Ghost Towns Grip Cameroon: Separatists Tighten Movement Restrictions in Anglophone Regions

By iNewsAfrica News Desk | September 17, 2025

The streets of Cameroon’s English-speaking regions have once again fallen eerily silent. From Buea in the Southwest to Bamenda in the Northwest, businesses remain shuttered, schools closed, and residents confined indoors as separatist fighters enforce strict “ghost town” orders.

The lockdowns, imposed by armed separatists seeking to establish an independent state known as Ambazonia, are disrupting everyday life, choking commerce, and stifling education in a region already battered by years of conflict. Markets that once buzzed with activity are deserted, and children who had just begun returning to classrooms now face another round of forced interruptions.

“These restrictions are more than symbolic — they are a stark reminder of the power struggle between separatist forces and the Cameroonian state,” said a local observer.

The separatists’ strategy of halting movement on designated days — sometimes extending for weeks — serves both as a show of control and as a tool to undermine government authority. Residents, however, bear the heaviest cost: food shortages, health service delays, and economic losses that deepen the hardship of already vulnerable communities.

The ghost town tactic has become a defining feature of the ongoing Anglophone crisis that erupted in 2017, when grievances over marginalization escalated into armed conflict. Today, with presidential elections looming, fears are mounting that separatists will intensify restrictions, using lockdowns to signal rejection of the state’s political process.

Despite government security operations, restoring normalcy has proven elusive. Civilians caught between separatist threats and military patrols say they are living under constant uncertainty. Human rights groups warn of long-term consequences, particularly for children whose education continues to be derailed by the conflict.

For now, the ghost towns remain a chilling metaphor — and lived reality — of a nation divided.

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