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As Sudan enters its fourth year of brutal internal conflict between the national military and the Rapid Support Forces, a harrowing portrait of widespread human suffering and systemic collapse has emerged, one that has largely been sidelined by global headlines of other crises. What started as a clash between the two rival power centers in April 2023 has spiraled into one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters, leaving millions grappling with starvation, displacement, and persistent violence against innocent civilians. Both warring factions have faced widespread allegations of gross human rights violations, including ethnic cleansing, extrajudicial executions, and widespread sexual violence targeting civilian populations. To fully grasp the scale of the catastrophe, a data-driven breakdown reveals the staggering impact of 36 months of uninterrupted fighting.

The human cost of the conflict starts with a death toll that continues to climb, even as full access to conflict zones remains blocked. Conflict tracking organization ACLED has documented at least 59,000 confirmed fatalities since the war began, but humanitarian aid organizations warn the actual number is far higher. With much of Sudan’s vast territory cut off from independent monitors, thousands of unrecorded deaths from violence, starvation, and preventable disease have likely gone uncounted.

The displacement crisis triggered by the war is one of the largest the world has seen in decades. Roughly 4.5 million Sudanese have fled across international borders, seeking refuge in neighboring countries including Egypt, South Sudan, Libya, and Chad. Another 9 million remain displaced within Sudan’s own borders, crammed into overcrowded makeshift shelters or abandoned public buildings with little access to basic necessities.

Hunger has emerged as one of the conflict’s deadliest weapons, according to global food security experts. The United Nations World Food Program reports that more than 19 million Sudanese are currently facing acute food insecurity, a figure that has pushed millions to the brink of famine. The crisis has been exacerbated by spillover from the escalating conflict in the Middle East, which has driven a 24% spike in fuel prices across Sudan, crippling supply chains for food and humanitarian aid and making it even harder to reach vulnerable communities. Even community-run kitchens that once acted as a lifeline for millions of hungry Sudanese have been forced to shut down: Islamic Relief reports that 354 of these facilities have closed in just the last six months, leaving millions without their primary source of daily meals.

Children have borne a disproportionate share of the war’s harm, UNICEF data confirms. More than 4,300 children have been killed or maimed by violence since the conflict began, and at least 8 million children are currently out of school. Roughly 11% of all schools in Sudan are now occupied by warring factions or repurposed as emergency shelters for displaced families, robbing an entire generation of access to education.

Sudan’s once-functional public health system has also been torn apart by fighting. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed that only 63% of the country’s health facilities are still fully or partially operational. Since the war began, the WHO has verified 217 deliberate attacks on hospitals and health care centers, targeting critical infrastructure that civilians depend on for survival. Even as the humanitarian situation deteriorates, ACLED data shows that air and drone strikes have intensified over the past year, killing 1,032 civilians in 2025 alone as these strikes increasingly target populated areas.

With the war showing no sign of ending and global attention focused elsewhere, Sudanese officials have described the crisis as a “forgotten” or “abandoned” catastrophe, with millions of civilians left to suffer without sufficient international support or intervention to end the conflict.

As Sudan entered the fourth year of its devastating civil conflict on Wednesday, the country’s catastrophic humanitarian collapse has been sidelined by rising tensions in the Middle East, leaving millions of Sudanese in a state of unaddressed catastrophe that top United Nations officials have labeled an “abandoned crisis.”

What began as a 2023 power struggle between two rival military factions — Sudan’s official national military led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commanded by Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo — has since shattered the East African nation, displacing 13 million people from their homes and creating what aid organizations call the world’s most severe humanitarian emergency. Three years of continuous combat have left large swathes of the vast Darfur region in ruins, with no diplomatic breakthrough on the horizon to end the fighting.

International attention and diplomatic resources have shifted sharply away from Sudan following the outbreak of new open conflict in the Middle East, leaving existing ceasefire efforts led by the United States and regional powers dead in the water. Mounting evidence confirms that multiple regional powers continue to back opposing factions from behind the scenes, prolonging the bloodshed with no accountability. UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher summarized the global failure in a stark statement: “This grim and chastening anniversary marks another year when the world has failed to meet the test of Sudan.”

