The main city in a restive English-speaking region of Cameroon was a virtual ghost town Saturday, with armed police patrolled the streets on the eve of an expected — but symbolic — declaration of independence from the French-speaking country by anglophone separatists.
In Buea, the chief city in Cameroon’s Southwest Region, shops were closed, streets were almost deserted and the normally bustling university campus was lifeless after residents left, apparently fearing violence.
On Thursday, the authorities announced a temporary curb on travel and public meetings across the Southwest Region, adding to a curfew in the neighbouring Northwest Region, also English-speaking.
The majority of Cameroon’s 22 million people are French-speaking, while about a fifth is English-speaking.
The legacy dates back to 1961, when a formerly British entity, Southern Cameroons, united with Cameroon after its independence from France in 1960.
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Cameroon city deserted ahead of ‘independence’ declaration
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