Yaoundé (AFP) – Cameroon’s restive anglophone regions were in lockdown on Monday as separatists marked the first anniversary of a symbolic “independence” declaration just a week before a nationwide presidential poll. A 48-hour curfew was imposed on English-speaking towns in the regions which have been rocked by deadly clashes sparked by the majority francophone country’s sensitive linguistic divide. Gunfire was reported on Monday in three built-up areas of flashpoint town Buea in the country’s southwest which has been at the heart of the nascent insurgency.
