200 people rounded up at snack bars in Essos, Yaoundé

Over 200 people were arrested in several ‘hot spot’ snack bars at Essos neighborhood in Yaoundé, known for its hot spots, on Friday July, 31 during a police raid at 22h (10pm).

The Le Jour newspaper reported in its Tuesday, August 4, 2015 edition that, the police raided several bars in order to question all individuals present.

The men and women arrested were taken to the Police Station at Tsinga, according to sources. A young man who was part of the lot told the reporter that “I was with my friends when the elements of the police entered the snack bar and arrested us all that day. They did not bother to find out if we had a national identity card or not. We have been here since 3am and still waiting to be released,” he said.

The following morning, Saturday August 1, a crowd still waited to be questioned and released from the Police Station. A police officer told the newspaper that "our country is threatened and we are all walking devices to better protect our citizens. Through this roundup, we have interrogated everyone to detect those with criminal records to determine any threat.”

Another added: "It would be appropriate that Cameroonians stay home and especially have to be careful on the streets. They should always walk with their national identity card because we can make field visits at any time.”

On Monday July 27, the prefect of Mfoundi, Jean Claude Tsila, took important measures to secure the people in times of war against the Islamic sect, Boko Haram. They include taverns, cabarets, street vendors and other ‘sensitive’ areas with high concentration of people and public buildings.