Pope arrives in epicenter of Cameroon's separatist conflict to preach message of peace

BAMENDA, Cameroon (AP) — Pope Leo XIV travelled Thursday to the western Cameroonian city of Bamenda to preach a message of peace in the epicenter of a separatist conflict that humanitarian groups have called one of the world’s most neglected crises.

Leo's Camair charter landed at the Bamenda airport, where jubilant Cameroonians clogged the roads, blowing horns and dancing. They were overjoyed that a pope had come so far to see them and put a global spotlight on the violence that has traumatized this region for nearly a decade.

Leo is to preside over a peace meeting involving a Mankon traditional chief, a Presbyterian moderator, an imam and a Catholic nun. The aim is to highlight the interfaith movement that has been seeking to end the conflict and care for its many traumatized victims.

It wasn't immediately clear if any of the separatist fighters, who announced a three-day pause in fighting to allow the pope safe passage, would attend.

The pope is also set to celebrate a Mass for the people of Bamenda, near the western border with Nigeria.

Leo arrived in Cameroon on Wednesday on the second leg of his four-nation African trip, the first by the first American pope. In his arrival speech, he demanded the “chains of corruption” in the mineral-rich country be broken and lectured President Paul Biya on the legitimate exercise of authority.

The 93-year-old Biya, the world’s oldest leader, has been in power since 1982 and claims to have won a disputed election last year that gave him an eighth term in office.

The conflict in Cameroon’s two Anglophone regions is rooted in Cameroon’s colonial history, when the country was divided between France and Britain after World War I. English-speaking regions later joined French Cameroon in a 1961 U.N.-backed vote, but separatists say they have since been politically and economically marginalized.

In 2017, English-speaking separatists launched a rebellion with the stated goal of breaking away from the French-speaking majority and establishing an independent state. The conflict has killed more than 6,000 people and displaced over 600,000 others, according to the International Crisis Group.

The separatist movement is believed to be backed by several actors abroad. In December last year, a federal jury in U.S. convicted two individuals for conspiracy to provide funds and equipment to the separatist fighters. Belgian authorities in March also announced they had arrested four people as part of its investigations into Belgian residents suspected of being among the separatist leaders and raising money for them from Belgium.

Cameroon sits atop significant reserves of oil, natural gas, cobalt, bauxite, iron ore, gold and diamonds, making resource extraction one of the pillars of its economy.

While French and English companies have long dominated the extraction industry in Cameroon, Chinese companies have established a significant presence in recent years, particularly in the gold mining regions of the east.

On the eve of Leo’s arrival, separatist fighters announced a three-day pause in fighting. A spokesperson for the Unity Alliance, Lucas Asu, said the pause “reflects a deliberate commitment to responsibility, restraint and respect for human dignity, even in the context of ongoing conflict.”

He said the pope’s visit should remain “spiritual” and not be seen as endorsing any political authority.

Though the number of deadly attacks by separatists has decreased in recent years, the conflict shows no sign of resolution. Peace talks with international mediators have stalled, with both sides accusing each other of acting in bad faith.

Morine Ngum, a mother of three whose husband was shot dead in 2022 by Cameroonian soldiers while fighting as a separatist, expressed doubt that the pope’s visit and peace meeting would lead to meaningful change. She said any real progress must begin with those in power.

“Nothing is going to change,” said Ngum, 30. “This conflict has turned my children into orphans and me into a widow. Many families have been rendered homeless.”

Akua contributed from Yaonde, Cameroon. Chinedu Asadu contributed from Abuja, Nigeria.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Pope Leo XIV, background center, flanked by Cameroon's President Paul Biya and his wife Chantal, meets with the authorities, civil society and the diplomatic corps in Yaounde Cameroon, Wednesday, April 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

People cheer as Pope Leo XIV arrives in Yaounde, Cameroon, Wednesday, April 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Welba Yamo Pascal)

Pope Leo XIV watches children perform a dance as he visits the Ngul Zamba (Power of God) orphanage in Yaounde, Cameroon, Wednesday April 15, 2026 on the third day of his apostolic journey to Africa. (Alberto Pizzoli, Pool Photo via AP)

Pope Leo XIV watches children perform a dance as he visits the Ngul Zamba (Power of God) orphanage in Yaounde, Cameroon, Wednesday April 15, 2026 on the third day of his apostolic journey to Africa. (Alberto Pizzoli, Pool Photo via AP)

Pope Leo XIV waves to supporters as he leaves after his visit to the Ngul Zamba (Power of God) orphanage in Yaounde, Cameroon, Wednesday April 15, 2026 on the third day of his apostolic journey to Africa. (Alberto Pizzoli, Pool Photo via AP)

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s Parliament opened debate Thursday on a landmark bill to reserve one-third of legislative seats for women, which could set off a sweeping redrawing of voting boundaries that could sharpen political tensions nationwide.

