and listed other collapses at government-controlled mines.
