YAOUNDE, Cameroon—At least 20 protesters were shot by Cameroon police last week after a fuel strike descended into outright violence.
A transport union strike against rising fuel costs descended into anarchy as anger flared over President Paul Biya's announcement that he would change the constitution to allow him to run for another term.
Looting and burning of private and public property has swept across the usually peaceful country in situation is getting worse especially in the economic capital of Douala, as well as Yaounde, the nation's capital.
The trouble started when strikes were called in five of Cameroon's ten provinces last Monday (25).
The Syndicate of Transporters in Cameroon barricaded streets with taxis and buses primarily to protest a drastic increase in fuel prices.
However the protests became increasingly political after President Biya announced that he would be amending the constitution to allow him to run for another seven-year term in the 2011 elections. Under current laws presidents are not allowed to stand for more than two terms.
Protestors have blamed Mr Biya for the increasing fuel prices, which many compare to European prices.
"What we have today is more likely to get worse if the Biya regime insists on pushing ahead with the constitutional amendment," one protester wrote on an Internet message board. "Cameronians have more grievances than the issue of price hikes."
In Douala, the whole city of close to two million people came to a standstill last Monday as all vehicles were grounded as early as 6 am. Some people had to cover distances of over ten kilometers on foot to reach different destinations.
As time went by, the situation continued to degenerate as gangs of youths gathered at various road junctions to try to enforce the strike. Roadblocks were raised and old car tires were set ablaze. Police that were sent to clear the roadblocks were touted and pelted with stones by the increasingly violent youths.
The police replied initially with tear gas and gunshots in the air to scare the population. Before long, the confrontation with the police produced fatalities. Estimates of those killed in Douala alone on Monday (25) range from three to eight.
Sounds of exploding tear gas canisters and gunshots went on for most of the morning period. In Limbe the coastal town, I saw a lady being taking to the hospital after tear gas entered her eyes. Reports received from different parts of the sprawling city indicated that similar incidents occurred.
"We can't leave our homes," a man in Mile One, Limbe said. "I live near a school and can see teachers sending home all students that arrive."
Some policemen were allegedly briefly taken hostage by a mob of civilians in Bonaberi quarter and there were reports that the police station in Mabanda section of Bonaberi and some buildings at the Douala V Council had been burned.
There were attacks and looting of gas stations, bakeries and other shops in town. About 10 trucks belonging to a timber company were reportedly attacked and burned. The streets were completely void of cars and motorcycles
From all indications, this is the most paralyzing strike that has ever affected Douala in recent history. Unlike previous strikes, where vehicles involved in essential services (like drug deliveries and medical personnel cars) could circulate freely, this particular strike grounded everything because of the sheer violence of the protestors. The streets were completely void of cars and motorcycles.
In the Southwest Province, it has been a very tension-packed atmosphere in the town of Kumba, where reports say a brewery depot was emptied by protesters. A woman is said to have died as a result of a stampede in the course of the looting.
Some government-owned offices and buildings have either been put ablaze or destroyed. In Buea, the Provincial capital of the Southwest Province since Monday, has seen some marauding teenagers of 17-20 years old barricading roads with abandoned cars, extorting money from people and looting business premises.
In the town of Kumbo and the Provincial capital of the Northwest province, Bamenda, life is on a standstill. Angry protesters have called for pupils not to go to school any longer and for workers to stay at home. They are calling on the government of Cameroon to bring down the prices of petroleum products if not they will proceed with their strike actions.
In Bafoussam, the capital of the West Province, one person was shot dead Tuesday, February 26. The police reportedly shot a young man, named Emmanuel Tanto, who was part of a group that went into schools and ordered children to leave and go home. The town is on a hold and uncertainty is looming in the air.
The unrest in Cameroon is raising eyebrows as the less stable landlocked countries such as Chad and Central African Republic, which depend on Cameroon for their maritime imports and exports.
A press conference was called by the Cameroon government last Monday to explain why fuel prices were rising and why Equinox, a popular private TV channel, had been closed down. State media were only invited, and the gesture has done little to quell outrage.
Alongside concerns over fuel prices, Cameroonians are also worried over prices of other goods such as rice, wheat, sugar, flour, soap, medicine as well as a need for the creation of job opportunities, tax breaks and incentives to open up new business.
The opposition, spearheaded by veteran John Fru Ndi and his SDF, accuses the government and ruling party, which is divided into a hardline old guard and reformers, of plunging the country into corruption and poverty.
Despite the strike being called off midweek by union bosses, the rioting continued until the weekend with little sign of abating.
A government spokesman condemned the riots as "unacceptable". He said: "What is at issue is the use, not to say exploitation of the transporters' strike for political ends. For some people, who by the way, did not hide their intentions, the objective is to obtain through violence what they were unable to obtain through the ballot box, that is to say, through the normal functioning of democracy."
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