Armed separatists on Friday began imposing a four-day lockdown in Cameroon’s two troubled English-speaking regions of Northwest and Southwest, to disrupt pioneer regional elections scheduled for Sunday.

The lockdown will run from Friday to Monday, according to a statement issued by separatist leaders on social media.

The streets have been deserted and all sorts of activities are not operational particularly in Northwest region.

In the region, armed separatists have issued death threats to residents if they step out of the house, according to local residents.

On Wednesday, the Cameroonian army told observer missions and reporters that it has taken necessary security measures to ensure the elections unfold without hitches in the restive regions.

The government hopes Sunday’s regional elections will help appease the separatist crisis in two English-speaking regions by accelerating decentralisation.

Armed separatists have been clashing with government forces since 2017 in a bid to create an independent nation in the Anglophone part of Cameroon.