DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Amnesty International says several people have been shot dead by security forces during protests in Cameroon.

The group said Monday that some demonstrations turned violent in Cameroon's English-speaking regions Sunday when people gathered on the 56th anniversary of the incorporation of those regions.

Amnesty also expressed worry over the government's "on-going campaign to silence any form of dissent in the West and South-West regions of Cameroon." The Northwest province on Friday banned meetings and travel for 72 hours.

The rights group called on security forces to cease unnecessary violence and called on protesters to be peaceful.

Cameroon has areas that were colonies of France and Britain until the early 1960s. The West African country's English-speaking population started protests last year against charging discrimination by the majority French-speaking population.