By DPA
Nairobi : At least seven people were killed in Cameroon during violent protests against rising fuel prices this week, reports said Thursday, as the government blamed the opposition for stoking the unrest.
Young demonstrators in the capital Yaounde burned barricades and hurled stones at police who responded with tear gas canisters, the BBC reported. Other cities also saw similar confrontations.
The protests began against the fuel price increases but continued even after the government rolled them back. The demonstrations then turned against President Paul Biya’s desire to change the constitution to lengthen his term.
“What we’re looking at here is the exploitation of the transport strike for political ends,” Biya said in a television address Wednesday night. Biya’s 25-year tenure is set to end in 2011.