Cameroon guard chief sacked after explosions

The head of the presidential guard in Cameroon, Colonel Mengot, has been sacked after a series of explosions which sparked panic in the capital, Yaounde.

Residents were startled out of their sleep on Sunday by the explosions which they say sounded like heavy weapons fire and led many people to fear that a mutiny or coup might be under way.

State radio later appealed for calm, saying that a fire had broken out at the city's munitions dump.

President Paul Biya took the incident seriously enough to cancel his trip to the International Monetary Fund meeting in Mali. An inquiry into the explosions has been set up and a number of soldiers are reported to have been arrested.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service