A look at Cameroon’s language divide

English speakers in Cameroon are demanding an end to what they say is discrimination by the French-speaking majority.

In Cameroon, there is an English and French-speaking part of the country. The division started when the English-speaking Southern Cameroonians said they were not represented in or respected by the French-speaking government. Southern Cameroonians have been calling for independence, so they can create their own country, a place they call Ambazonia.

The government responded with a crackdown on the internet, travel, and continued raids on northwest and southwest parts of the country. It is unclear just how many people have died so far. In the last year though, the situation keeps getting worse.

Just last week, Nigeria extradited 47 Cameroonian Anglophone separatists. They have now been sent back to Cameroon, where the government has described them as “terrorists”. Among them was Ayuk Tabe, the president of the interim Southern Cameroons government. Southern Cameroonians are demanding his release, and want to know if the other separatists are still alive.

Al Jazeera’s Leah Harding explains.