Cameroonian Truck Drivers Take Measures Against Russian Mercenaries
When a truck driver was murdered in November 2024, his angry colleagues protested, blocking the transnational highway along Garoua Boulai town in Cameroon and Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic.
The brutal killing of a Cameroonian truck driver has called for measures against patrolling Russian mercenaries along the Cameroon border with the Central African Republic (CAR). Protesting the murder of the colleague, the truck drivers ceased operations, resuming after a dialogue with the authorities of the two neighbouring countries.
Although the authorities have pledged to take security measures to protect them, the truck drivers have refused to leave everything in the hands of the two countries; they have taken measures against the relentless threats from Russian mercenaries of the Wagner Security Group.
To protect their lives, the truck drivers have installed what they called a sophisticated alert system on the Beloko-Bangui highway. Through WhatsApp groups and by telephone, they are now able to inform their colleagues of any suspicious movements on the highway by the Wagner security operatives.
In the past week, the alert system proved its efficiency when a truck driver on his way to Bossembele spotted Russian mercenaries in two locations around the Yaloke area and near Bossembele in Cameroon. He immediately alerted his colleagues, warning that everybody had to “sleep in Yaloke. Nobody should move”, a message which was scrupulously respected by the truckers.
The Cameroonian truckers have accused the Russian mercenaries of being “unpredictable and dangerous”.
“When you see the Wagner mercenaries on the move, you should be very careful. It is better to stop, sleep and continue the next day,” one of them told HumAngle.
When the truck driver was murdered in November 2024, his angry colleagues protested, blocking the transnational highway along Garoua Boulai town in Cameroon and Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic.
The president of the National Syndicate of Road Transporters of Cameroon, Oumarou Sahabo, however, called for the immediate suspension of activities within the border zones of Cameroon, threatening the total blockage of transportation between Cameroon and its neighbours.
“We are demanding that the state of Cameroon assures our security and that the Cameroon army escorts our convoys right to Bangui, and this until the Central African Republic undertakes the necessary actions. We have no guarantee of our security when it is the Central African Army or Wagner security operatives escorting us,” said Alhadji Djika, the president of the Cameroon Inter-Syndicate Union of Transport.
The killing of a Cameroonian truck driver by Russian mercenaries near the Cameroon-Central African Republic border has led to protests and demands for heightened security measures.
Despite assurances from both countries' authorities, truck drivers have taken matters into their own hands by establishing a sophisticated alert system along the Beloko-Bangui highway, using WhatsApp and phone communication to warn each other of Wagner Security Group operatives.
Tensions have risen as the truck drivers describe the mercenaries as "unpredictable and dangerous." A recent incident demonstrated the alert system's effectiveness when a driver warned his colleagues about the presence of mercenaries, prompting them to halt until it was safe. In response to the murder, transportation unions have called for suspend operations in border areas, urging the Cameroonian government to ensure military escorts for convoys to Bangui until the Central African Republic takes adequate action.
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