Several killed in Cameroon as Anglophones declare 'Independence'

Cameroonian soldiers shot at least eight people dead and wounded several others in Cameroon’s restive anglophone region on Sunday as a separatist group made a symbolic declaration of independence.

The separatists chose 1 October, the anniversary of the official reunification of the anglophone and francophone parts of Cameroon, to declare independence for “Ambazonia”, the name of the state they want to create.

Since November last year, the anglophone minority has been protesting against alleged discrimination.

The government deployed security forces at the weekend in English-speaking regions, notably Buea in the southwest and Bamenda, the main town in the northwest and a hub of anglophone agitation.

Cameroon independence protests result in deaths https://t.co/SQdv9PCUgv pic.twitter.com/TyuvV9KOoV

— BBC Africa (@BBCAfrica) October 1, 2017

Several people were admitted to hospital in Bamenda Sunday after clashes between demonstrators and police, according to a medical source. 

Authorities had banned all gatherings of more than four people, ordered bus stations, eateries and shops to shut and forbade movement between different parts of the English-speaking regions ahead of the protests. The government also ordered Cameroon’s border with Nigeria closed for the weekend. 

Cameroon’s long-serving president, 84-year-old Paul Biya, took to social media Sunday to condemn “all acts of violence, no matter where they come from or who is responsible”.

I strongly condemn all acts of violence, regardless of their sources and their perpetrators […]: https://t.co/hw08zgxeDQ #PaulBiya #Cameroon pic.twitter.com/0n6ZfZKFgk

— President Paul Biya (@PR_Paul_Biya) October 1, 2017

The European Union called on all sides to be responsible and “respect the rule of law and avoid any act of violence”.

The crisis provoked by the protests, which was exacerbated at the start of 2017 when internet access was cut for three months, has intensified in recent weeks with the push to symbolically proclaim independence of the English-speaking regions.