Cameroon’s government on Thursday said it had restored internet to its restive Anglophone region, three months after cutting it.

“It seems that the conditions that preceded the suspension of the internet to that part of the national territory have much changed,” Communications Minister Issa Tchiroma said in a statement.

“The head of state therefore instructs the [communications] minister … to re-establish internet connections in the northwest and southwest regions.” He further said.

As part of its response to protests and strikes, the government last month cut off the internet connection to the two Anglophone regions; Beau and Bamenda.

Rights activists in the regions say the protests and strikes were as a response to the government ignoring and discrimination and other grievances for many years and the situation has been getting worse

Over 100 people were arrested and one person killed in November last year in the north-western town of Bamenda, following days of violent protests over the alleged discrimination against minority English-speaking people.

The shutdown according to ‘The Internet Without Borders’ group cost businesses in the affected areas an estimated 44,000,000 CFA Francs, which translated to $723,000 or 675,000 euros. The group has been at the forefront of calls for the net ‘as a matter of urgency’, Africanews reports.