CAMEROON: Troops rescue Lions from irate fans

  1. Posted on Monday 6 June 2011 - 10:31
    Walter
    Image of Walter
    Walter Wilson Nana, AfricaNews reporter in Buea, Cameroon
    The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon failed to roar in their own den in a 2012 Nations Cup qualifiers against Senegal on Saturday. The Teranga Lions suffocated their host in Yaounde as both teams vie to secure a place in next year's continental football jamboree. The goalless results did not go well for the fans of Cameroon.
    CAMEROON- Finalise World Cup squad with Eto'o as captain
    This morose atmosphere irked the Indomitable Lions’ fans, who surrounded the main entrance of the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium, after the tension-packed match, threatening to lynch Samuel Fils Eto’o and his teammates.

    The blunder that broke the Lions’ back came at the 87th minute when captain Eto’o, messed up a controversial penalty against the Teranga Lions of Senegal. Eto’o squandered the saving grace spot kick that would have closed the gap on Group E leaders Senegal who are now 10 points up, while Cameroon stays only at five.

    Several people were injured in the melee as fans shattered car windscreens and tore T-shirts bearing Eto’o's name from the backs of people wearing them. It took the intervention of troops from the Military Headquarter in Yaounde for the Lions to reach their Mont Fébé hotel rooms after the team drew against Senegal. The troops used water cannons to disperse the rioting soccer fans.

    At the blast of the final whistle, over 50,000-man crowd that had turned up to cheer the Lions took up positions at the entrance to the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium, with weapons threatening to lynch the players. Fans cursed the players with most of them chanting that they wanted Eto’o.

    At first, the players resorted to the Presidential passage to make their way out. But security officials had to use truncheons to disperse the crowd and ensure the players’ security. According to Ernest Sumelong and Leocadia Bongben, journalists with The Post newspaper in Yaounde, several cars were vandalized in Yaounde, many fans sustained injuries, while several others were arrested.

    This reporter gathered that the New Bell residence of Samuel Eto’o in Cameroon’s economic capital, Douala, was being heavily guarded by security forces amidst threat by the population to burn it.

    Meanwhile, there is a general morose mood in the country as prospects of Cameroon missing out on the 2012 AFCON are now obvious. The team had opted for victory in order to keep hopes alive but a motivated Senegalese side resisted a virulent Cameroonian attack line.

Latest News

  1. OPINION: Welcome to African Green Revolution24/05For the past century and a half, Africa has tried various agricultural approaches without much success.
  2. Egyptians vote in historic election23/05Egyptians began voting freely on Wednesday for the first time to pick their president in a wide open election that pits Islamists against men who serv…
  3. Africa Day 2012 - a moment for reflection and…22/0525th May is Africa Day. For many years it has been a celebration of African unity. It dates back to 1963 when the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) …
  4. South Africa's African agenda21/05The Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, Kgalema Mothlanthe paid a rare visit to Ghana in April at the invitation of John Dramani Mahama …
  5. Women struggle to rinse hunger, poverty stains21/05Just looking at her one clearly appreciates that she is old and frail therefore in need of support for food, clothing and shelter to live comfortably …
  6. Climate Climate change affects migratory birds…21/05Changes in the climate globally have affected the movement of both migratory and resident species of birds, Nature Uganda has said.
  7. Ghana: Foreign retailers cited for currency…18/05The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) is attributing the sharp depreciation of the Ghana cedi against major currencies to the illegal activiti…
  8. Kenya: Community radio brings succour to…18/05Korogocho, a slum in northeastern Nairobi with 100,000 inhabitants, had many of the ingredients for a political explosion similar to those that rocked…
  9. Veld fires 'flame' Zimbabwe's…16/05Over the years, Zimbabwe has experienced the scourge of veld fires destroying property worth thousands of dollars.
  10. Liberia commends ECOWAS for support14/05The induction training of pioneer Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Volunteers for Liberia kicked off in Monrovia, with the Deputy Mi…
  11. Vanishing Lake Chad puts 30m lives at risk14/05As you approach the Lake Chad basin from Maiduguri, in north-eastern Nigeria, the evidence of despair is telling.
  12. Heavy rains cause havoc in Kenya14/05Heavy Rainfall continued to wreak havoc across the country leading to the suspension of relief food in some parts of the country as most roads in Turk…
  13. Zimbabwe: Growth points lie dormant14/05The Zimbabwean government mooted the concept of growth points in the 1980s as a means of decongesting cities and towns.
  14. Sierra Leone improves in infant mortality11/05Sierra Leone has improved in infant mortality cases according to Save the Children- World Motherhood index 2012 report. The West Africa country descri…
  15. Zimbabwe: Resettled farmers fail to utilize…10/05Resettled farmers in Zimbabwe are failing to utilize land due to inadequate farming inputs and lack of resources.
News archive