At least 18 injured in 2 explosions at sporting event in Cameroon: Authorities

By Aurore Bonny

DOUALA, Cameroon (AA) - Seventeen spectators and an athlete were injured in two explosions Saturday in southwestern Cameroon during a racing competition, according to authorities.

National television said the blasts occurred as the Race of Hope competition with more than 500 athletes from Africa was being held on Mount Cameroon, the highest mountain in Central Africa

"Law enforcement, defense and security forces have brought the situation under control," said Sports Minister Narcisse Mouelle Kombi.

The incident took place in Buea, one of the cities of the two cryogenic regions, namely the northwest and southwest, which have been in the grip of a separatist crisis since 2016.

Governor of the southwest region Bernard Okalia Bila said the "attempted disruption … had no impact on the running of the race.

Mouelle Kombi said: "Cameroon remains a country of peace."

The blasts were "the demonstration once again of the fact that for sporting events of this kind, there is no zero risk whatever the context throughout the national territory," he said.

"Demonstrations such as these, which bring together thousands of people, are often the object of this," he added.