Military deployed across major cities of Cameroon as tension rises over President Biya’s re-election

•92-year-old President Paul Biya and protesters

 

The ‘victory’ of Paul Biya in Cameroon’s recent election has had some sections of the country revolting over the results, and there, the authorities, in a swift reaction, have deployed the police and the military to forestall what might lead to an insurrection.

 

One of the major areas where people have been voicing their dissent is in the Douala part of the country, and the forces are on a massive patrol of the city to prevent riots, reports AFP.

 

Barricades, fires, live bullets: in Douala, as in many other cities of Cameroon, the aftermath of the announcement of results for the presidential election was violent.

 

Current president Biya was declared the winner of the elections by the Constitutional Council yesterday, opening the way to his eighth term as president at 92 years old. Biya has ruled the country without interruption since 1982.

 

The announcement, already contested by opposition candidate Issa Tchiroma Bakary, triggered widespread anger in the population.

 

Max Ndongmo, an inhabitant of Douala, voiced the sentiment many other Cameroonians are feeling, too: “I was crushed when I heard the news about the results; it just crushed me. I will be honest with you, it was so shocking to me that I almost broke my TV.

 

“What they are doing and have been doing is just hypocrisy. To this government, I want to say, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, but you need to stop.”

 

In Douala, the security situation has degenerated so much that the armed forces were deployed to several districts of the city. Pillaging, destruction of the public space and live bullets marked the afternoon yesterday, leading to the entire city becoming paralysed.