Several injured as troops, gunmen exchange fire near AFCON venue

 

Several people got injured as troops and armed men exchanged fire in the Cameroonian city of Buea, the capital of a region hit by separatist violence and a host for teams in the Africa Cup of Nations.

According to AFP, Mayor David Mafani Namange said; “The security forces rapidly intervened and an investigation is under way to determine who is responsible.” He described the violence on Wednesday as “sporadic incidents.”

Earlier Thursday, a senior military officer said by telephone that the fighting “happened after the Malian squad had finished training,” adding: “It did not have an impact on the training session.”

A senior official with the Confederation of African Football played down the incident, and virtually none of Cameroon’s national press reported on it.

“We know that there was some commotion, far from our operations, but we don’t know at all exactly what may have happened, whether there was an attack or not,” the CAF official told AFP, requesting anonymity.

The authorities, approached by AFP, refused to officially confirm or deny that there had been any incident.

Also Wednesday, an opposition senator was found shot dead in the region, according to his party and an official.