By Tansa Musa

YAOUNDE, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Police in northwestern Cameroon shot dead three motorcycle taxi drivers who were protesting against the arrest and beating of one of their colleagues, residents said on Tuesday.

Police arrested one of the taxi drivers on Monday for not having the right papers in Bamenda, the main town of the central African country's North-West Province, a region frequently rocked by land disputes and clashes with the authorities.

"He was thoroughly beaten until he lost consciousness and one of his eyes. His colleagues went to the police station to seek his release but the police used tear gas to chase them away," one Bamenda resident said, asking not to be named.

"They then invaded the town, mounting roadblocks and blocking the traffic. When the security forces came out to lift the roadblocks, they threw stones at them and the police fired at them in retaliation."

The three taxi drivers -- known locally as "benskinners" because passengers have to "bend their skin" to climb onto the motorcycles -- were killed instantly by bullets. A pregnant woman who was also hit was rushed to hospital, witnesses said.

Thousands of people then gathered in support of the "benskinners", accusing the police of extorting money from them and of other human rights abuses.

An aide to the provincial governor, who asked not to be named, confirmed there was "a popular upheaval downtown" but said, in the confusion, he was unable to confirm the deaths.

"The situation is very tense here now. It seems the people want the police to pay for the killings," he said.

Bamenda is no stranger to violent unrest. Residents of a nearby village burned down 300 homes and forced thousands of people to flee in March after rival landowners reportedly tried to burn down their traditional chief's "fon", or palace.

Last year, another group of villagers beat their own chief to death and burnt his corpse after they accused him of selling farmland to wealthy cattle breeders. They then stoned to death the policeman who came to arrest the main suspects.

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