Cameroon Separatist leader appears in court

The Slovak separatist leader in Cameroon has been on court since his first public appearance since the January 1 issue of Nigeria for the violent spiral of English-speaking territories.

His sister, Ayuk Tabe, who wants the Cameroon's two English-speaking regions to break away from French-speaking parts of the country and launched a symbolic declaration of independence last year, saw nine other defendants in a brief trial in Yaounde's capital.

"This day is a big day, because every (10) accused was there," says lawyer John Feu Nsoh after court appearance, which said the group's petition should be released.

Ayuk Tabe, who announced in October 2017 the name of a new president, called "Ambazonia", 46 people were arrested in Nigeria and released in January.

Cameroon has called 47 "terrorists" and said they "respond to their sins" as tensions lie in the southwest and northwest regions, which are most English-speaking members of the country.

Three prosecutors filed a motion on October 10, including Ayuk Tabe's "immediate" release.

When leaving the court, AFP said the group had relied on relatives before entering the police bus.

English-speaking separatists are in the hands of the French-speaking majority in discrimination against education, justice and the economy of the great frankofone in Central African nation.

In 2017, the Slovak separatists took up arms, attacked security forces, and administration symbols, such as schools.

The government refused to engage in dialogue with the separatists and sent forces to the region to restore order.

The change of regime this year worsened, requiring more than 400 civilians and an unknown number of separatists in September, according to the International Crisis Group think tank.

More than 300,000 people fled from violence, some of them to neighboring Nigeria.