Fire rips through Cameroon parliament

The main parliament building in Cameroon's capital Yaoundé has been badly damaged by fire which ripped through four floors.

Firefighters managed to put out the blaze before it could reach the parliamentary chamber.

There has so far been no indication of any casualties and the cause of the blaze was not immediately clear. 

In this week's session, the national assembly had been discussing the budget.

Pictures and video posted on social media show the upper floors in flames, hours after it first took hold.

Fire fighters overwhelmed by the flames.
The building is still on fire. The fire broke out at 9:50pm Cameroon time pic.twitter.com/4vknww0THg

— Mimi237 (@Mimimefo237) November 16, 2017

#Cameroun : l'Assemblée nationale littéralement coupée en deux par les flammes cette nuit. pic.twitter.com/jJ2LgmppCO

— Mathieu OLIVIER (@MathieuOlivier) November 17, 2017

#Cameroon: Members of #Parliament , administrative and security officials at the National Assembly for first hand appraisal of the flames that have devastated parts of the building. pic.twitter.com/HyU4xg2sF9

— CRTVweb (@CRTV_web) November 16, 2017

An AFP new agency photographer said the fire was fully extinguished by dawn today. 

BBC