DOUALA, Cameroon, Feb 25, 2008 (AFP) — Three people were shot dead and at least one more seriously injured when riots broke out Monday in Cameroon's economic capital Douala, witnesses and a first official toll said.
Police battled protesters from early morning and small demonstrations began at road junctions, while groups mainly of youths armed with clubs began to loot shops in the wake of a road haulage strike, witnesses and an AFP correspondent saw.
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The city is a stronghold of opposition to President Paul Biya, who has been in power since 1982 but last month made clear that he wants to stand for office again in 2011. This triggered protests in Douala and a ban on rallies.
Two men were shot dead in the Bessengue district of the port city, a witness said, and a Cameroonian journalist confirmed to AFP that their bodies were taken to the mortuary of Douala's Laquentinie Hospital.
Communications Minister Jean-Pierre Biyiti Bi Essam, reached by telephone, said he knew of one dead person in the Bonaberi district, another part of the town, bringing the death toll to three.
"Service stations and shops have been looted on the road into the town," the minister added, giving no further details, but saying he had been informed at around 1300 GMT.
Witnesses said police battled protesters who set fires and burned cars on the main road to Yaounde, the political capital, while residents of a few other towns also spoke of disturbances and transport strikes.
Many of Douala's three million people stayed indoors and kept stores closed after a road haulage strike was announced for Monday, fearing that the protest called over the price of fuel and basic products could turn violent.
An AFP correspondent saw several injured people taken to the Laquentinie Hospital, one in a wheelbarrow shot in the chest and another on a stretcher. A kiosk was in flames in front of the hospital, surrounded by a menacing crowd.
Gunfire could be heard in the Bonaberi district, where thick columns of smoke rose into the air. Violent clashes were reported in several other parts of town and vehicles and piled-up tyres were on fire.
State radio reported that in one city district, the town hall and several other public buildings had been ransacked and the news broadcast spoke of "a tense situation," but made no mention of any casualties.
The ruling Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (RDPC) released a brief radio statement lashing out at "blind and unjustified violence, intolerable under the rule of law."
It also presented condolences to "grieving families", also without details of casualties, and accused politicians it did not name of "manipulating" the protesters.
"So that's democracy," one local man exclaimed on seeing an injured man trying to reach the hospital. "Look what Cameroon's come to."
"Biya must go," another said.
Douala authorities have banned rallies and demonstrations in the city because of political opposition to a constitutional change Biya wants that would enable him to run for another term of office.
The head of state's intentions remained unclear until early January, when he said that a current constitutional limit on a third elected mandate "sits badly with the very idea of democratic choice."
With business disrupted, traffic at a standstill and taxi drivers also on strike, gangs of youths went looting. In the Akwa district, they raided shops owned by Chinese traders.
A resident of Buea, 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Douala, described a "confused situation" with clashes between "people throwing stones at police who are trying to take down barricades".
At Dshang in the west, a student told AFP that "hooligans have smashed up everything, ransacked the university." Also in the west, clashes were reported from Foumban, Bafoussam and Kumba.
Apart from a transport strike, Yaounde itself was unaffected by the trouble and so was Bamende, the stronghold in partly English-speaking west Cameroon of the Social Democratic Front (SDF) led by opposition veteran John Fru Ndi.
But SDF supporters in Douala have defied the ban on political protests. One man in his 20s was shot dead on Saturday during clashes with police arising from a banned SDF rally.
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a picture speaks a thousand words, even as the satanic-cultic -oppresive ,appartheid-tribal regime of paul mbiya and his soldiers bring mayheim of citizens this sub human still have the guts to talk of rule of law. the rule of law states that he should resign . and withdraw his administration and military from another
country,ie british southern cameroons.
Posted by: paulo laurent | February 25, 2008 at 08:24 PM
Paulo Laurent, give me a break about that Southern Cameroons literature. The storming of Etoudi just might be on the way. At long last the awakening is taking place and guess what, my phone conversations yesterday morning and evening reveal the kumbaya happened in all the four corners of The Cameroons. From the North, South, East and West, what is to come is still in the making. The winner will be all of Cameroons children.
Posted by: The Southwesterner | February 26, 2008 at 03:35 AM
Who did not see it coming? Well, not everybody for sure. The CPDMist dimaboya chorists continue to read political reality in reverse. The talk of manipulation? Hear who cries foul at his own tricks. For years they have used pseudo war songs to really Cameroonians behind a band of looters and theives.
