Cameroon planned tough road safety measures during year-end festivities, including the deployment of additional security forces across the country to ensure safety at the peak of holiday season, national police said on Monday.

“Our forces will henceforth be on guard on major roads in (the capital) Yaounde and its environs to ensure prompt action in case of any problem,” Adamou Baba, head of Centre Regional Traffic Police Control Unit told reporters in Yaounde.

“Police officers are also dispatched to work effectively on travel agencies in order to reduce overburdening and theft because there is high crime wave at the moment,” he added.

Criminal activities and road accidents are recurrent in Cameroon during end of year festivities.

Cameroon has seen rising fatalities for the last few years, with about 1,500 deaths annually on the highways, according to the Ministry of Transport.

Last week, Cameroon’s Minister of Defence, Joseph Beti Assomo said, the army will beef up military operations nationwide to prevent a possible spike in criminal activities during the forthcoming Christmas and New Year celebrations.

Source: Xinhuanet