9 minutes ago

Paul Njie,BBC Africaand

Hafsa Khalil

Anglophone separatists in Cameroon have announced a period of "safe travel passage" and halted fighting ahead of Pope Leo XIV's visit to the conflict‑hit region this week.

Leaders of several armed and secessionist groups said the three‑day measure was in recognition of the "profound spiritual importance" of the papal visit, which starts on Wednesday, and the need to safeguard civilian life.

In a statement from Unity Alliance - which brings the groups together - they said they would facilitate the movement of those celebrating the visit. The government is yet to comment.

A near-decade of violence in the English-speaking regions has left at least 6,000 dead and many more forced from their homes.

Pope Leo is currently in Algeria for a second day as part of his 11-day tour of the continent, in which he will also visit Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea.

Peace is one of the major theme's of his visit.

The pontiff arrived in Algeria on Monday, marking the first visit by any pope to the predominantly Sunni Muslim country.

It is also the birthplace of St Augustine, and Leo XIV is the first pontiff from the order to follow his teachings.

He is now in Annaba - where the saint was a bishop - and in the afternoon, is expected to celebrate Mass at the Basilica of Saint Augustine.

The Pope's second country stop is Cameroon, where he will visit Bamenda, the capital of the country's North-West region.

The city is regarded as the centre of Cameroon's conflict between Anglophone separatists and state forces.

A national dialogue organised by the government in 2019 failed to end the violence in the country's two English‑speaking regions.

Unity Alliance said the decision to pause the fighting "reflects a deliberate commitment to responsibility, restraint, and respect for human dignity, even in the context of ongoing conflict".

It added that the Pope's visit should remain "spiritual" and "pastoral" in nature, and warned against any politicisation of the event.

While the Cameroonian, francophone-dominated government has not reacted to the announcement, authorities say appropriate measures had been taken to ensure security in cities scheduled to host the Pope.

Pope Leo's visit to Bamenda is seen as a symbolic effort by the Catholic Church to promote peace and reconciliation. He is expected to hold a meeting for peace in the city's Saint Joseph's Cathedral.

Officials said all sites to be attended by the Pope will be free of charge for visitors.

Pope Leo's wide-ranging tour will include stops in 11 cities across the four countries. It is his second major foreign visit since being elected to the papacy last year, and reflects the importance of Catholicism in Africa.

More than a fifth of the world's Catholics are in Africa, some 288 million people, according to figures from 2024.