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Two killed in Cameroon riots
(AFP)

25 February 2008


DOUALA - Two people were shot dead and at least one more seriously injured when riots broke out Monday in Cameroon’s economic capital Douala, partly triggered by a strike, witnesses 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, witnesses and an AFP correspondent saw.

Two men were shot dead in the Bessengue district of the port city, a witness said, and a Cameroonian journalist confirmed to AFP that the bodies were taken to the mortuary of Douala’s Laquentinie Hospital.

Many of Douala’s three million people stayed indoors and kept stores closed after a road haulage strike was announced, fearing that any protest over the price of fuel and basic products could turn violent.

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.

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.

‘Ah, so that’s democracy,’ one local man exclaimed on seeing an injured man trying to reach the hospital. ‘Look what Cameroon’s come to.’

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