### A Catastrophe Measured in Human Cost
The human toll of Sudan’s war is staggering. Official counts record at least 59,000 people killed, with a single three-day RSF offensive on the Darfur city of el-Fasher last October leaving an estimated 6,000 people dead. UN-backed independent experts have concluded that this operation carried all the defining characteristics of genocide. The International Criminal Court is currently conducting active investigations into potential war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide in Darfur, a region that first became synonymous with mass atrocities two decades ago.

Widespread starvation is now a daily reality across large parts of the country, with the conflict pushing multiple regions into outright famine. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, the global leading authority on food insecurity, projected in February that the number of Sudanese suffering from severe acute malnutrition — the deadliest form of hunger — will rise to 800,000 by the end of 2025. Overall, the UN estimates that 34 million Sudanese — nearly two-thirds of the entire population — require urgent life-saving humanitarian assistance. The World Health Organization reports that less than two-thirds of the country’s health facilities remain even partially operational, while cholera and other preventable diseases spread rapidly across unassessed communities.

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has only exacerbated Sudan’s crisis: fuel prices across the country have spiked by more than 24% in recent months, driven by regional shipping disruptions tied to Middle East tensions, which have in turn pushed already sky-high food prices even higher out of reach for most families.

Denise Brown, the UN’s top humanitarian official based in Sudan, issued a searing rebuke of global inaction earlier this week. “A plea from me: Please don’t call this the forgotten crisis. I’m referring to this as an abandoned crisis,” she said, emphasizing that international neglect is a deliberate choice that prolongs the suffering of the Sudanese people.

### The Origins and Risk of Regional Spillover
The current war grew out of a fractured democratic transition that followed the 2019 popular uprising that ousted longtime authoritarian ruler Omar al-Bashir. After Bashir’s removal, Burhan and Dagalo shared power on a transitional ruling council, but long-simmering tensions over military integration and political control boiled over into open civil war in April 2023. Today, Sudan is effectively split into two competing blocs: the internationally recognized military-backed government centered in the capital Khartoum, and the RSF’s rival administration that controls most of Darfur and parts of the Kordofan region along the South Sudan border.

Neither faction is positioned to win a decisive military victory, according to Sudanese journalist and researcher Shamel Elnoor, who added that the Sudanese people “have become powerless and are subjected to foreign dictates.” The military currently holds control over northern, eastern, and central Sudan, including critical Red Sea shipping ports, national oil refineries, and key pipeline infrastructure. The RSF and its allied militias hold Darfur and most of Kordofan, regions that hold the majority of Sudan’s valuable gold mines and remaining untapped oil reserves.

Regional states have openly backed opposing sides, prolonging the conflict. Egypt has publicly supported the Sudanese military, while UN experts and human rights organizations have repeatedly accused the United Arab Emirates of supplying arms to the RSF — an accusation the UAE has repeatedly denied. Earlier this month, the Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab, which tracks the conflict via satellite imagery, documented that the RSF has received consistent military support from a base inside neighboring Ethiopia. The RSF has not issued any public response to the allegation.

Josef Tucker, senior Horn of Africa analyst at the International Crisis Group, warned that the risk of the conflict spreading across Sudan’s national borders is growing, which would make the already intractable war even more difficult to resolve.

### Widespread Atrocities Continue Unchecked
Three years of combat have seen mass atrocities become routine across Sudan, including systematic mass killings, widespread sexual violence including gang rapes, and deliberate attacks on civilian infrastructure. The World Health Organization confirms that more than 2,000 medical workers, patients, and first responders have been killed in targeted attacks on hospitals and ambulances across the country.

Most of the documented atrocities have been attributed to the RSF and its allied Janjaweed militias, the same Arab militias that carried out mass genocide in Darfur in the early 2000s. The modern RSF grew directly out of the original Janjaweed, and experts warn that the pattern of atrocities targeting non-Arab communities in Darfur has remained consistent for decades.

Brown, the UN’s Sudan envoy, warned that there is no sign the mass killing will slow. “We have … no reason at all to believe it will stop the mass atrocities that we saw in el-Fasher,” she said.

