YAOUNDE, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Security forces have been deployed in Cameroon's two troubled English-speaking regions of Northwest and Southwest to ensure security before the country's general elections scheduled for February, a senior army officer said on Tuesday.
Legion Commander, Colonel Henry Nchinda, told reporters in Buea, chief town of Southwest, that the security forces will be deployed to "all parts" of the regions to ensure hitch-free elections.
He was speaking after a contingent of 350 gendarmes arrived in Southwest.
"These elements are here to do everything so that the elections will be held in safe conditions", Nchinda said.
Parliamentary and municipal elections will take place in Cameroon on Feb. 9 amid threats by separatists. On Friday, separatist leaders said they will be imposing a six-day lockdown from Feb. 7 to 12 in the regions in a bid to stop the elections from taking place.
Fighting between government forces and armed separatist groups has been going on since 2017 after the separatists declared the independence of a nation called "Ambazonia" in the two English-speaking regions.
