The French government says it’s “particularly concerned” about the violent crackdown on post-election\u00a0demonstrations in Cameroon and has called on the authorities to guarantee the\u00a0safety and physical well-being of all the country’s citizens.<\/p>\n
At least 23 people have been killed in Cameroon as a result of security\u00a0forces cracking down on protesters since the weekend, a civil society group known as “Stand up for Cameroon<\/a>” said in a media\u00a0briefing on Wednesday.<\/p>\n The governor of the economic capital of Douala, which has experienced some of the worst violence, told a press conference on\u00a0Tuesday that over 200 people had been arrested in connection with the protests.<\/p>\n France, which ruled Cameroon until independence in 1960, issued a statement Wednesday calling\u00a0on “all those involved to show restraint and engage in a constructive dialogue that restores peace, security and calm to the Cameroonian people”.<\/p>\n “We believe it is essential that democracy, fundamental\u00a0freedoms and the rule of law be scrupulously respected and that all persons arbitrarily detained since the beginning of the\u00a0electoral process be released in order to preserve national cohesion,” the Foreign Ministry said in its\u00a0statement <\/a>Wednesday.<\/p>\n It noted that “several civilians have been killed by gunfire<\/a> and hundreds of people have been wounded”.<\/p>\n Cameroon: Amnesty calls for release of 36 activists, five years after crackdown<\/a><\/p>\n Contested election results<\/p>\n The Constitutional Council confirmed Tuesday that Paul Biya<\/a>, the world’s oldest state leader at 92 and in\u00a0power since 1982, won the presidential election held on 12 October.<\/p>\n He beat Cameroon<\/a>‘s main opposition leader Issa Tchiroma Bakary, a former government spokesperson turned Biya rival, winning 53.7 percent of the vote to Tchiroma’s 35.2 percent.<\/p>\n Tchiroma contests the result; other opposition leaders have alleged widespread fraud,\u00a0which the government rejects.<\/p>\n “We remain united, mobilised and will continue to resist\u00a0until the final victory,” Tchiroma said late on Tuesday following the council’s decision, which is final and not subject to appeal.<\/p>\n On Wednesday morning, Tchiroma’s supporters defied protest bans and again took to the streets of Douala, which\u00a0were still strewn with debris and burnt tyres after days of unrest.<\/p>\n Cameroon\u2019s Biya re-elected despite deadly protests and claims of fraud<\/a><\/p>\n Alleged incitement to violence<\/p>\n Interior Minister Paul Atanga Nji acknowledged on Tuesday that “during these criminal attacks, some assailants lost their lives<\/a>“.<\/p>\n But he accused Tchiroma of inciting the violence and rebellion after prematurely declaring victory<\/a> on 13 October.<\/p>\n “This irresponsible candidate, driven by the desire to push\u00a0through the plot to disrupt public order, issued repeated calls on social media inciting civil unrest,” Nji said in a statement.<\/p>\n He said small groups “often under the influence of drugs”\u00a0had looted shops and set fire to public buildings. He did not provide any evidence that the protesters had taken drugs.<\/p>\n The Stand up for Cameroon group said arrested protesters\u00a0and other civilians were being held in “inhumane” conditions.<\/p>\n