While the Sudanese military’s 2025 recapture of Khartoum and other central urban areas allowed roughly 4 million displaced people to return to their home regions, those returns have not brought peace or normalcy. Tjada D’Oyen McKenna, CEO of international aid group Mercy Corps, explained that “It’s not really a return to normal. It is trying to survive amidst a new normal” — a reality defined by destroyed infrastructure, collapsed basic services, and persistent economic instability.

In the violence-scarred city of Bamenda, the epicenter of Cameroon’s years-long Anglophone separatist conflict, 52-year-old nurse and mother of six Caro Bih carries a lifetime of trauma that has become all too common for residents of the country’s restive western regions. Once kidnapped, chained, and held for ransom by separatist fighters, Bih has lost multiple relatives to killing, imprisonment, and abduction. Her family home has been burned to the ground, a stroke she suffered while fleeing repeated violence has gone untreated due to conflict-related financial collapse, and her children’s once-bright dreams of professional futures have been cut short by poverty and instability. Today, her only hope for lasting change rests on the arrival of Pope Leo XIV, who is set to visit Cameroon this week as part of a four-nation African tour.

Millions of Cameroonians are awaiting the pope’s Wednesday arrival, which comes at a fragile turning point for the Central African nation. Just months prior, a deeply disputed presidential election that extended the 40-plus-year rule of 93-year-old Paul Biya, the world’s oldest sitting head of state, left dozens dead and deepened existing divisions across the country. The papal visit, centered on a public call for national reconciliation, will shine a long-overdue global spotlight on the separatist conflict that has torn through Cameroon’s two Anglophone regions since 2017, when fighters launched a rebellion seeking an independent state separate from the country’s Francophone-dominated government. The conflict, widely labeled by humanitarian organizations as one of the world’s most neglected crises, has already claimed thousands of lives and displaced hundreds of thousands. In a significant gesture to clear the way for the visit, separatist leaders announced Tuesday a three-day ceasefire to ensure safe passage for the pope, civilians, and visiting dignitaries.

During his time in Cameroon, the pope will preside over a peace gathering with local community leaders in Bamenda on Thursday, followed by a public Mass at the city’s airport. Cameroonian government officials have framed the visit as a historic opportunity to foster national unity across the country’s long-running ethnic and linguistic divides. But outside observers and opposition activists have raised sharp concerns that the Biya administration, which has been repeatedly accused of human rights abuses during the conflict and has rejected meaningful dialogue with separatist groups, will seek to exploit the papal visit to gain international legitimacy.

Benjamin Akih, a U.S.-based Cameroonian activist with the civil society group Council for the Sovereignty of Cameroon, warned that the pope must avoid letting the regime use his visit to distract from deep-rooted historical injustices with empty calls for unity. Eric Chinje, head of the diaspora-based democracy organization Project Cameroon, echoed that skepticism, noting the visit likely aligns more with the pope’s global evangelical mission than with tangible efforts to resolve Cameroon’s political crisis. He added that the pope is unlikely to publicly rebuke Biya, who has clung to power for decades through contested elections and authoritarian rule. This skepticism comes amid a recent controversial move by Cameroon’s parliament, which revived the country’s vice presidency, granting the aging Biya sweeping power to appoint his own successor, further consolidating his control over the state.

For many clergy and ordinary residents who have endured years of violence, however, the visit remains a source of cautious hope. Catholic priests have been repeatedly targeted by both sides of the conflict: in November, Rev. John Berinyuy Tatah was kidnapped alongside five fellow clergy by separatists and held for two weeks in remote bushland cut off from all outside contact. Despite his own trauma, Tatah, who plans to attend the pope’s Mass, said he believes the pontiff’s visit will plant a seed of reconciliation that can grow to heal the country if nurtured. “The cry of every Cameroonian is for the pope to help us mediate for dialogue in the ongoing crisis,” he said.

Beyond the Anglophone separatist conflict, Cameroon also faces persistent attacks from Boko Haram extremists operating across its northern border with Nigeria, compounding the country’s humanitarian crisis. According to the United Nations World Food Programme, more than 3.3 million Cameroonians impacted by conflict currently face acute food insecurity, with many families forced to skip meals, sell their only livestock, or take on crippling debt to survive.

