To stop a wave of gang violence, Cameroon has sent troops to the nation’s economic capital and port city of Douala.
The lack of safety has also made it harder for Cameroon to send goods to its landlocked neighbors, the Central African Republic and Chad.
Cameroon’s President Paul Biya called the military to Douala for two days of emergency security briefings, which ended on Wednesday.
The Cameroonian government has not disclosed the number of troops deployed, but Douala residents told VOA that on Tuesday night, they saw 13 military trucks approach the port city.
Authorities say that the troops were needed because police in Doula have been fighting with armed gangs every day since the beginning of the month.
The fights, according to the police, led to the arrest of hundreds of teenagers and the closing of some stores during the usually busy holiday season.
A number of establishments were still shuttered on Wednesday in Mboppi, a well-liked area of Douala.
Evans Eboua, a 37-year-old dress seller, said that he wants the government to promise his safety before he reopens his store.
He claimed that recent gang attacks in Douala are just as hazardous as those he saw in 2017. The gangs in Mboppi, according to Eboua, were split into two sections. He claimed that while the second gang looted, the first group brandished pistols and machetes, chased civilians, and destroyed their stores and vehicles.
Some residents blamed migrants from the Central African Republic and Nigeria as well as unemployed young people for the rise in violence.
Samuel Frank Mvondo, a motorcycle importer from China, claimed that Douala’s crime waves are exacerbated by the lack of employment opportunities for economic migrants from Nigeria and others who have fled political unrest in the CAR. According to Mvondo, the foreigners join the unemployed university graduates who are using motorcycle taxis to intimidate the people of Douala.
The number of foreigners detained was not disclosed by Cameroonian authorities. More than 15,000 Nigerians, most of whom trade motorcycle and car spare parts, are estimated to reside in Douala.
Through the state CRTV, the Association of Nigerian Businesspeople in Douala urged its members to follow the law.
According to the city council, less than 5% of the at least 30,000 motorcycle riders in Douala are authorized to transport people.
The governor of the Littoral area, where Douala is situated, Samuel Dieudonne Ivaha Diboua, imposed an overnight motorcycle ban until further notice on the grounds that the majority of the gang members carry out their attacks at night using motorbike taxis. He claimed that some of those detained were helping the police.
According to Diboua, riders who were summoned to the urgent security meeting admitted that the majority of their compatriots either belong to gangs or assist in criminal activities by driving gang members to and from crime scenes. He claimed that in order to ensure smooth commercial operations and peace in Douala, the administration has authorized the deployment of military forces to all important locations.
According to Cameroon authorities, the gangs have stopped a large number of trucks in Douala that were headed for nearby nations.
Nearly all of the supplies for the landlocked Central African Republic, which is east of Cameroon, come through the port city of Douala.
Cameroon, a landlocked country to the north that borders Chad, is where 80% of Chad’s imports come from.
Authorities claim that three weeks ago, some hundred members of the “Les Microbes” gang assaulted the main hospital in Douala, where one of their number was receiving treatment for gunshot wounds.
The group assaulted hospital staff members while destroying equipment.
Authorities have asked residents to help the military by reporting suspected gang members who may be hiding in the neighborhood.
