Drivers in one of Cameroon's restive English-speaking provinces, have been banned from driving at night for a month, as tensions run high between government forces and separatists.

Vehicles in five of the Southwest Region's six districts, are not allowed to drive on the roads between six o’clock in the evening, to six o’clock in the morning, with the exception of ambulances as well as state and police cars.

The regional governor Bernard Okalia Bilai, said the renewable ban which entered into force at the start of this month, will remain in place for 30 days.

A push for independence from the majority French-speaking country, has sparked deadly unrest in Cameroon's two anglophone provinces, home to around a fifth of the 23-million population.

The English-speaking minority in Cameroon, is a legacy of the colonial period in Africa.