Today the sons of Cameroon have realised that they need to take their destiny into their own hands. The essingan brotherhood and its band wagon of political chalatans for decades have manipulated elections, consitutions, human rights, justice. they have manipulated the police and the army, the students and the teachers. they have manipulated the youths and the elders. Of course, they forgt the very old wisdom that u can only fool all the people some of the time.
Manipulation their balls. I said before that the collecive will for a people to seek change exceeds the individual will of a demagogue including the brotherhood and dimaboya praise singer chorists to resist change.
Make dem dong. Wind don blow, Na who no go see fowl ee anus?
Let history be our judge
Posted by: Innocent Ndifor Mancho | February 26, 2008 at 04:00 AM
Who did not see it coming? Well, not everybody for sure. The CPDMist dimaboya chorists continue to read political reality in reverse. The talk of manipulation? Hear who cries foul at his own tricks. For years they have used pseudo war songs to really Cameroonians behind a band of looters and theives.
Today the sons of Cameroon have realised that they need to take their destiny into their own hands. The essingan brotherhood and its band wagon of political chalatans for decades have manipulated elections, consitutions, human rights, justice. they have manipulated the police and the army, the students and the teachers. they have manipulated the youths and the elders. Of course, they forgt the very old wisdom that u can only fool all the people some of the time.
Manipulation their balls. I said before that the collecive will for a people to seek change exceeds the individual will of a demagogue including the brotherhood and dimaboya praise singer chorists to resist change.
Make dem dong. Wind don blow, Na who no go see fowl ee anus?
Let history be our judge
Posted by: Innocent Ndifor Mancho | February 26, 2008 at 04:01 AM
"The time is now,now is the time"_Thabo Mbeki.
It is time for opposition forces in Cameroon to make sweeping political capital out of this,for if we miss the "train" this time around all hopes of bringing about the much needed reforms will be lost irredeemably.Make no mistake,the momentum must increase and accelerate to engulf the whole nation just like a tide sweeps through every nook and cranny of a beach.If not the regime will not feel the desired pinch.
Opposition political leaders especially SDF leaders should rally the people now and coordinate this nationwide strike.I realised from reading news tabloids that the strikes aren't coordinated and are carried out in dispersed ranks.This shouldn't be the case bc a well coordinated mass movement ensures that a nationwide strike action can be sustained for weeks and even months.Let's not forget that the planned modification of the constitution is scheduled for the March session of this year's Legislature.Again this isn't only the affair of "bendskin riders" who are protesting fuel hikes.We cannot forget that the French people stormed the Bastille in 1789 to ask for bread but got Louise XVI's head.Our leaders should ensure that a 'domino effect' be produced.
Youth groups or brigades should be created in every neighbourhood,in every hamlet,in every village,every town or city coordinated by true patriots.It's the destiny of we the youths that's at stake now.Let's draw inspiration from the Ivorian patriot Charles Blé Goudé and others like Guillaume Sorro who almost singlehandedly mobilised Ivorian youths even when they were in France at a time when the streets of Abidjan were spilling blood.The diaspora has a great role to play at this stage.We can't remain indifferent.
With the opposition governing from the streets and coordinating the strikes,they stand in a strong position to bargain with the regime,on constitutional ammendments and other daily preoccupations of Cameroonians.The opposition in Cameroon hasn't been very clear and united on their stand on the issue of Art.6.2.While the streets are boiling,constitutionalists within opposition parties can work in a synergy now and bring out a proposed draft of a constitution that will take into consideration the will and the aspirations of all Cameroonians.
Nga Adolph,
Leuven_Belgium
Posted by: Nga Adolph | February 26, 2008 at 05:41 AM
Nga Adolph, never mind about the opposition and the issue of cordination. Let the people keep the heat on.Their destiny is what is at stake and not some got damn bigots who go around for opposition. The opposition, its leaders and brands are too polarised . Its should be as disorganised as possible. The March of the Women was a people's initiative. The March for bread was as well people oriented . Those people sided efforts ,together made up what is today the French Revolution.The idea that some kind of an alliance should again play the people's spokesman is just not the way to turn this thing around.The regime in place will penetrate it big time through their smooth agents who go around for opposition. The people's real and geniune leaders will emerge some how. The actions lasts might not be enough but its a pointer to what is ahead.
