Cameroon's Biya, 92, reshuffles military top brass ahead of vote

YAOUNDE (Reuters) -Cameroon's 92-year-old President Paul Biya, the world's oldest head of state, has overhauled the military's top ranks in what analysts say is an effort to ensure the armed forces back his bid for an eighth term after a public outcry. The personnel moves, announced late on Tuesday in a series of presidential decrees, affect nearly all branches of the armed forces. One of the promoted generals is the coordinator of the elite Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR), a special forces unit often deployed in counter-terrorism operations and seen as central to Biya's security apparatus.