Juba, South Sudan, Jul 12, 2016 / 02:49 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Heavy fighting in Juba, the capital city of South Sudan, prompted Church leaders in the country to issue a statement this week condemning the violence and asking for prayers.
“We condemn all acts of violence without exception. The time for carrying and using weapons has ended; now is the time to build a peaceful nation,” the South Sudan Council of Churches said in a July 10 statement.
Since Thursday, heavy fighting has been reported between the forces of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, loyal to President Salva Kiir, and the SPLA in Opposition, loyal to First Vice President, Riek Machar.
“We make no judgement as to how or why they occurred, nor who is to blame, but we note with concern that there have been a number of incidents recently, and that tension is increasing,” the Church leaders wrote.
There is not yet an official toll, but several hundred people are believed to have died in the fighting of the past few days, and several thousand more have fled their homes.
“We pray for those who have been killed, and for their families, and we ask God's forgiveness for those who have done the killing. However we also urge repentance and a firm commitment from all armed individuals, forces and communities, and from their leaders, to create an atmosphere where violence is not an option,” the Church leaders wrote.
On Monday, President Kiir and Vice President Machar issued a ceasefire, which appears to be holding.
A fairly new country, South Sudan gained its independence from Sudan in 2011. In its brief history, the African country has been marred by an ethnically motivated civil war, with the Dinka supporters of Kiir fighting against the Nuer followers of Machar.
The recent fighting ended a peace deal signed last year between Kiir and Machar last August, and has local and international leaders fearing that the country may fall into another civil war.
The Church leaders in their statement also expressed their concern that the fighting is not limited to the capital city, and has been taking place in other places in South Sudan, including Yei, where the missionary Sister Dr. Veronika was killed in May.
“We are encouraged by the statements from both President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar calling for calm. We add our voices to theirs, and urge soldiers and civilians to refrain from provocative words and actions, and to do everything in their power to avoid escalating the situation,” the Church leaders said.
“We assure you of our prayers during these difficult times, and once again call for calm and hope.”
Besides the Church leaders, the United Nations Security Council, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the UN Mission in South Sudan, Intergovernmental Authority on Development also voiced their condemnation of the violence and their hope to return to peace.
Article Archive
With South Sudan on the brink of civil war, here's what Church leaders are saying
Related Articles • More Articles
Pope Francis prays during his Wednesday general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on April 24, 2024. / Credit: Vatican MediaACI Prensa Staff, Apr 25, 2024 / 16:10 pm (CNA).Asked during a new interview if he has any message for Vladimir Putin, the Russian president who instigated the war in Ukraine, Pope Francis stated that "a negotiated peace is better than an endless war."CBS News broadcast some excerpts April 24 from a new interview conducted by journalist Norah O'Donnell with Pope Francis at St. Martha House, the pontiff's residence in the Vatican.During the exchange, the full version of which will be released on May 19, the Holy Father reflected on world conflicts and especially on the suffering of children during wars.O'Donnell asked the Holy Father if he had any message for Vladimir Putin regarding Ukraine, to which the pontiff replied: "Please, countries at war, all of them... Stop the war. Seek to negotiate. Seek peace. A negotiated peace is better than an e...
An aerial view of Washington Square in San Francisco on May 22, 2020. / Credit: JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty ImagesCNA Staff, Apr 25, 2024 / 16:45 pm (CNA).San Francisco police arrested a homeless man last Sunday for allegedly stabbing a parent from a nearby Catholic school after an altercation involving the two outside a historic Catholic church in the city. Twenty-five-year-old Marko Asaulyuk of San Francisco was charged with attempted murder and eight counts of assault with a deadly weapon.The Catholic school father, who was released from the hospital Sunday, only suffered a minor injury to his leg, Father Tho Bui, pastor of Sts. Peter and Paul Church, told CNA Thursday in an email.San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone was conferring the sacrament of confirmation on the parish school's students and students from a nearby parish during a noon Mass when a "disruptive man" entered the church, as Bui described him.The man was walking up and down the main aisle of the ...
The pro-life flag from the Pro-Life Flag Project (www.prolifeflag.com). / Credit: Pro-Life Flag Project (www.prolifeflag.com)Toronto, Canada, Apr 25, 2024 / 12:50 pm (CNA).The International Pro-Life Flag will not fly over Toronto Catholic schools this May.Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) trustees voted against an April 23 motion proposed by trustee Michael Del Grande that the pro-life flag fly outside all schools and the Catholic Education Centre during the month of May, just as the board voted to fly the Pride flag in June.Del Grande's motion was defeated at the April 23 board meeting when only Garry Tanuan supported Del Grande's motion. The eight other board members in attendance and the two student trustees opposed his proposal.Though Del Grande could not muster enough backing from his colleagues, his plan, which would have also directed all TCDSB schools to teach an exclusively pro-life curriculum on May 9, the day of the National March for Life, garnered bois...