Four Killed in Cameroon Opposition Protests as Election Tensions Rise

At least four people have been confirmed dead following violent clashes between security forces and supporters of Cameroon’s opposition leader, Issa Tchiroma, who claims victory in the country’s recent presidential election. The violence erupted just hours before the official results were scheduled to be announced on Monday.

Tchiroma, who contested President Paul Biya’s more than four-decade rule in the October 12 election, had urged his supporters to stage peaceful marches on the eve of the announcement, despite a government ban on public gatherings.

While Tchiroma insists he secured 54.8 percent of the vote, most observers anticipate another victory for the 92-year-old President Biya, who is widely expected to extend his grip on power for an eighth term — a tenure critics argue has been maintained through an increasingly compromised electoral system.

In Douala, Cameroon’s largest city, Regional Governor Samuel Dieudonne Ivaha Diboua confirmed that demonstrators attacked a gendarmerie brigade and two police stations on Sunday, resulting in four deaths and several injuries among the security forces.

“Four people unfortunately lost their lives,” the governor said, noting that investigations are underway.

Eyewitnesses told AFP that security forces opened fire with live ammunition after initially deploying tear gas to disperse the crowd.
“They fired—three people fell right in front of us,” one protester recounted, displaying spent bullet casings allegedly collected near the scene.

Earlier in the day, police in Garoua, Tchiroma’s northern base, had fired teargas to scatter hundreds of demonstrators carrying national flags and chanting, “Goodbye Paul Biya, Tchiroma is coming.”

Meanwhile, in the capital Yaoundé, the streets remained tense but largely calm under heavy police presence.

The Constitutional Council is expected to declare the final election results at 11:00 a.m. (1000 GMT) on Monday.

Opposition sources reported that two prominent coalition members who backed Tchiroma — Djeukam Tchameni and Anicet Ekane — were arrested in Douala on Friday.

In addition, significant internet disruptions have been observed across parts of Cameroon, with digital rights group NetBlocks warning that the outages could limit real-time coverage of events.

Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji condemned the unrest, describing the demonstrations as an attempt to “create the conditions for a security crisis” and to “implement an insurrectionist project.”

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