Religious leaders urge cessation of hostilities in Sudan conflict
April 19, 2023 (JUBA) – Religious leaders in South Sudan and Sudan have called for cessation of hostilities and dialogue to preserve lives and unity of people in Sudan.
The calls came days after fighting broke out between army units loyal to General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council and the paramilitary Rapid Support (RSF) led by Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo on April, 15.
“We the Catholic Bishops in South Sudan and Sudan are saddened by the recent fighting in Sudan especially in Khartoum and the major cities in the country,” partly reads the statement by Catholic Bishops in Sudan and South Sudan.
It added, “We call for an end to the fighting and revert to dialogue in order to preserve the unity of the country and not to further the suffering of the people.”
They express their concern about people who lost their lives and many others who have been injured as well as the destruction of property in the ongoing violence. “The majority of people in Sudan are suffering and they are yearning for peace,”
Following of Sudan’s former President Omar al-Bashir from power in April 2019, the political transition stalled. It never transitioned to civilian rule as it was initially envisaged. Sudan was hoped would end the transitional period by the end of 2023. The military leaders who took power from Bashir have now developed their own interest and ambition to stay in power as events have been proving that neither Burhan nor Dagalo has any intention of relinquishing power.
“We are aware that families suffer from the lack of basic needs when there is armed conflict,” the statement stressed, adding “ We are aware that many people are trapped by fighting away from their homes, many in their homes but with no way to access basic needs for their survival and their families,”
The Catholic Bishops, in the statement, signed by the deputy president of the Sudan Catholic Bishop Conference Archbishop Stephen Ameyu Martin of South Sudan’s Juba Archdiocese further said the Catholic church leaders “call on our Christian communities in our Dioceses in South Sudan to dedicate their times for prayers and fasting for our brothers and sisters in Sudan at this difficult moment,”
“Keep the Spirit of Easter alive through prayers for peace to reign in Sudan,” they say, and implore, “We pray for the protection of all the people caught up in the conflict.” The Catholic Church leaders at the helm of the seven Dioceses in South Sudan and the two Dioceses in Sudan say they are praying for God’s protection to all “our Christians and all the people of Sudan.”.
On April 16, Pope Francis asked the people of God to pray for Sudan that the country’s rival military factions might lay down their weapons and pursue peace.
Armed clashes between the SAF and RSF erupted on April 15 in heavily populated parts of the capital, Khartoum and spread to other cities, including Darfur region. The clashes follow weeks of rising tensions between the two forces over security force reform during negotiations for a new transitional government and was preceded by the SAF and RSF jointly overthrowing Sudan’s transitional government in October 2021.
(ST)