Paul Biya appoints generals to security team amid absence

Cameroon's President Paul Biya has made new appointments to his personal security structure, including naming General Raymond Jean Charles Beko'o Abondo to head the presidential guard, as debate continues over the 93-year-old leader's absence from the country.

A decree dated August 3 put four generals in charge of units now responsible for presidential protection. Biya also appointed army chief Hippolyte Ebaka as chief of defence staff, making him deputy to chief of the general staff Rene Claude Meka.

Biya has not been seen for nearly two months. The Cameroonian government has denied that his health has deteriorated and said he would return to Cameroon soon.

Cameroon's opposition said Biya's absence had created an "institutional vacuum" and left the country on "autopilot". The appointment of a new government and vice-president has been pending for several months.