Anglophone protest in cameroon as internet remains cut
A second day of "ghost town" protests has been called for Cameroon's English-speaking regions in the Northwest and Southwest of the country amid a continuing internet blackout there.
Today's ghost town action left cities such as Bamenda and Buea deserted, local TV reported. Shops and businesses were shut and schools did not open.
Activists are tweeting under the hashtag #BringBackOurInternet after services were cut last week. Business owners say it is hurting the local economy.
The government has not commented on the blackout but the communications minister warned in November that such a measure was possible to stop people spreading anti-government messages,
Meanwhile the authorities have been sending out text messages warning that people found spreading such messages could face punishment.
Also last week, the government banned two Anglophone pressure groups, the Southern Cameroons National Council and the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium (CACSC), QZ reported.
Two consortium leaders, Nkongho Felix Agbor and Fontem Neba, were arrested in Buea and taken to the capital Yaounde.
Protests over proposals to use French in schools and courtrooms in English-speaking regions have been ongoing for months.
English speakers have long complained of discrimination in Cameroon.
They say they are often excluded from top civil service jobs and that many government documents are published only in French, even though English is an official language.
The discontent has intensified to the point where some observers say civil conflict could erupt:
Cameroon was colonised by Germany in the 19th Century and then split into British and French areas after World War One.
Later, areas controlled by Britain and France joined to form Cameroon after the colonial powers withdrew in the 1960s.
