Cameroon’s security forces killed 48 civilians as they responded to protests against the re-election of President Paul Biya, the world’s oldest ruler, according to data shared with Reuters on Tuesday by two U.N. sources.

The majority of the victims were killed by live rounds although several died from wounds sustained when they were beaten with batons and sticks, the two U.N. sources said.

Biya’s government has not provided a death toll for the protests and a government spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

Biya was named winner of the election by a comfortable margin last week, receiving 53.66% of the vote against 35.19% for opposition leader Issa Tchiroma Bakary, a former government spokesperson who resigned from his ministerial post in June.

Tchiroma had declared himself the winner shortly after the October 12 election, and protests erupted in various locations as early results showed Biya, in power since 1982, would get an eighth term.

A civil society group known as Stand Up for Cameroon said last week that at least 23 people had been killed as a result of security forces cracking down on protesters.

Nearly half of the deaths recorded by the U.N. occurred in Cameroon’s Littoral region, which includes the port city of Douala where election-related protests last week were most intense.

Three gendarmes also died in Douala, according to the U.N. data.

There were 10 deaths recorded in the North region, the capital of which is Garoua, Tchiroma’s hometown.

Protests have died down considerably this week. Tchiroma called for a three-day national lockdown starting Monday, urging supporters to suspend activities and remain at home to show dissent at the election results.

Biya is expected to be sworn in on Thursday.

Source: Reuters

Issa Tchiroma Bakary was abducted in a raid on a residence in Yola, Adamawa State in Nigeria by Nigeria security forces between 10pm and 11pm on Sunday, 2 November, according to a deep background briefing.

The Nigeria force acted on a tip off from Cameroon security after locating Tchiroma through signals emitted from his mobile phone. Cameroon security described Tchiroma as a “dangerous criminal” to their Nigeria counterparts. Nigerian security acted swiftly.

A special squad from Cameroon was already in Nigeria to bring Tchiroma back home, “Nera 10” style, but when Nigeria authorities realized who he is, they halted the agreed extradition. He is now fully under Nigeria security protection, thus ending another close shave with arrest.

Before this incident in Nigeria, Cameroon defense and security forces had closed in on Tchiroma’s Marouare residence but he had already been removed and “escorted to a safe location”, before state defense and security forces surrounded his residence in a way that looked like an undeclared house arrest.

A commentator familiar with security and defence operations said the Cameroon forces obviously preferred a smooth operation, seeking to avoid a bloodbath that could have shocked public opinion and angered Tchiroma’s supporters ahead of the planned swearing in of Paul Biya.

Tchiroma was taken out of his Marouare residence in Garoua on the night of 28-29 October. A 31 October post on his “Tchiroma 2025” Facebook account reads, “I thank the loyalist army, which has shown its patriotism by escorting me to a safe location and is currently ensuring my protection.” Unsure how to keep him safe without the risk of raids that could cause an escalation, Tchiroma was escorted across the border into Nigeria hours later.

Some commentators on social media have described Tchiroma’s departure from his residence as an act of cowardice and abandonment of his followers. But a close aide to Tchiroma said in a background briefing in Garoua, “A leader does not offer himself to be arrested. He has to be at a safe and secure location to coordinate the movement for the restoration of the people’s victory, stolen in favour of Paul Biya.”

The aide went on: “Without the leader, protests can go out of hand. People are deeply angry. They are expressing themselves. They can go overboard. The leader has to be at a safe and secure place to coordinate and guide them. Imagine a scenario where President Tchiroma is captured. Can you imagine how that would incense the population and what could be the outcome?” the aide concluded.

There had been several incidents, suggesting subtle attempts to take Tchiroma into custody. Midmorning on 29 October, gendarmes stormed Tchiroma’s quarters. Concordant testimonies by his vanguards outside his compound and private security personnel guarding other compounds in the neighbourhood confirmed there were gunshots around Tchiroma’s compound that morning. No one was hurt.

That attack last week Wednesday, came the day after the Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, in a press briefing in Yaoundé, warned that Tchiroma would be dealt with for inciting “post-election violence”. Tchiroma had called on his supporters to go to the streets the day before the results were proclaimed.

Atanga Nji had said on previous occasions that Tchiroma had broken the law by declaring himself winner of the presidential election the day after the election, an act which, the minister said, is the preserve of the Constitutional Council.

On 30 October, soldiers in fours, fives and sixes in combat attire and carrying guns were seen jumping off military vehicles at different parts of the Marouare residential quarters where Tchiroma lives. It looked like a raid. From either side, their maneuvers pointed in the direction of Tchiroma’s neighbourhood. It is not certain what their mission was.

On Friday and Saturday, the soldiers set up makeshift sentry posts within 50 meters of Tchiroma’s residence on all sides. That was seen as a way of restricting his move, a kind of undeclared house arrest.

It was the first time soldiers, described as “third degree force” used mainly for serious combat operations beyond the competence of police (first degree) and the gendarmes (second degree), were seen in the neighbourhood since the election day and post-election tensions gripped Garoua.

Prior to that day, only police personnel were seen at various junctions. They generally did not restrict movement around Marouare. But from mid last week to the weekend, especially on 30 October, they prohibited access to motorbikes, vehicles and even pedestrians who did not prove they were resident in the neighbourhood.

On 27 October, the day results of the presidential election was proclaimed, snipers shot two of Tchiroma’s vanguards from the balcony of the nearby residence of Yerima Dewa, former member of Tchiroma’s FSNC who resigned from the party after Tchiroma declared his intention to run for president. One of those shot died on the spot.

That was not the first time Tchiroma was taken away from perceived danger. On 12 October, Election Day, his vehicle was intercepted by state security forces. His mob of supporters, believing the forces meant to arrest him, found a way of snatching him away. That day, a voice in a video circulating on social media said “the population had rescued Tchiroma from abduction by the forces of law and order and moved him to a secure place.”

After that incident, scores of youths volunteered to provide security around his compound. Some observers described them as a human shield that would have to be killed in numbers to gain access into Tchiroma’s compound in case of an attempt to arrest or abduct him.

In the days leading to the proclamation of results, there was an attempt to poison the food of the vanguards around Tchiroma’s compound, according to an account by a Tchiroma aide. The aide said an unknown woman brought about one thousand sandwiches and offered them to the vanguards. It was taken as an act of community support to their cause. Three vanguards that had eaten it before the officials were made aware of the gift, fell asleep within minutes and remained in profound sleep for over 24 hours.

The suspecting officials tested further by feeding the sandwich to cats. They witnessed about the same sleeping effect. “We concluded it was an attempt to cause the entire ‘battalion’ of vanguards to fall asleep so they could walk in easily and take our president away,” said the aide.

By Franklin Sone Bayen

Issa Tchiroma Bakary said on Friday he had been escorted to a secure location by soldiers loyal to him for his protection, a move that could signal a split within the army following a disputed election.

Tchiroma had been holed up in his house in the northern city of Garoua since a presidential election on October 12 in which he claimed victory.

Protests swept through major cities and towns across Cameroon on 27 October, after electoral authorities declared that incumbent Paul Biya, who has been president for the past 43 years, had won re-election.

Official counts gave him 53.66 per cent of the vote, with his main opponent Tchiroma Bakary garnering 35.19 per cent. But the opposition is in an uproar over what it sees as a rigged election.

Tally sheets posted from polling stations by civil society groups and opposition parties appear to show Tchiroma prevailing by a convincing margin.

With neither side willing to back down, the risks of worsening unrest are high. Thousands have taken to the streets, demanding recognition of the opposition’s apparent victory.

By Rita Akana with files from Reuters and International Crisis Group