At Least Eight Killed in English-Speaking Cameroon Protests
- Protesters in Anglophone regions demand independence
- Security forces maintain heavy presence near state buildings
Cameroon police officials with riot equipment patrol along a street in the administrative quarter of Buea some 60kms west of Douala on October 1, 2017. A young man from Cameroon's English-speaking region was shot dead by security forces in the city of Kumba on the eve of an expected symbolic declaration of independence by anglophone separatists, medical and security forces told AFP. / AFP PHOTO / STRINGER (Photo credit should read STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images)
Source: AFP via Getty ImagesAt least eight people were killed during protests in towns across western Cameroon on Sunday as residents of the mainly English-speaking regions defied a ban on public gatherings and demanded independence from the rest of the largely Francophone nation.
The protests in the Southwest and Northwest regions have been called by a group known as Southern Cameroon/Ambazonia Governing Council. Four demonstrators were shot dead in the northwestern town of Kumbo as they marched to government buildings to hoist the blue and white Ambazonia flag, Mayor Donatus Njong Fonyuy said by phone.