At least nine soldiers were killed in weekend clashes in Cameroon as armed separatists sought to impose a month-long lockdown in the country’s war-torn English-speaking regions of Northwest and Southwest, according to security sources.

Separatist leaders said on social media that the lockdown, which began on Monday, was intended to disrupt the reopening of schools in the regions and the country’s presidential election scheduled for October.

Residents of Bamenda, the capital of the Northwest Region, said the situation in the city is tense.

“There is nobody on the streets. The streets are all deserted. Places are closed and almost all activities are not operational. People are just afraid because of the lockdown,” a resident of the city, who asked not to be named, said.

Additional troops have been deployed to the region where they conduct night and day patrols, a security source said. On Sunday, officials in the regions assured residents of “tight security” and urged them to go about their activities normally.

Separatists have been clashing with government forces since 2017 in a bid to create an independent nation they call “The Federal Republic of Ambazonia.”

Source: Xinhuanet