Sawt Falasteen - Pope to visit Cameroon conflict zone under high security

Following two days in Algeria marred by two suicide attacks and a spat with US President Donald Trump, Leo will travel under high security to a conflict zone where English-speaking separatists have been fighting the regular army.

Leo's speech and mass on Thursday before an expected 20,000 worshippers in the city of Bamenda, the epicentre of the insurgency, has been keenly anticipated by locals hoping for an end to the fighting.

"The pope's visit will soften the hearts of the extremists so that we can find common ground... and reach a peaceful solution," Archbishop of Bamenda Andrew Nkea said.

Singing crowds had already greeted the US-born pontiff on arrival in the central African country on Wednesday, despite fears from some Cameroonian Catholics that the visit could help longtime President Paul Biya burnish his image.

Leo's trip, the fourth to Cameroon by a pope and the first since Pope Benedict XVI's in 2009, comes six months after the authorities violently put down protests against the 93-year-old leader's disputed re-election for a fourth term.

Speaking alongside Biya -- the world's oldest head of state -- Leo on Wednesday called for an end to the separatist conflict and urged Cameroon's leaders to root out abuses carried out in the name of order.

"Security is a priority, but it must always be exercised with respect for human rights," he said in an uncharacteristically pointed speech at the presidential palace within Biya's earshot.

- 'No fear' -

The anglophone conflict erupted in 2017 after protests launched the year prior against the French-speaking majority's tightening grip were suppressed by the authorities.

The crackdown led to a full-blown rift between the army and English-speaking insurgents that rights groups say killed more than 6,000 people by 2024.

Separatist fighters declared a Republic of Ambazonia in the two anglophone regions, which account for around a fifth of the population.

On Monday, separatist groups announced a three-day truce in the two regions to allow for a safe welcome of the pontiff.

"As the pope puts his feet on the soil of Bamenda, we should have peace. All the killing, the kidnapping should stop," Giovanni Mbuna, 36, who was abducted by separatists in 2023, told AFP.

After his Bamenda trip, Leo will hold mass for hundreds of thousands in a stadium in the economic capital Douala on Friday, before leaving Cameroon for Angola on Saturday.

Leo's first major international tour initially risked being overshadowed by Trump's remarks that he was "not a big fan" of the pope after Leo called for peace in the Middle East.

US Vice President JD Vance -- a Catholic himself -- also weighed in, urging the Vatican to "stick to matters of morality".

Leo brushed the jibes aside.

"I have no fear, neither of the Trump administration, nor speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel," he told reporters aboard the papal plane on Monday.

K.AbuTaha--SF-PST