A stone’s throw from the Mungo River, which partly marks the dividing line between Cameroon’s anglophone and francophone regions, stand armored vehicles and trucks filled with soldiers. They have been there on careful watch since the African Nations Championship (CHAN) got under way on Jan. 16 with the home side’s 1-0 win over Zimbabwe in Yaounde.
CHAN is a long way from being the most important football tournament in the world; it is not even the biggest tournament in Africa.
However, the competition has taken on a more significant role as the Cameroonian hosts run the dress rehearsal for next year’s far more important African Cup of Nations (CAN) while handling COVID-19 and a deadly domestic war.
Photo: AFP
This is the first major international football tournament in the world since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The greater fear resides in the ongoing conflict in the west of the country.
Cameroon’s northwest and southwest regions have for more than three years been the theater of a bloody conflict between government forces and armed separatists.
Photo: AFP
Civilians are often caught up in the fighting, suffering at the hands of both sides, international aid groups and the UN say.
So far more than 3,000 people have died and more than 700,000 have fled their homes during the conflict.
Some armed groups have promised to disrupt CHAN. Along the banks of the Mungo — a symbol of the amalgamation in 1961 of Cameroon following French and British rule after World War I — police and military personnel have been boosted strengthened.
With the quarter-finals having starting on Saturday, fears are rising in Limbe, a town that will host one of the semi-finals, and in Buea, the region’s capital, which is the training center for some of the teams.
Ahead of Wednesday last week’s game between Zambia and Namibia in Limbe, the villages located along the road connecting this seaside town to Douala were almost deserted.
The armed separatists, nicknamed “Amba Boys” because they want to call the territory Ambazonia once they secure independence, stage “ghost town” operations every Monday, prohibiting any activity where they can.
However, since the opening of CHAN, “ghost town” has been decreed every day, including on the eve of the match in Limbe.
Usually very lively, the small towns of Tiko and Mutengene, between Buea and Limbe, were sealed off on Wednesday.
“It is normal that we are on alert,” a police officer in Buea said. “The enemies of peace are there, still active despite everything.”
On the road, as in Buea, light armored patrols crisscross the city, sometimes at high speed and other times at walking pace, but always with machine guns at the ready.
In Limbe, each match brings a new and very palpable sense of fear.
On Tuesday “everyone took shelter after a bomb explosion” near the stadium, 19-year-old Harris said.
On this occasion, there were no casualties. As a result, Harris opted “out of caution” not to go and see the Wednesday’s Zambia-Namibia match as he had planned.
As the competition rolls on toward the final on Sunday, Cameroon holds its breath.
A seven-year-old horse had to be euthanized on Friday after breaking its back on the final fence of a Grand National steeplechase race that it won despite sustaining the serious injury. It follows the death of four horses at the Cheltenham Festival last month — including one after the prestigious Gold Cup. Gold Dancer was competing in the Mildmay Novices’ Chase during Ladies Day at Aintree’s Grand National Festival. The horse managed to cross the finish line approximately four lengths ahead of runner-up Regent’s Stroll. “The winner of our second race of the day, Gold Dancer, was pulled up after
Taiwanese gymnast Tang Chia-hung on Sunday topped the men’s horizontal bar event at the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) World Cup in Osijek, Croatia, scoring 15.233 to take his third title this season. Tang delivered an outstanding performance in the final, earning a difficulty score of 6.500 and an execution score of 8.633 with a 0.1 stick bonus. His closest competitor was Milad Karimi of Kazakhstan, who finished second with 14.933 points. It was Tang’s third gold medal in the FIG World Cup series this year, following his horizontal bar wins in Azerbaijan on March 8, and in Turkey on March
The Daredevils yesterday took eight catches in the final as they eked out a victory in the Taiwan Cricket Triangular Tournament against PCCT at Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District. PCCT’s batting lineup collapsed after they asked the Daredevils to bowl in the T20 decider of the weekend tournament that also involved the Formosa Cricket Club. PCCT were bundled out for 76 in 16.2 overs against a disciplined Daredevils attack. Ninad Malwade was the top scorer in the innings with 21, but he was among those who offered chances to the fielders. Shane Ferreira and Jason Cameron took three wickets each, with
This year’s Taiwan Athletics Open, which offers Taiwanese athletes an opportunity to compete against their international peers, would be held under a new name after its organizers had earlier announced the event’s cancelation. In a statement issued yesterday, the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association said the competition would still take place on June 6-7 at Banciao Stadium, but under the name “New Taipei City Athletics Open 2026.” The event was given a new name to emphasize its local identity and conform with the international practice of naming World Athletics Tour events after cities, the association said. It said it would soon
RSS