In January, negotiations between the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium and the Government broke down after further reports of police abuses on demonstrators. The Consortium called for another widespread strike and revival of Operation Ghost Town in Anglophone-majority regions. The Government responded by shutting down the internet, banning the Consortium, and arresting its leaders.
A wave of demonstrations and violent clashes with governmental security forces led to concentrated calls for independence by separatist groups. Between October 2016 and February 2017, at least nine people were killed in violent clashes. The Cameroonian government claimed that it arrested 82 people, but the SDF opposition party claimed that 150 people were arrested, including journalists, lawyers, and Anglophone politicians.
In October, on the anniversary of the 1961 unification, separatists led by Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe claimed independence of Anglophone-majority regions. Violent clashes between protestors and governmental security forces resulted in more than 20 protestors shot and more than 500 people arrested.
Separatist armed groups emerged and enacted violence on governmental security forces and civilians. One of the most prominent, the Ambazonia Defence Forces (ADF), was accused of committing crimes against humanity.