Pope Leo XIV has delivered a stark condemnation of the violence ravaging Cameroon’s English-speaking regions, decrying what he called “an endless cycle of destabilisation and death” during a highly secured visit to the conflict-hit northwest.

Speaking in Bamenda, the heart of the nearly decade-long separatist insurgency, the US-born pontiff warned that the country’s suffering is being fuelled by those exploiting its natural wealth.

“Those who rob your land of its resources generally invest much of the profit in weapons, thus perpetuating an endless cycle of destabilisation and death,” he told thousands gathered outside Saint Joseph’s Cathedral, where he delivered a message of peace and reconciliation.

The visit was made possible only after separatist groups announced a three-day ceasefire, allowing the pope’s convoy, flanked by heavily armed soldiers, to move through a region where ambushes, kidnappings and roadblocks have become routine.

Inside a vehicle fitted with bulletproof glass, Leo XIV blessed cheering crowds lining the streets. Many worshippers wore brightly coloured traditional garments printed with his image, while Vatican and Cameroonian flags fluttered above the sound of drums, horns and church choirs.

Cameroon’s two anglophone regions, the Northwest and Southwest, have been engulfed in conflict since protests by English-speaking lawyers and teachers in 2016 were met with a harsh crackdown by security forces under President Paul Biya, in power since 1982. What began as demands for greater autonomy quickly hardened into an armed separatist movement seeking to carve out an independent state.

Armed groups and government forces have since been accused by rights organisations of killings, torture, arson and mass displacement. The United Nations estimates that at least 6,000 people have been killed, with hundreds of thousands forced from their homes.

In his homily, Pope Leo XIV condemned those who “manipulate religion and the name of God for their own military, economic and political gain,” urging combatants and political leaders alike to renounce violence and pursue dialogue.

He also challenged Cameroon’s authorities to examine their “conscience” and break what he called “the chains of corruption,” arguing that entrenched graft and exclusion have deepened grievances in the anglophone regions and across the country.