Cameroon: Buea Safe From Protesters

The Administrative Area of the capital of the South West Region remained untouched by demonstrators on October 1, 2017

The central city of Buea, capital of the South West Region, remained calm yesterday, October 1, 2017 amidst threats of hoisting the Ambazonia flag. Governor Bernard Okalia Bilai monitored the situation from his Buea Office as the six Senior Divisional Officers of the Region kept feeding him with field developments. "The protesters shot bullets at the Forces of law and Order in Mamfe, capital of Manyu Division," the Governor told this reporter in his Office at 3.30 pm yesterday. "But in general the situation remained under control as protesters were contained in their various scenes" the Governor said. In Buea, the area from Molyko up to the administrative quarters of Clerks quarters and GRA "Government Residential Area" where the Governor's Office and other State Offices are situated remained safe from agitations as the forces had encircled and blocked the area from any spill over. Meanwhile periphery quarters like Bolifamba, Bomaka and Muea were under agitations by mid-day. The forces intervened to keep order without any major incident reported. Repeatedly, young people came out like a cat and mouse game to block the roads between the Bus Station at Mile 17 and Muea and the forces quickly cleared the barricades. Reports from Kumba headquarters of Meme Division, talked of agitations organised in periphery spots without affecting the central town. Confrontations were reported between the forces and the protesters on several sites in Kumba. In Menji, a crowd came out in protest but at press time no major confrontation with the forces was reported. In Kupe Muanenguba Paul Elung Che, Minister Delegate at the Ministry of Finance, had spent time educating the people on the falsehood in dreaming of a separated State. The efforts seemed to pay off as only minor agitations reported in Tombel. Limbe remained relatively calm with some standoff reported in Mile Four, Kassava Farm and New Town. In general the authority of the South West Region had pre-empted an agitated day of October 1, 2017 and taken measures to include the closure of drinking places, restricted movements from one town to another. Equally, groupings of more than four persons had been banned and borders with neighbouring country closed as well as stopped any public manifestation.

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