John Fru Ndi, Cameroon’s main opposition leader, has told the BBC that at least 30 people have died in clashes with security forces that started on Sunday.
Tear gas and live bullets were reportedly used by security forces deployed to the country’s two English-speaking regions, where separatists are calling for independence.
At least 50 people were wounded and about 200 arrested.
Today people in the North-West and South-West regions have continued to demonstrate despite a government curb on travel and public gatherings.
There is also a heavy police and military presence in the regions.
In Bamenda, in the North-West, a stand-off is reported between youths gathered at a petrol station and riot police who have been firing tear gas canisters at them.
In a message in English and in French posted on social media on Sunday, President Paul Biya condemned the violence and called for dialogue.
Anglophone separatists chose 1 October, the anniversary of the unification of French-speaking and English-speaking parts of Cameroon in 1961, as the date to declare the independence of the two Anglophone provinces under the country name Ambazonia.
One in five of the 22 million people in the central African country speak English, with many of them complaining of discrimination, especially in the fields of justice and education.
Source: BBC
