The Catholic Bishops of South Sudan have called upon the warring parties to the conflict in Sudan to respect the will of the Sudanese people.
In a press statement read by Archbishop Stephen Ameyu to the media on Friday in Juba, stated that the conflict which started in April in Sudan has resulted in great suffering to both Sudanese and South Sudanese people who are still stuck in war zones.
The bishops said that peace is a common good, and encourage the Sudanese leaders to dialogue as a way of achieving peace and shunning violence.
The clerics said the peace process in Sudan is the only way forward to reduce the suffering of innocent people.
Catholic Archbishop of Juba Archdiocese, Stephen Ameyu who read the statement on behalf of the Catholic bishops said many were lives lost, property destroyed, including the Church’s property, and massive displacement of the people which resulted in humanitarian crises.
Church leaders regarded the fighting in Sudan as a “power struggle” between two generals Abdel Fattah Burhan, the Head of the Supreme Council and Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
The bishops expressed that the ordinary civilians of Sudan have made their wishes known through the non-violent protests which ousted President Bashir in 2019, and which continued after the new military takeover in 2021.
The Catholic Archbishop of Juba Archdiocese, also said that the civilians want a democratic civilian government, and they want the two separate military forces to be merged and to come under civilian control.
The statement also pointed out that human rights abuses are taking place on daily bases, killing, looting, and raping.
It further stated that hospitals are being destroyed, and essential services such as access to food, water, and electricity are being denied to the civilian population.
The statement highlighted the use of heavy weapons indiscriminately in many of the Sudanese cities and therefore civilians are being killed.
Ameyu said these are unacceptable and they condemn the acts in the strongest terms.
The Catholic Bishops called upon the international community to prevail over Sudan’s warring parties and resolve their differences.
The World Health Organization says the death toll from nearly one month of brutal fighting in Sudan is now over 600.
Nearly 1.4 million people have now been displaced in Sudan since the conflict erupted in April.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) new report that exposes the scale of the catastrophe engulfing the African nation.