{"id":31685,"date":"2026-04-13T12:17:50","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T10:17:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/?post_type=news&#038;p=31685"},"modified":"2026-04-13T12:17:50","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T10:17:50","slug":"cameroon-separatists-declare-three-day-ceasefire-for-pope-visit","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/cameroon-separatists-declare-three-day-ceasefire-for-pope-visit\/","title":{"rendered":"Cameroon separatists declare three-day ceasefire for Pope visit"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>A separatist alliance in Cameroon&#8217;s English-speaking regions said it would observe a three day &#8220;safe travel passage&#8221; later this week to allow \u200bcivilians and visitors to move freely during a visit by Pope \u200cLeo.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The Pope left on Monday for a tour of four African countries, Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea, aiming to urge global leaders to address the continent&#8217;s challenges.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Africa is home to \u200bmore than a fifth of the world&#8217;s Catholics.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>A simmering conflict between secessionist \u200bmilitias and government troops has killed thousands in the English-speaking west \u2060of Cameroon since 2017.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The alliance, which it said brings together the Ambazonia \u200bGoverning Council, Ambazonian Prisoners of Conscience and several separatist movements, said the arrangement \u200bwould run from April 15 to April 17 across what it described as Ambazonian territory.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The Pope is expected in the Anglophone city of Bamenda on April 16 as part of \u200bhis whirlwind 10-day tour.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>In a statement sent to\u00a0<em>Reuters,<\/em> the group said \u200bits forces had been instructed to ensure a secure environment for civilians, pilgrims, visiting dignitaries, the \u200cHoly \u2060Father and his entourage.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The alliance described the move as a humanitarian and security measure aimed at safeguarding civilian life and allowing people to participate in the visit without fear, stressing that the papal trip was spiritual in nature.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8211;Reuters&#8211;<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":21855,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[78,26],"class_list":["post-31685","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-featured","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"","published_date":"","news_description":"Pope \u200cLeo's visit to Africa","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/31685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/31685\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31686,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/31685\/revisions\/31686"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=31685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}