Photo credit: Aljazeera
A crackdown by armed forces in Cameroon has killed at least four opposition supporters amid protests over the declared re-election win by President Paul Biya.
Al Jazeera reports that protesters calling for fair results from the African country’s contested presidential election have hit the streets in several cites as 92-year-old Bya prepares for an eighth term.
Biya’s election win was confirmed by Caneroon’s Constitutional Council on Monday. He is Africa’s oldest and among the world’s longest ruling leaders. He has ruled his country for 43 years.
Supporters of opposition candidate Issa Tchiroma Bakary of the Front for the National Salvation of Cameroon party defied a ban on protests, set police cars on fire, barricaded roads and burnt tyres in the financial capital, Douala, before the announcement of the election result. Around 30 activists were arrested.
Police fired tear gas and water-cannon to break up the crowds that came out in support of Tchiroma, who had declared himself the real winner, and called for Biya to concede.
Several members of the security forces were wounded and four lost their lives, according to Sanuel Dieudonne Ivaha Dibou, the governor of the region that includes Douala.
Opposition supporters claim the results of the election have been rigged by Biya and his supporters.
The recent presidential election was the first to take place since the conflict between Francophone and Anglophone Cameroonians intensified. Armed separatists have barred the Anglophone population from participating in government-organized activities, such as National Day celebrations and elections.
Observers think the protests are likely to spread.
Under Biya’s rule, Cameroon has gone through a lot of challenges, including chronic corruption that critics say has dampened economic growth despite the country being rich in resources suc h as oil and cocoa.
