Cameroon

22, May 2025

May 20: Pope Leo XIV sends blessings, wishes for prosperity ⁰

On the occasion of Cameroon’s annual National Day marked on May 20, Pope Leo XIV has extended his prayerful best wishes and Papal blessings to the Central African nation’s President and citizens, and called for continued commitment to peace, justice, and respect for human dignity.

In a statement issued Monday, May 19 through the Apostolic Nuncio in Cameroon, Archbishop José Avelino Bettencourt, the Holy Father wishes the people of God in Cameroon prosperity that is based on the country’s rich heritage.

“On the occasion of the national day of the Republic of Cameroon, I am pleased to offer to Your Excellency the best wishes for you and for your fellow citizens,” Pope Leo XIV says in the message addressed to Cameroon’s President, Paul Biya.

The Roman Pontiff adds, “I entrust to the lord everyone’s efforts to build a future of peace and prosperity by drawing on the rich human and cultural heritage of your country, with a concern for justice and respect for each person.”

“May God pour over your excellency and all the Cameroonian people His abundant blessings,” the Holy Father implores in favour of the people of God in Cameroon celebrating their 2025 National Day, organized under the theme, “Army and Nation united for a Cameroon turned towards peace and prosperity”.

Cameroon’s National Day marks the country’s transition to a unitary state in 1972, following a national referendum. Prior to this, the Central African nation operated under a federal system, with East and West Cameroon functioning semi-autonomously.

Initiated by the then President, Ahmadou Ahidjo, the 1972 referendum led to the adoption of a unitary constitution and the birth of the United Republic of Cameroon.

May 20 has since become a symbol of national unity and a day that brings together and celebrates Cameroon’s unity in the diversity of ethnic, linguistic, and cultural communities.

Cameroon is to hold a presidential Election in October 2025.

President Biya, who has held the seat since 1982, is expected to vie for an eighth presidential term in the Central African nation, where Presidents have a seven-year mandate. His “extraordinarily long tenure” was occasioned by constitutional amendments that President Biya’s party, Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM), spearheaded in 2008, which resulted in the abolition of the two-term presidential limit.

The Cameroonian President, Biya, is Africa’s second-longest-serving Head of State after President Teodoro Obiang of Equatorial Guinea.

The Central African nation’s English-speaking regions plunged into conflict in 2016 after a protest by lawyers and teachers turned violent. An armed movement of separatists claiming independence for the so-called republic of Ambazonia emerged following the government’s crackdown on protesters.

School boycotts have become common in the Cameroonian region as have enforced moratoriums on public life known as “ghost towns”.

According to a March 2025 report, Cameroon’s Anglophone crisis “has caused over 900,000 people to flee internally and 60,000 people to flee abroad.”

The report indicates that “as of February 2025, more than 500,000 internally displaced people were in Anglophone-majority regions.”

The UNHCR has reported that Cameroon plays host to over 400,000 refugees primarily coming from the Central African Republic (CAR), Nigeria, Chad, and Niger; more than 17,000 asylum seekers; and over 1 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) “with an additional 658,544 returnees.”

More than 3.3 million people stand in need of humanitarian aid in Cameroon.

In January, the President of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon (NECC) called on the people of God in the country to take personal responsibility in realizing the development of the country.

“There is a need, therefore, for every single Cameroonian to take his or her responsibility for the construction of our country,” Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya said during the opening ceremony of the 48th Annual Seminar of NECC in the Catholic Diocese of Buea.

The Local Ordinary of Cameroon’s Bamenda Archdiocese reaffirmed the Church’s commitment to its evangelizing mission, saying that NECC members “will continue to serve reconciliation, justice, and peace.”

Source: aciafrica

13, May 2025

Archbishop of Garoua says Fr Mbaibarem is still in the hands of the kidnappers ⁰

“Father Mbaibarem is still in the hands of the kidnappers. From time to time, they contact some locals to demand a ransom for his release,” Archbishop Faustin Ambassa Ndjodo of Garoua in northern Cameroon told Fides. Father Valentin Mbaibarem, parish priest of the Church of St. John the Baptist in Madingring, was kidnapped on May 7, on the road between Guidjiba and Tcholliré.

“The road between Guidjiba and Tcholliré is a dangerous stretch of road, as there have been several cases of kidnappings with the aim of extorting travelers, but this is the first time a priest has been kidnapped on this road,” said Bishop Ambassa Ndjodo. Northern Cameroon has been plagued by kidnappings for years. According to local newspapers, several teachers were taken hostage on this road a few days before Father Mbaibarem’s kidnapping.

