Rebellion Boils as Cameroon’s President Seeks to Extend Rule
- Anglophone revolt overshadows presidential vote next month
- Opposition candidate describes Cameroon as ‘rudderless ship’
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While President Paul Biya appears to be a shoo-in to extend his 36-year rule in elections next month, he’s had no success in stifling a rebellion in Anglophone regions that’s threatening to split the mainly French-speaking central African nation.
Africa’s second-longest serving head of state, Biya, 85, is facing eight candidates in an Oct. 7 vote that will be overshadowed by insurgent attacks, a violent clampdown by the security forces and a drop in production in Cameroon’s biggest cocoa-growing areas. Thousands of people have fled to neighboring Nigeria.