Sawt Falasteen - Pope to urge peace in Cameroon's conflict zone

The pontiff is to meet Cameroonian President Paul Biya at the start of his four-day visit to the mainly French-speaking country, before heading to a conflict zone where English-speaking separatists have been fighting the army for nearly a decade.

The planned private meeting at 3:20 pm (1420 GMT) with 93-year-old Biya, the world's oldest head of state, has split Catholics in the central Africa country, who are estimated to account for around a third of the population.

Clergy members have voiced fears it will enable Biya to burnish his image, six months after protests against his disputed re-election were violently suppressed.

Biya, who has been in power since 1982, is now on his eighth consecutive term.

On Thursday, the 70-year-old pope makes a high-security trip to Bamenda, the epicentre of the separatist insurgency, where he will pray for peace before 20,000 worshippers.

The origins of the Anglophone Crisis date back to the 1970s, when French- and English-speaking parts of Cameroon merged and the Anglophone minority began to fear the loss of its distinctive legal and cultural practices.

A brutal crackdown on protests there in 2016 lead to a full-blown conflict between the army and English-speaking separatists that has yet to be resolved.

The violence had caused more than 6,000 deaths by 2024, according to rights NGOs.

- 'Blessed are the peacemakers' -

Leo began his historic visit to Africa in Algeria on Monday, where he visited the birthplace of Christian theologian Saint Augustine and celebrated mass at a basilica that draws 18,000 pilgrims each year, including Muslims and Jews.

He urged Algeria's Christians to "bear witness to the Gospel through simple gestures, genuine relationships and a dialogue lived out day by day".

His stay was marred by twin suicide attacks in the city of Blida.

Authorities have yet to comment but an informed source confirmed the bombings, which were not presumed related to the pontiff's presence in the mainly Muslim country.

No deaths have been confirmed, other than those of the bombers.

Leo's first international tour initially risked being overshadowed by insults from US President Donald Trump.

Trump said he was "not a big fan" of the pope after the American pontiff called for peace in the Middle East.

US Vice President JD Vance weighed in, urging the Vatican to "stick to matters of morality... and let the president of the United States stick to dictating American public policy".

Leo brushed the jibes aside, telling reporters on the papal plane: "The Gospel says... blessed are the peacemakers."

"I have no fear, neither of the Trump administration, nor speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel," he continued.

Leo's visit to Cameroon is the fourth by a pope to the multi-confessional country, nicknamed mini-Africa due to its plethora of ethnic groups.

The capital, Yaounde, has been festooned with banners and flags in his honour.

On Friday, Leo will hold mass for hundreds of thousands in a stadium in the economic capital Douala

Pope Leo leaves Cameroon for Angola on Saturday.

Q.Najjar--SF-PST