The gendarmerie began a search of the area, which led to the release of a hostage who had been kidnapped on May 10 in a village near Garoua. As a sign of solidarity and spiritual support, the Archbishop asked all parishes of the archdiocese to offer a special prayer for Father Mbaibarem on Sunday, May 11. He also invoked the intercession of the Virgin Mary for the priest’s speedy release.

Source: Agenzia Fides

10, May 2025

The Diocese of Buea celebrates 75 years of enduring faith ⁰

Seventy-five years ago, the Diocese of Buea was established in Cameroon’s South West region, marking a historic milestone as the country’s first diocese.

Now, seven decades later, thousands of Christians gathered at the Divine Mercy Co-Cathedral in Buea on May 7 to celebrate this enduring legacy of faith.

“The faith that has been passed down to the people, nurtured within communities, and continues to sustain us is what we celebrate today,” said Bishop Michael Miabesue Bibi of the Buea Diocese.

However, the history of the diocese story stretches even further back. It was part of the Apostolic Prefecture of Cameroon in 1890, became an Apostolic Prefecture in 1923, and was later designated an Apostolic Vicariate in 1939. On April 18, 1950, it officially became Cameroon’s first diocese.

Successive bishops played a crucial role in its growth, founding religious congregations and establishing new parishes.

In 2019, Michael Bibi was appointed Bishop of Buea, and in 2021, and officially became its 5th residential bishop. Today, the Diocese of Buea continues to flourish, with 37 parishes serving its community.

Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya, President of the Cameroon Bishops’ Conference, described the diocese as “the mother” of Cameroon’s 26 Catholic dioceses.

Like all the Church in Cameroon, the Diocese of Buea has endured a turbulent history — surviving the hardships of two world wars, the struggle for independence, and, today, the ongoing separatist crisis affecting the country’s English-speaking North West and South West regions.

Throughout the celebration, speakers subtly referenced the current crisis as they reflected on years of unwavering faith.

Nkea urged Church leaders in Buea to “continue to give hope to the hopeless, especially in this time in the history of our country.”

While the archbishop did not explicitly define “this time in the history of our country,” anyone familiar with Cameroon’s challenges would recognize his reference to the ongoing separatist crisis in the country’s two English-speaking regions.

Since 2016, these regions have been embroiled in a separatist war, fueled by long-standing grievances over the marginalization of Anglophones by the Francophone-dominated government.

The crisis reached a boiling point eight years ago when teachers and lawyers in the two English-speaking regions took to the streets, protesting what they saw as the imposition of French in Anglo-Saxon schools and courts.

The government’s military crackdown on these peaceful protests only escalated tensions. In response, a separatist movement emerged, demanding secession and the creation of a new nation called Ambazonia.

Since then, the conflict has taken a devastating toll — at least 6,500 people have lost their lives, and over a million more have been displaced.

While the crisis was not directly addressed during the 75th anniversary of the Diocese of Buea, its effects were undeniable. In an interview with Crux, Grace Ngong, a catechist at Bojungo — Cameroon’s oldest parish — acknowledged the deep impact of the conflict on the church.

Ngong fled to the South West region when violence intensified in her hometown of Wumin the North West region, where she had also been serving as a catechist.

“When I arrived in Bojungo, I continued my work as a catechist,” she told Crux.

“I have been serving there for six years,” she added, though she declined to comment further on the ongoing crisis.

Felicia Motia, a programs analyst at Carita Buea was more forthcoming.

“Seeing the entire Christian community of the Diocese of Buea, along with other guests, come together to celebrate the 75th anniversary is truly significant to me. This feeling is even stronger when I consider the ongoing Anglophone crisis affecting the region, particularly in the Southwest, where the diocese is located. Given these challenges, the church’s efforts — especially in my own department — have been crucial in providing support to vulnerable people,” she told Crux.

“It is truly meaningful that Caritas, the charitable arm of the church, is working closely with the church to support vulnerable people in various ways—through education, emergency assistance, and more,” Motia said.

Acknowledging the ongoing crisis and the internal struggles within the Church, the Apostolic Nuncio to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, Archbishop José Avelino Bettencourt, called for unity, urging the people of God to stand together and work in harmony with their Bishop.

“Unity is important,” Bettencourt said. He used the metaphor of a rope to illustrate the strength and importance of unity.

