Cameroon: Illegal Loggers Flee Gov't Crackdown Forces

Posted to the web 10 October 2008 Robert Tumasang Illegal loggers in the forests of Ndoumbie, Ndongo, Ndemba and Guekong in the Lom et Djerem Division of the East Province have reportedly fled as government forces stormed the region to track them down and confiscate the logged wood. A combined crack force of 30 soldiers, 30 gendarmerie officers and 50 forest guards stormed the protected forest zone recently in an operation dubbed " opération coup de poing ", organised by the East Provincial Delegate for Forestry and Wildlife, Bruno Mfou'ou Mfou'ou. The operation, according to the Delegate, came in the wake of repeated reports from the population to the effect that illegal loggers were causing tremendous damage to the forests. "Our first option was to dispatch a small team of forest guards to assess the situation on the... [read full story]