Uneasy Calm Returns To Douala

Calm has returned to the city of Douala after the terrific weekend created by a group of armed individuals until Saturday night.

A group of young men armed with machetes and knives forced city dwellers to remain indoors as they stormed streets and major joints in Douala I, II and V subdivisions, getting some persons wounded in sporadic confrontations.

An inhabitant of New Bell in the Douala II municipality told Mimi Mefo info, that one of such bloody confrontations on Friday November 1, 2019 in their neighborhood left three young persons wounded with a machete on several parts of their bodies.

On Saturday evening, the armed group made impromptu appearances in neighborhoods like Camp Yabbassi, Akwa, New Bell and at Fin Goudron Bepanda Omnisport, terrifying city dwellers who looked up their shops and doors upon news of their arrival. Shops in Camp Yabassi largely remained closed as the situation was more tensed in the area.

Police in New Bell on Saturday had to use tear gas in order to disperse the armed groups.

It remains highly uncertain who their main target was, but a lady in New Bell quoted them as saying that they are out for vengeance.
Most of the young men are believed to have come from Gonsoa and 4 Etage in the New Bell neighborhood where the first bloody confrontation was recorded on Thursday October 31, 2019.

On Sunday November 3, 2019, the Governor of the Littoral Region descended to New Bell to discuss with traditional and local authorities.

A man hunt from the National Gendarmerie and police elements permitted the situation to be brought under control