At least three persons were reported dead in Bamenda on Friday following a tense evening that witnessed serious shootings between security forces and armed fighters.

Eye witnesses say a taxi driver and his passenger were  shot dead in Nkwen by security forces who took them for separatists after they failed to stop when ordered to do so.

This was just part of the tensions that unfolded in Bamenda as gunmen entred the town and blocked parts of the roads making it difficult for residents to return to their houses. Residents equally talk of heavy gun shots in Bambui.

A police officer  Alain Romeo Tchakunte Tchounte is said to have been killed around Hospital Roundabout following the clashes between the separatist fighters and Cameroon security forces.

The situation forced business persons to shut shop before 6pm as many persons fled the streets to their houses for safety while many other were stranded in town.

A resident told journalducameroun.com that they was forced to trek several kilometres in the bushes to reach Bambili after they met road blocks erected by armed men which forced several taxi drivers as well as bike riders to make a U-turn.

Sounds of gun shots were repeatedly heard through the night as residents got up to a very uncertain morning on Saturday though most of the road blocks had been cleared by security forces.