YAOUNDE, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Suspected bandits killed a French scientist working for Cameroon's Agricultural Development Research Institute (IRAD) in the capital Yaounde on Saturday, police in the central African country said.

The victim, named by police as Laurence Verne, 31, was killed as she returned to her home in the Elig-Essono neighbourhood of the city after meeting a friend, senior police officer Edgard Alain Mebe Ngo said in a statement.

"The police will do everything to arrest those responsible for this odious crime," the statement said. It did not say how Verne had been killed.

IRAD carries out research aimed at helping boost crop production in Cameroon, the world's fourth biggest cocoa grower.

Police in Cameroon's main cities have been facing a rising wave of crime by bandits who hold up vehicles and raid homes, often in broad daylight.

President Paul Biya said in his New Year address to the nation last week that tackling urban crime and highway robbery would be urgent priorities in 2007.

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