Yeeika Desmond Nangsinyuy, a Bamenda-based spoken-word artist who has used his work to advocate for peace, was abducted by separatists in 2024 and ordered to stop his anti-violence performances. He refused to end his work, and now says he hopes the pope will center the pain of families torn apart by years of fighting. “My hope is that the pope touches the soft spot of our collective wounds,” he said. “I want him to speak directly to the pain of families torn apart by conflict, and to inspire renewed hope that peace is possible.”

For Caro Bih, that hope is deeply personal. Her family’s total monthly income, from the small vegetable plot she tends and sells from and the odd jobs her older children take to get by, amounts to roughly $53, barely enough to cover basic food needs. Only two of her six children remain in school; 9-year-old Lydiane, who dreamed of becoming an accountant, dropped out to help care for her younger siblings, and Bih’s husband, a former Catholic missionary teacher, was forced to abandon his job due to persistent insecurity. Bih herself abandoned stroke medication and physiotherapy in 2024 to save money for her family, relying instead on cheap herbal remedies to manage her symptoms. “I had dreamt of seeing my children become doctors, magistrates and so on,” she said quietly. “Now their future is uncertain.” But like millions of other conflict-weary Cameroonians, she says she believes the pope’s visit will mark a turning point. “We believe he will be a turning point,” she said.

This reporting is supported by the Gates Foundation as part of AP News’ global health and development coverage in Africa, with the AP retaining full editorial control over all content.

On April 15, 2026, Sudan’s devastating civil war marks the end of its third year and slides into a fourth year of unrelenting violence – a milestone that survivor and journalist-academic Mohamed Suleiman says is a damning indictment of global failure to end the crisis.

Suleiman’s journey to safety in the coastal city of Port Sudan, which he completed in January 2026 after a two-month trek through Chad, ended three years of entrapment in el-Fasher, the capital of Sudan’s western Darfur region. For 18 of those years, el-Fasher was held under a brutal tight siege by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary group that has been locked in a power struggle with Sudan’s regular army since the war first erupted in Khartoum in April 2023. Cut off from all outside contact by a total communications blackout, Suleiman found himself unable to share the full horror of what he watched unfold on the city’s streets.

It was only when he stepped into a Port Sudan telecom office in January that he reconnected to the digital world, a moment that brought immediate, overwhelming tears. “Throughout the past three years, my phone was silent. After I inserted the SIM card, my tears flowed,” he told the BBC. Three years of unread messages flooded his device, each one a record of staggering loss: updates of colleagues killed in the violence, desperate pleas from friends begging for confirmation he was still alive. He recalled one caller who refused to believe he had survived until they spoke via video call, breaking down in tears when the connection confirmed Suleiman was alive.

For Suleiman, the silence of the blackout was nearly as deadly as the open violence of the war. “It was a suffocating feeling because I was watching systematic killings through drone strikes and bombs or deadly killing through the tight siege” imposed by the RSF, he said. When the RSF finally seized full control of el-Fasher in October 2025, he described the scene as nothing less than “the Day of Judgment on Earth.”

The fall of el-Fasher stands as one of the war’s most brutal chapters. The conflict, sparked by a falling-out between the army and its former ally the RSF, quickly spread from Khartoum across the country, with Darfur emerging as the epicenter of some of the worst violence. As the war enters its fourth year, Sudan has been effectively partitioned into separate territories held by the two warring parties. More than 12 million Sudanese have been displaced, creating the world’s worst active humanitarian crisis, with millions scattered across refugee camps inside the country and across neighboring borders.

Civilians trapped in el-Fasher during the siege endured unthinkable conditions: a UN-backed food monitor officially declared famine in the city as food and water supplies dwindled to nothing. When the RSF advanced to take full control of the city, the chaotic escape attempt that followed left dead children abandoned in streets, and starving women too weak to carry their own children forced to leave them by the roadside. “You cannot do anything. So you step over them, jump over them, cry, and continue walking,” Suleiman recounted.

Countless dead and injured were left abandoned along the road to the nearby safe haven of Tawila, a tragedy Suleiman says could have been mitigated if only trapped residents had been able to call for outside help. He argues the full scale of what unfolded in el-Fasher remains unknown to the global public and even to Sudan’s transitional government, because the communications blackout and danger faced by journalists prevented any accurate, widespread reporting from the city.