“Consider a single thread — fragile, easily broken with the slightest pressure. Snap! It is gone. But a rope is different. A rope is made of many weak threads woven together into a strong, unbreakable bond. That is unity,” he said.

“Similarly, unity binds people together, making them stronger, more resilient, and able to withstand challenges. Just like the intertwined threads of a rope create durability, individuals united in faith, purpose, or community form a powerful force,” Bettencourt told Crux.

“Your unity to your bishop guarantees the universal church’s support for you,” he added.

He talked up the 75th anniversary celebrations, noting that “the faith of the Catholic Church was kept alive thanks to your parents and your grandparents and to the tribes, which kept the faith alive, even when priests were not allowed to minister. So today is a celebration of faith.”

Bibi noted that the celebration should not blind the Christian community to the various challenges it still faces and announced that a diocesan synod will be convened in the near future to assess what has been done and what remains to be done.

“Together with members of Christ’s lay faithful, the religious, the priests, and myself, we are going to sit and have an evaluation of the state of the diocese. Of course, there are things that exist in the diocese that are good, that we have to maintain. There are also certain things that we may need to take some decisions on, and get proposals on how we can live, and live better, in a united way, in communion with one another,” the bishop told Crux.

Source: Crux

5, May 2025

Archbishop Nkea re-elected to lead Cameroon Bishops ⁰

The bishops of Cameroon, convening last weekend in Yaoundé, have reappointed Archbishop Andrew Nkea to lead the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon (CENC). As he begins his new three-year term, the archbishop of the Diocese of Bamenda, located in the Northwest Region, has outlined his priorities, with restoring peace to the troubled Northwest and Southwest (NOSO) regions at the forefront.

This is not Archbishop Nkea’s first foray into this critical issue. The prelate has frequently voiced his hopes for peace to return to the NOSO during his homilies. In March 2024, just before Easter, he delivered a widely noted message analyzing the root causes of the persistent sociopolitical crisis, which began in 2014. “If this crisis persists, it is because people trust diabolical processes more than they trust God,” he stated.

The Archbishop of Bamenda then proposed a path to ending this human tragedy. “We must pray together. Whether we are Christians, Muslims, or followers of traditional religion, we must unite in prayer, for God is one, He hears our prayers and will give us the solution to this problem,” Archbishop Nkea declared.

One year later, it remains to be seen if this stance has evolved, particularly given Archbishop Nkea’s reputation as a “pilgrim of peace“, a cause to which he dedicates a significant portion of his prayer life. Earlier this year, during the 48th annual seminar of Cameroonian bishops, he urged his fellow prelates to always “promote peace, through which nothing is lost, and without which everything can be lost.”

This likely explains why, beyond the NOSO, where separatist groups clash with the military, Archbishop Nkea also intends to focus on restoring peace in the Far North region, which continues to be plagued by attacks from the Boko Haram terrorist sect.

As he embarks on his second term leading the CENC, the Archbishop of Bamenda is not limiting his efforts to conflict zones. His roadmap also includes a commitment to strengthening unity within the episcopal family. “Our vocation as a Church is to continue walking together in bonds of love and unity, so that the world may believe in the One who sent us,” he reminded the press during a recent gathering of bishops.

By expressing his concern for closer bonds among bishops, Archbishop Nkea indirectly suggests that divisions threaten the cohesion of the CENC. The local press corroborates this, with tensions having regularly made headlines, notably in 2017 during the funeral of Bishop Jean-Marie Benoît Bala, the former bishop of the Diocese of Bafia, who was found dead under suspicious circumstances. While the judicial investigation concluded suicide, some members of the Cameroonian episcopate continue to assert that the prelate was assassinated.

Source: Sbbc

2, May 2025

“Pope Francis never forgets that Cameroon beat Argentina in the 1990 World Cup” ⁰

Bishops in Cameroon have gathered in the capital Yaoundé for their 50th Ordinary Plenary, but the death of Pope Francis and the conclave to choose a new pope that begins on May 7 in Rome, loom large at the gathering.

At a Mass to kick off the deliberations, the Apostolic Nuncio to Cameroon, Archbishop Julio Murat told journalists that Francis’s legacy in Cameroon and the world will outlive his life on earth.

“The very fact of the Presence of all the Archbishops and Bishops of Cameroon here this evening to celebrate this Mass is a testament that the Pope’s Pontificate touched the very hearts of Cameroon,” Murat said.

