Cameroon media denounce surge in attacks as 2025 election nears

FILE - Cameroonian Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute speaks to journalists in Yaounde, Oct. 3, 2019. Ngute is sitting under a portrait of Cameroonian President Paul Biya who, now 91, may run for reelection next year.

Journalists in Cameroon say attacks on reporters have surged as the country prepares for next year’s presidential elections. Ninety-one-year-old President Paul Biya, who has ruled the country for over four decades, may run again. Rights groups say six journalists have been assaulted by gunmen in the past weeks, while several reporters and a radio station have been ordered to stop broadcasting.