Both warring sides have been accused of systematic war crimes, including mass civilian casualties from airstrikes and drone attacks. The RSF has acknowledged that isolated individual violations took place during the takeover of el-Fasher but claims these are under investigation and argues that the scale of atrocities has been exaggerated by its political opponents.

Communications infrastructure in el-Fasher collapsed almost immediately after the war began, damaged by fighting and crippled by fuel shortages that cut power to the entire city. The blackout was solidified once the RSF laid full siege to the city in May 2024. A small number of residents managed to smuggle in Starlink satellite internet devices, but the hardware was prohibitively expensive, restricted by the army when it controlled the city, and immediately confiscated by the RSF if discovered. Journalists who managed to access satellite connections faced deadly accusations of espionage from both sides: the RSF claimed users worked for foreign security agencies, while the army accused journalists of acting as enemy target spotters to direct artillery fire. These risks silenced most attempts to get news out of the city.

Suleiman himself nearly died in the siege: in July 2025, an artillery shell landed less than two meters from him as he walked home. He escaped unharmed, but lay trapped on the ground for half an hour, unable to call for any help even if he had been injured. Drones patrolled the skies constantly, and even turning on a disconnected phone to check the time put users at risk, as the screen light could draw targeted fire. Residents were forced to hide for hours at a time under beds, in trenches, or in makeshift shelters during heavy shelling, sweltering in extreme heat, unable to speak or share their situation with the outside world. “You remain silent, unable to speak. And you cannot convey what you are seeing,” he said.

Amid the daily horror, Suleiman says residents clung to their faith, gathering to read the Quran in between rounds of shelling, moving from room to room to avoid incoming fire. When he finally arrived in Port Sudan, the military-backed government’s de facto headquarters for most of the war, he prostrated himself at the airport and cried, unable to believe he had reached safety.

Even in safety, however, Suleiman has faced new struggles. He lost all his official identification documents during his escape, and navigating Sudan’s bureaucracy to replace them has been a grueling, weeks-long process. He notes that special procedures for war survivors announced by officials have failed to materialize, pointing out that the requirements for witnesses and family verification leave many displaced survivors with no path to restore their identity documents. He is calling on the government to issue free replacement identification to all people fleeing conflict zones.

Now reconnected to the global world, Suleiman says the world has failed Sudan at every turn. He is scathing in his criticism of international bodies and global powers, arguing that ongoing diplomatic efforts to end the war have achieved nothing. US-led diplomatic initiatives have collapsed entirely, while both warring sides continue to receive military backing from competing regional powers that allow the fighting to continue. A September 2025 peace plan drafted by the Quad grouping – the U.S., Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt – has stalled completely, and current efforts by U.S. envoy Massad Boulos to negotiate even a limited humanitarian ceasefire have yet to deliver results.

The UN’s 2026 humanitarian appeal for Sudan, which totals $2.87 billion, has only received 16.2% of its required funding to date, leaving aid organizations unable to meet the overwhelming need for food, medical care and shelter across the country. Humanitarian access is also blocked by ongoing fighting and bureaucratic restrictions imposed by both the army and RSF.

Today, Sudan is a fragmented nation, its people scattered across borders and displaced within its own territory. For Suleiman, however, telling the story of what happened to el-Fasher and its people gives him a clear purpose. “There are events that happened that no-one is left to narrate, and the memory remains only with us… until we die, we will convey the truth to correct the situation for the next generation, so they live dignified and honoured in their homeland,” he said.

A 31-year-old American social media influencer, Ashly Robinson (known online by her handle Ashlee Jenae), has died while on a celebratory engagement trip to Tanzania’s Zanzibar Archipelago, triggering an ongoing official investigation that has left her family searching for clarity. Local law enforcement confirmed last week that Robinson’s travel partner and fiancé, 45-year-old Joe McCann, has had his passport temporarily withheld as investigators continue to piece together the details of her death. To date, no arrests have been made, and officials have stated publicly that McCann is not considered a suspect in any wrongdoing, only cooperating with authorities as a key witness.

Zanzibar North Unguja Police Chief Benedict Mapujira told the BBC that initial local assessments indicate Robinson died following an attempted suicide. McCann has not released any public comment on the case since Robinson’s death was announced.

