Sudanese Bishops call for dialogue amidst humanitarian emergency

By Francesco Bartolini

At Sunday’s Angelus, Pope Francis commended to the Lord the victims of all countries subject to wars and violence, including Sudan, as the country grapples with conflict in all corners of its major cities.

The humanitarian crisis continues in Sudan as US-brokered talks between the Sudanese Rapid Support (RSF) and Armed (SAF) Forces extend across recent weeks, with little progress forward.

Commentators say this is partly due to the RSF drone assassination attempt on Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Sudan’s military leader, during the military graduation ceremony on July 31 that killed five people.

Sudanese priest: ‘A dreadful situation’

In an interview with the Vatican’s Fides News Agency, Fr. Biong Kwol Deng of the al-Ubayyid Diocese says he has been forced to leave Khartoum along with many other members of the Church due to the “dreadful situation” in the capital and the rest of the country.

“I have had to relocate to Juba (the capital of South Sudan, ed.),” said Fr. Kwol, who is the Adjunct Secretary General of the Sudanese Bishops’ Conference. “Like many members of the Church, we had to leave the places where we were in Sudan because they have become too dangerous, but I constantly receive updates."

South Sudan has seen an increased number of migrants from Sudan’s conflict hit regions in search of assistance.

“Unfortunately,” added Fr. Kwol, “everything is worsened by extreme conditions… there is a lack of water, food and medicine in Sudan,” which exacerbates the situation for all refugees.

Albeit a challenge, the local Church continues making efforts to intervene in aid of the displaced persons in both countries. Some have been forced to return to regions they originally fled from due to similar reasons.

Fr. Biong says a relative in Khartoum has told him there is “no corner of the country that is not affected by conflict, the fighting is everywhere.”

US-brokered peace talks

On Wednesday, the peace talks will be held in Geneva and are sponsored by the United States.

However, following the peace talks in Jeddah that concluded without an agreement, the Sudanese government and the SAF’s attendance is yet to be confirmed.

This was met with contestation from other Sudanese groups, such as the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, who questioned their exclusion from the talks.