Yearbook 2010
Cameroon. Since Cameroon took over the Bakassi Peninsula
from Nigeria with UN support in 2008, the area has been
problematic. During the year, pirates conducted several
raids against vessels and kidnapped crew members with
demands for ransom. A previously unknown group called
themselves Africa Marine Commando (AMC) in March robbed
seven Chinese sailors. They were released five days later by
the army, after unclear information that money had been
handed over to the kidnappers. In September, four
Ukrainians, a Filipino and a Croat were held hostage for
almost three weeks, and in November six people were killed
when the AMC attacked an oil platform.
According to
COUNTRYAAH, the AMC was described as an offshoot of the Bakassi
Freedom Fighters, who have given up the fight for peninsula
independence. The kidnappings were said to have become a new
source of income for criminal groups who had previously
depended on arms smuggling, while Cameroon and Nigeria still
both claimed the right to the peninsula.
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