Hundreds of inhabitants have been rendered homeless in a crackdown following controversial claims over a large piece of land.

The Bessengué mob, young and old, went amok, burned tyres and mounted road blocks along the quarter’s busy main road in protest against the crackdown by mid day yesterday. For several hours, the move diverted traffic into the narrow detour around TOTAL, which soon jammed and forestalled any comfortable movements by both pedestrians and motorbike riders.

Inhabitants said they were contending the “unnotified crackdown”, but laid claims to their ownership of parts of the land. The “strangers”, accompanied by a host of forces of law and order, use of machetes, diggers, hammers, and other iron implements, opened up zinc, door and window frames, as well as broke through walls and destroyed several household gadgets and properties. Etina Romeo, a victim who works not far from his home, said; “The people passed down to the neighbourhood unnotified. I saw muscular men, probably, wrestlers with various tools in their hands, followed by police men. As we came out the close to a hundred attackers fled.”

Alarm raised by inhabitants who were still around at the time called in neighbours who began hauling stones at the attackers said to have been brought in three trucks. Bernard Kwakam, who has been living in the disputed land since 1967 explained that a certain Fonoué who is claiming ownership of the land (about 2 km square) hired the men to carry out the act. “We went wild, because the act took place when most of them had left their houses for work elsewhere in the city, the problem of ownership which began in 1976, adjudicated successively and by decrees, was still being examined in court and the period of the year does not warrant any such activity,” he disclosed. A mixed patrol of several gendarmes and police immediately poured into the area, maintaining peace. By afternoon yesterday, the Regional Delegate of National Security, Raymond Essogo, Bessengué quarter head, head of the Bamoun community in the area and other representatives of the communities in the area began investigation and examining a peaceful resolution of the crisis.