Religious leaders, including a Catholic archbishop, called for prayers for peace while urging government and rebel forces in South Sudan to lay down their arms and allow a ceasefire to take effect.
Fighting between forces loyal to South Sudan President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar, Kiir’s former vice president, flared yesterday, two days after the parties agreed to the ceasefire.
The renewed clashes in the oil-producing Upper Nile state dashed hopes for a swift end to five months of violence that has claimed thousands of lives and forced more than one million people to flee the conflict.
Archbishop Paulino Luduku Loro of Juba was among several religious leaders who were present at the signing of the agreement in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. As the agreement was signed, Archbishop Luduku Loro offered prayers for peace and said that “all South Sudanese have been waiting for this day for the last five months.”
Joining the call for peace was Bishop Barani Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala of Tombura-Yambio. He called on the South Sudanese to continue praying for peace, Anisa Radio reported. During Mass on Sunday at St Mary Yambio Parish, the bishop stressed that all citizens were responsible for working for peace and to support the ceasefire.
Despite the agreement, both sides accused each other of launching ground attacks and artillery barrages. Kuol Manyang, South Sudan’s defence minister, said government troops had been ordered only to fight in self-defence.
Kiir told crowds in Juba on Sunday that government forces have been ordered “not to lift a foot from where they are to attack rebels”.
Since fighting erupted in December, thousands of people have died and as many as 1.2 million people have been forced to flee their homes, according to the United Nations. While the violence began as a rivalry between Kiir and Machar, ethnic loyalties soon took root, leading one UN official to say in a report earlier in May that “many of the precursors of genocide” were present.
COMMENT POLICY
The Catholic Herald comment guidelines At The Catholic Herald we want our articles to provoke spirited and lively debate. We also want to ensure the discussions hosted on our website are carried out in civil terms. All commenters are therefore politely asked to ensure that their posts respond directly to points raised in the particular article or by fellow contributors, and that all responses are respectful. We implement a strict moderation policy and reserve the right to delete comments that we believe contravene our guidelines. Here are a few key things to bear in mind when commenting…
•Do not make personal attacks on writers or fellow commenters – respond only to their arguments. •Comments that are deemed offensive, aggressive or off topic will be deleted. •Unsubstantiated claims and accusations about individuals or organisations will be deleted. •Keep comments concise. Comments of great length may be deleted. •We try to vet every comment, however if you would like to alert us to a particular posting please use the ‘Report’ button. Thank you for your co-operation, The Catholic Herald editorial team
Areas of Catholic Herald business are still recovering post-pandemic.
However, we are reaching out to the Catholic community and readership, that has been so loyal to the Catholic Herald. Please join us on our 135 year mission by supporting us.
We are raising £250,000 to safeguard the Herald as a world-leading voice in Catholic journalism and teaching.
We have been a bold and influential voice in the church since 1888, standing up for traditional Catholic culture and values. Please consider donating.