Posted by: The Southwesterner | February 26, 2008 at 12:44 PM
Lets not get too excited and loose track of what we are fighting for. We want change and we want a stop to the oppression and incompetent rule of the current regime. However we must know who we're challenging amd make a concerted effort to send a message across. Looting the shops of other suppressed Cameroonians, burning tires and innocent citizens cars and houses does not send any message to the elites in Etoudi. Biya and his cronies are safe in their havens in Yaounde and are completely indifferent to the plight of the angry youths and victims of that anger in DLA, infact they may be in France or Switzerland as we blog.
I find it interesting that Yaounde which is the stronghold n haven of these perpetrators and blood suckers has not been touched. These protests have to be more organized and done in a civilized manner. Where is the opposition in this time of need? We need the opposition, NGO's, Human rights activists etc to come together and coordinate these strikes, give it some legitimacy and structure. We need them to petition the international community to interfere and prevent the mass violence and atrocities that we know is inevitable from this. We need to target the ministeries, the presidency, the mansions of these pot bellied blood suckers. If the people of France had not gone to the Bastille, they will have remained under the extravagant and incomptent rule of Louise the XVI. The current senseless and disorganized looting and destruction only hurts the already impoverished and victimised cameroonian citizens.
I am all for change and this is the chance to be heard, but we need to be organised and send a legitimate but strong message across. We really do not want to end up like Rwanda, Mozambique, the DRC, Sierra leone etc.
Posted by: Judy | February 26, 2008 at 03:38 PM
Biya has the nerve to say the "current constitutional limit on a 3rd elected mandate sits badly with the very idea of democratic choice." democratic choice for who? His cronies in Etoudi or the Beti people? He has denied the Cameroonian citizen his/her fundamental human right to vote in a fair and transparent election for so long. We'll be damned if we give him the chance to take that choice away from us in the future.
Posted by: Judy | February 26, 2008 at 03:45 PM
Southwesterner give us a break sputtering Camerounese drivel! Who gave you the power to silence Southern Cameroonians?
Posted by: Ma Mary | February 26, 2008 at 03:49 PM
LESSON FROM KENYA
Southwesterner,
If u followed what transpired in Kenya of recent u will realise it ties with what I have been trying to say.A few days ago Mzée Raila Odinga threatened to continue 'hammering' from the streets.Kibaki who had been defiant and even bullishly against any agreement that would bring about a power_sharing deal with the Orange coaliton had no choice but to bow to pressure.Odinga is now set to be PM,that's if the terms of the agreement are respected.
Now,change of scenery,imagine a situation where the opposition in Cameroon is in control of the streets and augmenting the pressure on a daily basis,we can be sure of being in a strong position to bargain especially with the planned modification of the Fundamental Law.Yes,the regime would do everything to distablise the opposition's control of the streets but we're no longer in the 1990's.Today,there's a heightened awareness of the cameleonic traits of Biya's regime and again the people know exactly what they want.
To those patriots who lost their lives,we should implore that their memories abides with us forever.May they rest in peace.
Nga Adolph,
Leuven_Belgium.
Posted by: Nga Adolph | February 27, 2008 at 12:03 AM
"Paulo Laurent, give me a break about that Southern Cameroons literature. The storming of Etoudi just might be on the way. At long last the awakening is taking place and guess what, my phone conversations yesterday morning and evening reveal the kumbaya happened in all the four corners of The Cameroons. From the North, South, East and West, what is to come is still in the making. The winner will be all of Cameroons children.
Posted by: The Southwesterner"
Brilliant write-up The Southwesterner.I commend you for your ingenuity.
Posted by: UnitedstatesofAfrica | February 27, 2008 at 10:31 AM
Hi everyone,President Paul Biya addresses the nation this evening at 8:00pm Cameroon time.
Posted by: Nga Adolph | February 27, 2008 at 10:51 AM
Freedom is Divine and so is every course that protects the freedom of mankind.It is even insane when dictators think they can cling to power for ever, enen though they gonna die. Democracy will prevail no matter how long it takes. Cameroonians and Africans in general will be free one day.
Posted by: Ngwa Valentine | February 28, 2008 at 07:02 PM