Vatican pushes for peace in English-speaking regions during visit to Cameroon

Pietro Parolin, a senior Vatican official, met Cameroonian President Paul Biya, as part of a five-day trip during which he is expected to visit the English-speaking regions of the country, where fighting between separatists and security forces continues.

President Biya said he had a “cordial” conversation with Vatican Secretary of State Parolin, who “delivered a message of peace” from Pope Francis.

The Vatican official is expected to meet with the country’s bishops and visit Bamenda in the North West region.

Parolin is expected to use the trip as an opportunity to call for dialogue in the current Anglophone crisis.

The head of the local church, Cardinal Christian Tumi, had played a role in helping to end the fighting, but he was kidnapped by gunmen in the Northwest region on November 5.

The Catholic Church’s mediation efforts were outright rejected by the authorities in Yaoundé, and a request for the bishops to meet with Biya fell on deaf ears, according to Bishop Abraham Kome, head of the Cameroon Bishops’ Conference. .

Fighting in the North West and South West regions began after a series of protests and demonstrations by Anglophones over the perceived marginalization of the ruling Francophone majority.

A crackdown on the Cameroonian security forces led to a self-declaration of independence by the so-called Ambazonia.

A number of armed groups operate in English-speaking areas and there have been accusations of human rights violations by both sides.