Why was the internet blocked in Cameroon?

It seems that this is becoming a fashion in some African countries, after the DRC government asked telecommunications companies to block social networks, there were also reports that the Kenya plans to shut down Internet on Election Day.

Now what happened was in Cameroon, recently the country turned off the Internet in some regions, in this cut, only English speaking parts of the country were affected. The two affected regions are the Southwest and the Northwest, where there have been many protests against the government in recent times.

Users received a warning from the government the day before Internet services were cut, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications issued a statement in which it warned social network users of criminal sanctions if “transmit or disseminate information, including through electronic communications or information technology systems, without any evidence".

 The statement also confirmed that authorities had sent text messages directly to cell phone subscribers, notifying them of sanctions, including lengthy prison terms, for “spreading false news” through social media.

Unfortunately so far there has been no official comment on the internet since then (or any credible reports of technical flaws) leading many to conclude that blocking services in some locations is part of the government's attempts to crack down on dissent.

What do mobile companies say about it?

At the time of the events, some Cameroonians criticized or blamed the mobile phone companies that provide the services that many access the Internet with.

But as we know, these companies may not have been able to avoid disruption, since they all rely on fiber optic infrastructure provided by a state company, but neither have they publicly object to the disruption of their services.

Some users say that they have since received messages regarding the subject with the following message: “circumstances beyond our control".

The largest provider, MTN Cameroon, denied violating the client's privacy by sending the ministry's warning texts and added that all its services remained accessible. That was on 15 in January and has not commented since.