The tragedy unfolded in early April, after what police described as a verbal misunderstanding between the couple that led the Zuri Zanzibar resort management to move the pair into separate guest accommodations, a detail the resort has declined to publicly confirm. Resort staff alerted local police late Wednesday, April 8, after raising concerns that Robinson may be at risk of self-harm. She was found unconscious in her private villa and rushed to a local medical facility, where she was pronounced dead on Thursday, April 9, according to official records. Her family confirmed this timeline in an official statement released Sunday.

For Robinson’s family, the sudden death comes as a devastating and unexplainable shock. Robinson had just turned 31, and the trip to Tanzania was meant to be a celebratory dream vacation that ended with her accepting McCann’s marriage proposal. In an interview with CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, Robinson’s mother Yolanda Endres described her daughter as a warm, luminous presence who had every reason to be happy on the trip. “She had just celebrated her birthday and had got engaged during the trip, and then she is just gone,” Endres said. “We are confused about how that could change so drastically.”

Robinson’s parents say they only received word of the incident from McCann 11 hours after it began, with few details about what had occurred. They only learned of their daughter’s death after being contacted directly by the Zuri Zanz resort management. The family has publicly stated that Robinson’s death “doesn’t make any sense” and they are pushing for full transparency as the investigation moves forward, confirming they are cooperating fully with Tanzanian authorities to get clear answers.

In a statement provided to the BBC, a spokesperson for Zuri Zanzibar said the resort was deeply saddened by the tragic death of its guest. The resort confirmed it is fully cooperating with local law enforcement and the US diplomatic mission in Tanzania, but declined to share additional details, citing guest privacy protections and a commitment to preserving the integrity of the ongoing investigation.

Authorities have not yet released a final cause of death, noting that they are still awaiting the results of an official medical autopsy to confirm how Robinson died. “Investigations into the case are ongoing, including awaiting the official medical examination report from doctors,” local police said in an official update.

The US Department of State has confirmed the death of an American citizen in Zanzibar and extended official condolences to Robinson’s family. “We can confirm the death of a US citizen in Zanzibar, Tanzania. We extend our deepest condolences to the family. We have no higher priority than the safety and security of Americans overseas,” a department spokesperson said.

In the days leading up to her death, Robinson kept her Instagram followers updated on her trip, sharing photos and videos from her travels across Tanzania, including a stop at a wildlife park near Mount Kilimanjaro. Following news of her death, hundreds of followers have left condolence messages on her social media pages, honoring her memory.

YAOUNDE, Cameroon – In a surprising gesture ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s upcoming visit to the Central African nation, coalitions of English-speaking separatist insurgents have declared a 72-hour pause in hostilities to open secure passage for civilians, religious pilgrims, and official delegations during the papal trip.

The Unity Alliance, a umbrella organization bringing together multiple separatist factions operating in Cameroon’s restive western regions, released an official statement late Monday confirming the ceasefire. The announcement notes the temporary halt to fighting honors the “profound spiritual importance” of Pope Leo XIV’s visit, prioritizing the safety of all those planning to participate in papal events.

As of Tuesday, Cameroon’s national government has not issued an immediate formal response to the ceasefire declaration, following a request for comment from the Associated Press. Last week, government spokesperson René Sadi reaffirmed that state officials had completed “all necessary arrangements” to guarantee a safe and successful visit for the pontiff.

Decades of underlying tension erupted into open armed conflict in 2017, when separatist groups launched an independence rebellion seeking to carve out a sovereign state for Cameroon’s English-speaking minority, separated from the country’s French-speaking majority. Since the conflict began, fighting has plagued the North-West and South-West regions, leaving more than 6,000 people dead and forcing more than 600,000 residents to flee their homes, according to data from the International Crisis Group, an independent non-profit conflict analysis organization.

Pope Leo XIV launched a four-nation tour of Africa earlier this week, starting his journey in Algeria before moving on to Cameroon, where he is scheduled to land in the capital Yaoundé on Wednesday. On Thursday, he will lead a high-profile peace gathering in Bamenda, the urban center that has become the epicenter of the separatist conflict.