“In his last testament, Pope Francis offered his life, his prayer, his work for peace and fraternity in the world. He himself preached many times about mercy, and the Holy Door of the Jubilee for Mercy was opened in the geographical heart of Africa, Bangui right next door to us,” the representative of the Holy See in Cameroon said.

That door was opened on November 29, 2015, by Pope Francis when he visited the Central African Republic.

“He [Francis] also promulgated the decree to make Baba Simon a venerable and presented him to the world –a Cameroonian. So his heritage will long last his life, and now we know he prays to us from heaven,” the archbishop said.

The President of the Cameroon Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya, added that the bishops were “united with the Universal Church in prayer for peace in his soul.”

“Pope Francis was a father to me,” Nkea told Crux.

“It is Pope Francis who appointed me Archbishop,” he said.

Nkea narrated little instances during which he had to be up and personal with the pope, like buttoning the pope’s cassock, and the pope asking him to take out his phone and record a greeting for the people of Bamenda.

“Pope Francis never forgets that Cameroon beat Argentina in the 1990 World Cup,” Nkea recalls the pontiff joking with him during one of his visits to the Vatican.

“His simplicity was phenomenal,” the archbishop said.

Lay Christians were also full of praise for the late pope. Pascaline Ndifor, a member of the Catholic Women’s Association, told Crux that she remembers Pope Francis for his humility.

“The memory I keep of him is that of humility, and his prayerful nature. This year, we are celebrating the Jubilee Year of Hope. It teaches us the humility and the simplicity the late Pope taught us-it is the way to Christ. That what touches me so much-the simple, spiritual life he teaches us,” she said.

Bessy Bah Awah also remembers Francis for his simplify and humility, recalling a time last year when she was among a delegation of Catholic women who visited the Holy See during which the Holy Father granted them an audience.

“He was very particular about the role of women in the Church. That touched me, and in addition to his humility, I think that he has left a great legacy-a legacy of humility, simplicity and love,” she said.

Maurine Dengo, a social worker, calls Francis “my social worker pope” because of the pontiff’s efforts to bring respite to “the less privileged, the vulnerable, the poor, the marginalized, the suffering…everything that has to do with my profession, Pope Francis was doing it.”

As the world waits for the Conclave to begin, Nkea says the Catholic Church in Cameroon is in unison with the Universal Church “to pray for the Cardinals who are already in Rome, in the conclave, to choose another Holy Father.”

“And as you can see, it is the Holy Spirit that guides the Cardinals in this exercise of choosing another Holy Father for us. And we pray, as the Holy Spirit has done all the time, he will give us a Pope who will manage the Church according to the heart of Jesus Christ,” the archbishop said.

Nkea said that that the 50th plenary of the bishops focuses on the daily running of the Church in Cameroon and to look at the future, especially in this year of hope.

He noted that the major issues preoccupying the bishops are “the socio-economic situation of the country” and the presidential election scheduled to take place in November.

The bishops had already issued pastoral letters about the two issues, and the archbishop of Bamenda called on Cameroonians to take a closer look at those letters in order to “ensure that everything is going to pass during the election month in peace and tranquility. This is what we ask of our people.”

Source: Crux

24, April 2025

Ambazonia Crisis: Pope Francis enduring call for peace, now a legacy ⁰

Since assuming leadership of the Roman Catholic Church three years before the 2016 outbreak of the security crisis in Cameroon’s Northwest and Southwest regions, Pope Francis has consistently advocated for a return to peace in the troubled area.

Following a 2023 pastoral visit to the Vatican, Archbishop Andrew Nkea of Bamenda, President of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon, detailed to international press the Catholic Church’s ongoing efforts, under Pope Francis’s direction, to resolve the conflict.

Archbishop Nkea’s statements highlighted the Church’s leading role in seeking a resolution. The Church provides aid to displaced persons, distributing food, shelter, and other necessities through diocesan Caritas organizations, with support from benefactors.

Additionally, the Church has attempted to mediate between the government and separatist factions operating both within Cameroon and abroad. The Church has consistently opposed the use of child soldiers and has emphasized the importance of maintaining open schools, stressing that education is vital for children’s future and the nation’s development.

Beyond institutional actions, Pope Francis has frequently made public pronouncements on the conflict. In September 2019, he expressed solidarity with the Cameroonian people, calling for prayers for a national dialogue aimed at resolving the crisis. He emphasized the need for “peaceful, just, and lasting solutions.”

