As Pope visits Bamenda today: Separatists declare three-day ceasefire.

The ceasefire decision is the content of an April 12, 2026, press release. It is issued by the Spokesperson of the Ambazonia Governing Council, Lucas Asu. 

In the statement, Asu said the decision was jointly arrived at by the Unity Alliance, comprising the leadership of Dr Cho Ayaba and Sisiku Ayuk Tabe (Ambazonia Governing Council, AGovC) and Ambazonia Prisoners of Conscience.

This, Asu added, is in close consultation with Ambazonian liberation commanders across the “territory”. 

The four-day visit of the Holy Father to Cameroon, kicked off yesterday, when he touched down the Yaounde Nsimalen International Airport. 

Pope Leo XIV is expected to be in Bamenda, in the North West Region today, where he will meet a cross section of community leaders, local authorities as well as serve a mass at the Bamenda Airport. 

The separatist Unity Alliance detailed in the statement that "...the temporary humanitarian and security arrangement” was reached after a coordinated decision, “in recognition of the profound spiritual importance of this visit”.

They said the ceasefire decision is also in the “interest of safeguarding civilian lives and facilitating dignified participation”. 

They detailed that the “three-day Safe Travel Passage will be observed from April 15 to April 17, 2026”. 

Per the statement, separatist forces have been “instructed to take all necessary measures to ensure a secure environment that enables the free, safe, and dignified movements of civilians, pilgrims, visiting dignitaries, and the Holy Father and his entourage”.

The decision, the Unity Alliance stated, “reflects a deliberate commitment to responsibility, restraint, and respect for human dignity, even in the context of the ongoing conflict”.

Going by the separatists, the ceasefire is “intended to allow our people, who have endured significant hardship, to participate in this historic and spiritual moment without fear”.

The Unity Alliance was clear that the visit of the Holy Father is pastoral, spiritual and must not be “construed, interpreted, or presented as an endorsement of any political authority, policy, or process”. 

“We therefore call on the authorities in Yaounde, and all external actors, to act with commensurate responsibility and to refrain from any attempt to instrumentalise this visit, as evidence of a return to normalcy or as validation of any political narrative,” they stated, insisting that the visit must remain religious, centred on faith, peace, and human dignity and not a platform for political messaging.

The Unity Alliance also urged the population to maintain calm, discipline, and dignity and allow the moment to reflect not only their faith, but their “collective maturity and moral strength before the eyes of the world”. 

They expressed appreciation to religious leaders, community stakeholders, and international partners, whose cooperation will be essential in ensuring that the Pope’s visit remains peaceful, orderly, and secure.

It should be recalled that armed conflict has been raging in the two English-speaking Regions, since 2017, when what started as peaceful street protests in 2016, morphed into conflict.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3762 of Thursday April 16, 2026