AKANIMO SAMPSON

CAMEROON, EQUATORIAL GUINEA IN HOT EXCHANGES

THIS is certainly not the best of times between Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea as the two countries are accusing each other of subversive activities.

But the Cameroonian authorities are busy refutingclaims by Equatorial Guinea that the Cameroonian army launched aggression last week.

"Several media houses, especially the international ones, broadcast information alleging that Equatorial Guinea had been attacked by the Cameroonian defense forces," Communication Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary told state radio and television on Thursday.

He condemned "the allegations," saying they appeared to have been caused by erroneous interpretation of the situation.

Bakary described the allegations as "very dangerous since the incident was just an ordinary occurrence."

He was making a reference to the incident that happened in the sea on Feb. 16, when "a security boat carrying four members of the (Cameroonian) Rapid Response Unit was found accidentally beyond the maritime border in the waters of Equatorial Guinea.

"These kinds of incidents happen frequently all over the world. For instance, it sometimes happens that the Nigerian ships enter unexpectedly the Cameroonian waters," Bakary told Xinhua on telephone.

He said he understood the reaction of Malabo, hoping the two Gulf of Guinea countries resolve the issue.

According to the Cameroonian communication minister, "this situation was caused by bad weather."

He said the soldiers were carrying out a maritime security mission in the Gulf of Guinea where oil companies operate in general, and the Bakassi region in particular.

The BIR (Rapid Response Unit) Delta is an elite squad of the Cameroonian army specialized in curbing organized crimes. It has been deployed to boost security of the Bakassi peninsula since the handover of this territory in August 2008 from Nigeria.

On Tuesday, Equatorial Guinea announced that it had suffered an attack on Feb. 17 from uncontrollable Cameroonian soldiers who wanted to steal a boat that was refilling from an oil tanker.

"A small but quick boat attempted to attack a ship that was refilling from a petrol tanker. It must have been the BIR soldiers of the Cameroonian army, but I am persuaded that the Cameroonian government will not agree," said Equatorial Guinea's Information Minister Osa Osa Ekoro.

"There were no deaths. We managed to pinpoint the boat with our radars and the assailants discovering that we had located them, decided to flee," he added.

The border between the two neighboring Central African countries has been closed for more than a year amid tensions over issues like immigration.

Towards the end of 2007, the Cameroonian government sent an aeroplane to Malabo to bring back its nationals.

In 2008, the abduction of an army colonel of Equatorial Guinea staying in Cameroon by Equatorial Guinea's intelligence services provoked a diplomatic spat between Yaounde and Malabo and culminated in the recalling of the Cameroonian ambassador to Equatorial Guinea.

"The relations between the two countries are good today since there is a mechanism that has been put in place to help resolve these kinds of incidents," the Cameroonian minister said.

A joint mission that was established by the two countries has been holding regular meetings in Yaounde and Malabo since 2007 for the demarcation of maritime borders.