HRW calls on Cameroon authorities to end post-election violence News
Moki Edwin Kindzeka (VOA), CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
HRW calls on Cameroon authorities to end post-election violence

Human Rights Watch HRW on Tuesday criticized the Cameroonian security forces for fueling violence as opposed to protecting the people during the protests currently ongoing in the country. It called for an impartial investigation into the use of force, and the release of those arrested.

The violence erupted in the country after the October 12 elections, in which the main opposition leader, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, declared himself the winner before an official announcement of the results. This led to street clashes between opposition supporters and the police. The situation in the country continues to escalate.

The Cameroon Constitutional Council announced the incumbent president, Paul Biya, as the winner of the elections on October 17. This led to tensions escalating, with protests continuing. Biya is now to assume his eighth term in office, standing out as the world’s oldest president, having ruled Cameroon for 43 years.

The protests have shaken the capital, Yaoundé; the economic capital, Douala; and the northern towns of Garoua and Maroua, with local jails filled with opposition supporters who accuse Biya of rigging the elections.

The United Nations Human Rights Office has confirmed reports of people killed, injured or arrested since the protests began. The Human Rights Office also called for restraint, investigations, and an end to the violence. 

Voices in Cameroon’s diaspora have also rejected the constitutional council’s validation of the elections, describing the process as a national disgrace.

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