20110930
Reuters
YAOUNDE (Reuters) - Gunmen dressed in military fatigues opened fire in Cameroon's economic capital Douala on Thursday in an apparent protest against President Paul Biya days before he seeks re-election, a security official and local media said.



The official said one of the gunmen held a banner that read: "Paul Biya, the dictator must go at all costs".

Biya has ruled the central African oil-producing country for 29 years and is seeking another term in the October 9 poll.

Details of the incident, including how many gunmen were involved, their affiliation and whether there were casualties, were not immediately available.

Local media identified a man who claimed to be behind the attack on Twitter as Bertin Kisob, 36, a fringe candidate whose application to run in the election was rejected by authorities.

Reuters spoke to a man via a phone number on his blog who identified himself as Kisob, but was not able to independently verify his identity.

Kisob said more attacks would follow. He said 10 people were involved in the attack, at the main bridge in Douala, and one of them was killed during an exchange with security forces.

A local television broadcaster said security forces had taken back control of the Wouri bridge and speed boats were patrolling the river.

The television showed a bullet-ridden taxi on the bridge whose driver said at least one of the gunmen directed several drivers to stop and took their car keys.

An official at the regional governor's office said calm had been restored. Several residents said security forces had been deployed across the city of about 2 million.

The official, who declined to be named, said several people had been arrested. The official could not confirm reports that one person was killed during the incident.

The administrative head of the coastal town of Limbe said grenades and explosives were found in the local office of Cameroon's election commission Elecam on Thursday in a suspected attempted bomb attack. Special forces were called to remove them.

WORRYING PRECEDENT

Biya, who changed the constitution in 2008 to remove limits on presidential terms, is widely expected to win the election.

The constitutional changes, and protests over the high cost of living, led at the time to clashes with security forces which resulted in more than 100 deaths. Since then Cameroon has been relatively stable.

Analysts said while Biya has been able to maintain stability, there were risks that the country could face turbulent times in the election and post-election period.

Roddy Barclay, London-based analyst at Control Risks, said the involvement of the military in any unrest, if proven to be the case, would prove "a worrying precedent".

"Dissatisfaction within the regular army remains a persistent problem due to low wages, limited promotion prospects and perceptions that the mainstream security forces are being sidelined (by certain elite forces)," he said.

Johannesburg-based Cameroon academic Achille Mbembe said in an interview with website www.slateafrique.com: "Political change in the country will be the product of either an armed insurrection leaning or not on a political party or foreign forces ... or as a result of the natural death of the current leader or his assassination."