Eight people were shot dead during independence protests in the English-speaking parts of Cameroon.
Rallies were held on the 56th anniversary of the incorporation of the regions into Cameroon.
The mayor of the town of Kumbo said that five of the dead were prisoners shot after a jail caught fire.
BBC reports that activists had called for the release of prisoners who had been arrested in a series of protests over the last year.
The divisions in the central African state date back to the post-colonial settlement.
Cameroon was colonised by Germany and then split into British and French areas after World War One.
The country was unified in 1961 – but English-speakers accuse the Francophone majority of discrimination.
The mayor of Kumbo, Donatus Njong Fonyuy, told the BBC the flag of a secessionist movement had been put up in symbolic places in the town.
There were several other demonstrations in other parts of English-speaking Cameroon.
Demonstrators made a symbolic proclamation of independence as part of their protest, AFP news agency reported.
Counter-demonstrations in support of the government and a unified Cameroon also took place in the city of Douala.
