Sudan: Salesian sisters’ home damaged in ongoing war

January 23, 2023 (KHARTOUM) – The Daughters of Mary Help of Christians Dar Mariam House in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum was again impacted by the ongoing war in the country.

On Jan. 2, ANS reported, a sniper from one of the rebel groups involved in the conflict set fire to the second floor of the house. Rooms and the hall on a side of the floor were badly damaged.

With help from neighbours and soldiers, the fire was extinguished in two hours, it said.

“No one was injured. Thank God. May his will and his glory always prevail,” said Father Jacob Thelekkadan, an Indian Salesian missionary who has been living in the Dar Mariam House since shortly after the outbreak of the war.

The Dar Mariam House is home to Salesian sisters, Fr. Thelekkadan, mothers and children, and a group of men, including some who are elderly and sick.

This is, however, the second time the house has been impacted by the war. On November 3, last year, it was hit by a large bomb, which damaged several classrooms and structures. There were only minor injuries given the destruction.

The war between Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) started on April 15, 2023. Since then, there has been no public transport, electricity is sporadic and water is becoming scarce.

More than 7.3 million people have reportedly fled their homes, with children representing about half of the people displaced in Sudan, aid agencies said.

(ST)