Nearly 200 Civilians Killed in Targeted Attacks
US Bishops Speak Out on Behalf of Catholic Brethren
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a statement on March 2nd in support of Catholic civilian populations in South Sudan facing escalating violence, following two separate incidents that claimed nearly 200 lives.
In late February, at least 22 people were killed in a deliberate attack in Jonglei state, as villagers were reportedly lured into a gathering with promises of distributing food relief. According to Ayod County sources, the villagers were instead fired upon in a sudden massacre that included women and children among the victims.
A second attack occurred between March 1st and 2nd as a group of “armed youths” reportedly stormed the county headquarters in Unity State and attacked government offices. The death toll reached an estimated 170 victims, among whom were local government officials, security personnel, and civilians. The county commissioner and executive director were also killed in the assault.
Homes and markets were destroyed by fire in the March onslaught, killing women, children, and elderly, while over 1,000 civilians fled to a nearby UN peacekeeping base during the mayhem.
“I write to express our profound ecclesial solidarity with the Church in South Sudan, as you mourn the killing of approximately 200 innocent civilians in Ayod County in Jonglei state and Abiemnhom County in the Ruweng Administrative area,” Bishop Abdallah Elias Zaidan, local ordinary of the Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon, expressed. “These acts represent not only a tragic loss of life, but a fresh descent into the abyss of human depravity, where the sanctity of life, a sacred gift from God, is trampled upon with alarming impunity.”
A statement issued by the chairman of the USCCB Committee on International Justice and Peace also denounced the killings as an intolerable “disregard for the sanctity of human life.”
Zaidan added, “We are deeply alarmed by the recent escalation of violence” and that “every massacre is a defeat of our humanity.”
The USCCB solidarity statement heralds growing concern over renewed violent uprisings in parts of South Sudan where intercommunal clashes are increasingly undermining fragile peace efforts.
Bishop Zaidan urged “the Catholic faithful in the US, and all people of goodwill, to pray and work for an end to the cycles of trauma, retaliation, and violence gravely afflicting communities” across South Sudan.”
He also called for greater international assistance, including basic humanitarian services, pastoral care, and psychosocial support “for the millions currently in distress,” in an area of the world where ongoing crises are largely under-reported and underserved in the global arena
Sudan Relief Fund continues to support refugee camps in Sudan and South Sudan with humanitarian aid, including food support, shelter, medicine, and care for children and orphans.
News References
https://apnews.com/article/south-sudan-jonglei-ayod-killings-3a80749870051de4bcebf2083415dc97
