Yaoundé escapes a bomb attack

Yaoundé, capital of Cameroon, escaped a terrorist attack over the weekend, according to L’Œil du Sahel in its Monday, September 7, 2015 edition.

According to the weekly, "elements of the Versatile Group of the National Gendarmerie Intervention (GPIGN) uncovered an explosive device in Yaoundé on September 5, 2015. The operation took place at Messa district, not far from the Presbyterian Church, at about 5 p.m ".

The newspaper stated that, "the attack was foiled thanks to the vigilance of a fruit seller in the Messa district.” This seller, noted L’Œil du Sahel, "was approached by two children aged 10 and 14, precisely at noon, who left a package beside her.” According to a security source cited by the journal, "they informed the saleswoman that they were sent by a gentleman, and that the latter would soon come and collect his package.”

Later in his story, Guibai Gatama, renowned for the credibility of his information in the aspect of security, revealed that saleswoman "left the parcel beside her and continued with her activities. Tired of waiting for the infamous owner of the package and plagued with doubt, the fruits vendor drew the attention of a gendarmerie officer to whom she conveyed her fears. The latter then alerted the national gendarmerie, which quickly discovered through the GPIGN.

Fright swept over several institutions in Cameroon, since as mentioned in the weekly, "it is the first time that an attack was foiled in the Cameroonian capital which has so far been untouched by the wave of attacks that have shaken the country for some weeks now. It is also the Far North Region who have been victims of such atrocities.”

It is difficult to know at this time who is behind this act. The reporter noted that investigations are ongoing. This attack was foiled two days after that in Kerawa which resulted in 30 deaths.