In October 2020, following a school shooting in Kumba that resulted in student fatalities, Pope Francis condemned the crime as a “cruel and senseless act.” He called for an end to violence and the protection of children’s rights to education and a secure future. In January 2021, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin visited Cameroon to reiterate Pope Francis’s commitment to peace and reconciliation. After meeting with President Paul Biya, Cardinal Parolin conveyed the Pope’s support for peace initiatives.

“I am here to show the attention and solidarity of the Holy Father Francis towards Cameroon, especially at this time when it is experiencing a socio-political conflict in the Northwest and Southwest regions. We wish for peace to return to these regions,” Cardinal Parolin stated on the steps of the Unity Palace.

Pope Francis has consistently underscored the Catholic Church’s dedication to resolving the conflict. In 2022, during the national pilgrimage of Cameroonian bishops and faithful to the Marian shrine of Marianberg, he called for the restoration of “true and lasting peace” in Cameroon.

Like Moses, who did not see the Promised Land, Pope Francis departs without witnessing the peace he fervently prayed for in Cameroon.

Source: Sbbc

23, April 2025

Hajj 2025: Atanga Nji visits Ethiopian Airlines ⁰

Minister of Territorial Administration of Cameroon and President of the Cameroon Hajj Committee Paul Atanga Nji, along with his delegation visited Ethiopian Airlines’ state-of-the-art facilities.

During his visit, Paul Atanga Nji and his delegation held fruitful discussions with Ethiopian Airline Group CEO Mesfin Tasew and members of the Executive Management, according to Ethiopian Group.

During the occasion, Ethiopian Airlines reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to serving Hajj pilgrims from Cameroon, as well its regular flight services to Yaoundé and Douala.

16, April 2025

Cameroonian youth urged to embrace hope despite multiple challenges ⁰

Over the weekend, several dioceses in Cameroon, comprising Kumbo, Douala, Edéa, and Buea, celebrated the Diocesan 40th World Youth Day and entrance into Holy Week in each of their dioceses. The three-day event was a powerful demonstration of the capacity of young people to mobilize and reinvigorate the Church’s mission in Africa and the world.

More than a traditional annual event, the celebration of the 2025 edition of World Youth Day in Cameroon was a lively occasion ushering-in Holy Week.

The Diocese of Kumbo, located in the English-speaking part of Cameroon saw a long procession of young people carrying palms during the liturgical celebration. Saint Sylvester’s College of Sop was the convergence point and gathering place for thousands of young people who in unison acclaimed, “Hosanna to the Son of Mary.”

Accompany Christ to Jerusalem

In his introductory speech, the Bishop of the Diocese of Kumbo, Bishop George Nkuo, urged the youth, in his diocese, to work and walk together not as a confused, agitated, and disorderly crowd pushing Jesus on the path of His Passion, but as a people marching with a clear purpose: “to accompany Christ to Jerusalem, to walk with the Savior, and to experience the power of our redemption.”

In the Archdiocese of Douala, thousands of the Diocese’s young people also gathered around Archbishop Samuel Kleda to close the Archdiocesan three-year Synod for Youth, which first convened in September 2022. The Archbishop published an exhortation for this occasion.

Following the three-year Synod, the Archdiocese of Douala has since made recommendations designed to address pertinent issues arising from the three-year process.

Meetings of communion and friendship

4,000 youths from the Archdiocese of Yaoundé also spent two days and two nights on pilgrimage at the Saint Peter and Paul Parish in Nsimalen, guided by their chaplains and mentors.

In the Diocese of Edéa, hundreds of young people spent three days at the Saint Joseph the Worker Parish in Dyzangue under the guidance of Bishop Jean Bosco Ntep and diocesan youth chaplains.

Speaking at the end of this gathering, Father Bikéna Tonyè emphasised that theirs was “a meeting of communion, friendship, and knowledge of the Word of God. We invited the youth to be optimistic in a context that we know is difficult. They must persevere and hope for better tomorrows,” the Bishop urged.

Stay steadfast in faith and hope

And finally, in the Diocese of Buea, the youth gathered on a Sunday with Bishop Michael Bibi at the Divine Mercy Co-Cathedral, an event that coincided with the continued celebration of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of this Diocese.

Bishop Bibi called on the youth to embrace greater commitment to the Church and to “proclaim Christ with pride in word and deed: learn to become exemplary leaders, steadfast in faith, despite the multiple challenges that confront you, and imitate the spirit of obedience of Christ,” he said.

