Cameroon to boost security for peaceful end-of-year festivities

YAOUNDE, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Cameroonian army and police are ready to provide a hitch-free and calm atmosphere across the country for the Christmas and New Year celebrations, the country's defense minister Joseph Beti Assomo said on Monday.

Assomo said the festivities will be marked by a "massive" movement of people in the central African nation and it is imperative that security forces stay on the alert to ensure that peace reigns.

"This effervescence is being heightened this year by the ongoing football jamboree in Qatar," Assomo said during a security meeting in the capital Yaounde to strategize on security measures before end-of-year festivities.

As part of security measures, there will be intensive patrols across the country.