Unity Alliance spokesperson Lucas Asu emphasized in the statement that the ceasefire “reflects a deliberate commitment to responsibility, restraint, and respect for human dignity, even in the context of ongoing conflict.” Asu also clarified that the papal visit should be framed exclusively as a spiritual event, and should not be interpreted as an endorsement of any Cameroonian political faction or governing authority.

While the frequency of deadly separatist attacks has declined in recent years, the long-running conflict remains far from resolved. Brokered peace talks mediated by international third parties have stalled in recent months, with both the Cameroonian government and separatist leaders repeatedly accusing one another of negotiating in bad faith.

The roots of the current crisis stretch back to Cameroon’s colonial legacy. After World War I, the former German colony of Cameroon was split into two administrative zones, controlled by France and the United Kingdom respectively. In a 1961 UN-supervised referendum, the British-administered English-speaking regions voted to reunify with French Cameroon to form a single independent nation. Separatist leaders argue that since unification, English-speaking communities have faced systematic political and economic marginalization at the hands of the Francophone-dominated national government.

This report includes contributions from correspondent Banchereau, who reported from Dakar, Senegal.

As Pope Leo XIV continues the second day of his landmark 11-day tour across four African nations, a remarkable development has unfolded in violence-wracked Cameroon, where armed Anglophone separatist groups have agreed to a three-day ceasefire to open a “safe travel passage” ahead of the pontiff’s upcoming visit.

The ceasefire, announced by the Unity Alliance — a coalition of major armed secessionist groups active in Cameroon’s two English-speaking regions — will come into effect ahead of Pope Leo’s arrival on Wednesday. In an official statement, the alliance framed the pause in hostilities as a recognition of the “profound spiritual importance” of the papal visit, and a commitment to protecting civilian life and facilitating smooth movement for pilgrims and attendees gathering for the papal events. The statement emphasized that the decision reflects a deliberate commitment to responsibility, restraint, and respect for human dignity, even amid years of ongoing conflict. The alliance also added that the visit should remain strictly spiritual and pastoral in nature, warning against any attempts to politicize the historic occasion.

Cameroon’s francophone-dominated national government has not yet issued an official comment on the ceasefire announcement, though local authorities have confirmed that comprehensive security measures have already been put in place to protect the pontiff and all visitors at scheduled event locations across the country. Local preparations in Bamenda, the capital of Cameroon’s North-West region and the focal point of the separatist conflict where Pope Leo will hold a key peace gathering, are already well underway: street billboards featuring portraits of Pope Leo and Cameroonian President Paul Biya have been erected across the city, and officials have confirmed that all papal event sites will be open to visitors free of charge.

The conflict in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions erupted nearly a decade ago, when separatist movements launched an armed campaign for secession from the country’s majority French-speaking government. The violence has claimed at least 6,000 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians from their homes. A 2019 national dialogue convened by the Cameroonian government failed to resolve the standoff, leaving the region locked in a cycle of persistent violence. Pope Leo’s planned stop in Bamenda is widely viewed as a symbolic outreach by the Catholic Church to advance peace and reconciliation in the divided region, where he is scheduled to host a special peace gathering at the city’s Saint Joseph’s Cathedral.

Pope Leo launched his 11-day African tour on Monday, with his first stop in Algeria — marking the first ever papal visit to the North African nation, which is predominantly populated by Sunni Muslims. Algeria also holds deep personal significance for the new pontiff: it is the birthplace of St Augustine, and Pope Leo is the first pope from the religious order that follows St Augustine’s teachings. Currently based in Annaba, where St Augustine served as bishop centuries ago, the pontiff visited the archaeological site of the ancient city of Hippo Regius on Tuesday, and is scheduled to lead a public Mass at the Basilica of Saint Augustine later that same day.

After concluding his stop in Cameroon, Pope Leo will continue his tour with visits to Angola and Equatorial Guinea, adding up to 11 stops across four African nations overall. This trip marks only his second major foreign visit since he was elected to the papacy in 2025, and it underscores the growing global importance of the Catholic Church in Africa. Latest 2024 demographic data shows that Africa is home to roughly 288 million Catholics — accounting for more than one-fifth of the global Catholic population, a share that continues to grow steadily year over year.