Bishops Decry Violence in El Fasher

Religious Leaders Call for Cessation of War Crimes

Reports of unrestrained violence continue to surface following the capture of El Fasher by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the latest development in Sudan’s civil war that has now stretched beyond two and a half years.

Read the full story from the Catholic World Report

The battle between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF – who attacked Sudan’s capital in April of 2023, launching the country into civil war – has devastated the nation’s infrastructure as well as its civilian population. Estimates put more than 12 million displaced and the death toll at 150,000, though it is likely far higher.

Most recently, an estimated 2,000 people have been killed in the RSF’s lengthy campaign to capture the city of El Fasher. Some 250,000 civilians remain trapped inside the Darfur region, reportedly surrounded by barricades, unable to leave. Witnesses say those who try to escape are shot. Those who remain trapped have no access to food, medicine, or contact with the outside world from communication blackouts.

Religious leaders in South Sudan are speaking out against the violence and lack of intervention by the international community. SRF partner Bishop Christian Carlassare of Bentiu, and Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala  of Tombura-Yambio, have called for immediate ceasefires on both sides to open up pathways for humanitarian aid. They’re also calling on the warring factions to uphold human dignity and for the cessation of reported atrocities amounting to war crimes.

Both bishops expressed their dismay at the lack of global response to the crisis. “It is a forgotten war, because the people are really forgotten,” said Bishop Carlassare in an October 30 statement.

The Italian-born member of the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus (MCCJ) says the international community has been turning a blind eye to the tragedy and carnage in Darfur. He also accused weapons merchants of “cashing in on the blood of the Sudanese people,” referring to the warring parties exploiting Sudan’s rich natural resources – particularly gold – at the expense of innocent lives.

Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala, spokesperson for the Bishops’ Conference of Sudan and South Sudan, decried the plight of trapped civilians. “Some of our beloved have been killed, many wounded, and countless others – especially the elderly, women, children, and the disabled – are in desperate conditions.” He urged both sides to end the fighting and respect human life.

As the violence escalates, Pope Leo XIV offered up a prayer on November 2nd for El Fasher victims and the ongoing conflict, underscoring the cry for the fighting and carnage to end.

“Indiscriminate violence against women and children, attacks on unarmed civilians and serious obstacles to humanitarian aid are causing unbearable suffering for a population already exhausted by long months of conflict,” the pope said.

Sudan Relief Fund continues to support relief efforts, sending emergency food and medicine to the Nuba Mountains where over a million displaced have fled. If you would like to support humanitarian aid to this devastated region, please go here to help.