Source: Vatican News

15, April 2025

Pope Francis transfers Cameroonian-born Nigerian Apostolic Nuncio in Sri Lanka to Ethiopia ⁰

Pope Francis has transferred Cameroonian-born Archbishop Brian Udaigwe, who has been serving as Apostolic Nuncio in Sri Lanka to Ethiopia.

The Addis Ababa-based Apostolic Nunciature has been vacant since May 2024, when the Holy Father transferred Archbishop Antoine Camilleri to Cuba.

The latest appointment of Archbishop Udaigwe, a Nigerian national who previously served as the representative of the Holy Father in Benin and Togo was made public on Saturday, April 12, by the Holy See Press Office.

Born in Brian in July 1964 in Cameroon’s Catholic Diocese of Buea, Archbishop Udaigwe was ordained a Priest in May 1992 for the Catholic Diocese of Orlu in Nigeria.

He joined the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1994. The holder of a Doctorate in Canon Law served in the Apostolic Nunciatures in Zimbabwe, Ivory Coast, Haiti, Bulgaria, Thailand, as well as in the United Kingdom before he was appointed Apostolic Nuncio.

While Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Benin in February 2013, assigning him the Titular See of Suelli, his Episcopal Consecration on 27 April 2013 took place at the start of Pope Francis’ Papacy.

Archbishop Udaigwe, who officially presented his credentials in Benin in June 2013 was the following month appointed the representative of the Holy Father in Togo.

Pope Francis appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Sri Lanka in June 2020.

Source: AciAfrica

10, April 2025

Kumbo Diocese issues “urgent alert” on human trafficking surge ⁰

Cameroon’s Catholic Diocese of Kumbo, which is part of Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province, located in the country’s conflict-affected North West region has issued an “urgent alert” on a surge of human trafficking in the Episcopal See.

In a statement shared with ACI Africa on Tuesday, April 8, the Coordinator of the Commission for Justice and Peace in the Cameroonian Catholic Diocese says that traffickers, who are now capitalizing on the region’s crises, “keep changing their strategies.”

“The Justice and Peace Commission of Kumbo Diocese have been sensitizing us on issues of trafficking over the years,” Sr. Minkoue Falie says.

In the statement dated April 4 and titled, “An urgent alert on the situation of human trafficking in the Diocese of Kumbo”, Sr. Falie observes, “The ongoing crises in the two Anglophone regions have increased vulnerability, unemployment, and hardship in our communities. Traffickers are taking advantage of this, and the rate of human trafficking has drastically increased in the past years.”

“We write once again to call your attention to the growing phenomenon of human trafficking taking roots in our diocese,” the Cameroonian member of the Congregation de Notre-Dame (CND) says, encouraging families whose members have fallen victim to human trafficking to report the matter “as a matter of urgency”.

The Justice and Peace Commission Coordinator continues, “Many of our sons and daughters, friends, and relatives were promised jobs in big companies and are now stranded in Togo, Nigeria, Ghana, etc., always demanding more money for one thing or another as we write.”

“As a matter of urgency, we call on any family whose child or children have fallen victim to get in touch with the Diocesan Justice and Peace Office as soon as possible with useful information to enable the office to respond to this worrying issue,” Sr. Falie says in the one-page statement addressed to the people of God in the Diocese of Kumbo.

Cameroon’s English-speaking regions plunged into conflict in 2016 after a protest by lawyers and teachers turned violent. An armed movement of separatists claiming independence for the so-called republic of Ambazonia emerged following the government’s crackdown on protesters.

School boycotts have become common in the Cameroonian region as have enforced moratoriums on public life known as “ghost towns”.

According to a March 2025 report, Cameroon’s Anglophone crisis “has caused over 900,000 people to flee internally and 60,000 people to flee abroad.”

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The report indicates that “as of February 2025, more than 500,000 internally displaced people were in Anglophone-majority regions.”

The UNHCR has reported that the Central African nation plays host to over 400,000 refugees primarily coming from the Central African Republic (CAR), Nigeria, Chad, and Niger; more than 17,000 asylum seekers; and over 1 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) “with an additional 658,544 returnees.”

More than 3.3 million people stand in need of humanitarian aid in Cameroon.

In recent years, however, there have been reported instances of former separatist fighters laying down arms, transitioning into professional careers, and advocating for peace.

Source: ACI Africa