If passed, the bill would fast-track a 2023 law mandating 33% reservation for women in Parliament and state legislatures. It would be one of the most consequential shifts in political representation since India’s independence and potentially widen female participation in a system where women remain underrepresented.

The quota, however, is linked to a controversial separate bill to change voting boundaries, a process that could increase the number of seats in the lower house from 543 to about 850.

While there appears to be a broad bipartisan support for putting more women into Parliament, opposition parties have raised concerns over changing voting boundaries, warning it could tilt the political balance in favor of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.

The bills are being taken up during a three-day special session of Parliament and will require a two-thirds majority in both houses to pass. Modi’s ruling National Democratic Alliance holds 293 seats in Parliament, while a two-thirds majority would require 360 seats.

Several Asian countries, including India’s neighbors like Nepal and Bangladesh, have similar quotas for women in national legislatures. India already mandates that one-third of seats be set aside for women in local governance bodies, but women currently hold only about 14% of seats in the lower house of Parliament.

The quota could bring hundreds more women into legislative politics, which supporters say could redirect policy attention toward women’s health, education and gender-based violence. It is unclear how seats would be allocated to women in an expanded Parliament.

Ranjana Kumari, a women’s rights advocate, said the move would make India’s “democracy truly representative” and force political parties to field more female candidates.

“(The) door is little open. Women will enter and fill the room slowly,” Kumari said.

For many young Indian women, the change also carries symbolic weight.

Pranita Gupta, a 23-year-old law graduate, said it will instill “a sense of confidence that we can participate in politics and we can be part of Parliament not only as an exception but as well as a norm.”

The rollout of the quota is tied to a population-based redrawing of voting boundaries using data from the last completed census in 2011. While the timeline for this process remains unclear, the proposal has already triggered political debate.

Opposition parties warn that basing constituencies on population could shift political power toward faster-growing northern states, while diminishing the parliamentary representation, seat share and overall influence of southern regions. They also argue it could benefit Modi’s party, which has strong support in the northern states.

India’s Constitution mandates that parliamentary seats be allocated by population and revised after each census. However, boundaries have not been redrawn since the 1971 census, as successive governments delayed the process over concerns about uneven population growth.

Leaders in southern states, where birthrates have declined more sharply, say a population-based delimitation exercise could increase seats in the north and disadvantage southern regions that have slowed population growth and built stronger economies.

Modi’s party has pushed back on the criticism of the bill and said it would implement a uniform 50% increase in seats across all states, maintaining proportional representation nationwide. However, the draft legislation does not explicitly spell this out.

Speaking in Parliament, Modi said the legislation is “not discriminatory” and “will not do injustice to anyone.”

But early opposition surfaced Thursday, as Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin burned a copy of the bill and raised a black flag in protest. He urged people across the state to do the same.

Some leaders from southern states also turned up in Parliament dressed in black as a mark of protest.

India’s opposition leader Rahul Gandhi alleged the exercise could be used to “gerrymander” parliamentary constituencies in favor of Modi’s party ahead of the 2029 national elections.

“Delimitation should be based on a transparent policy framework, developed after wide consultations with a consensus,” he wrote Wednesday on X.

Pranita Gupta, a law graduate, poses for a photograph in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, April 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Communist Party of India member Annie Raja, left, and activist Shabnam Hashmi have a chat before a press conference on sending a petition on women's reservation to the parliamentarians in New Delhi, India, Thursday, April 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

A security officer takes photograph of Indian women lawmakers as they pose outside Parliament House before the start of the debate on a landmark bill to reserve one-third of seats for women, in New Delhi, India, Thursday, April 16, 2026. (AP Photo)

Indian women lawmakers pose outside Parliament House before the start of the debate on a landmark bill to reserve one-third of seats for women, in New Delhi, India, Thursday, April 16, 2026. (AP Photo)