Print friendly
The Apostolic Nuncio in Kenya and South Sudan, Archbishop Hubertus Maria van Megen, describes “horror scenes” in Sudan during continuous fighting.
He issued a stark warning at the end of Bishop Cleophas Oseso Tuka’s Consecration Mass.
Unless the Sudan war is halted in time, the violence and horror scenes will “spill over” to neighbouring countries, he said.
“It will spill over into South Sudan; that means we will have it at the borders of Kenya and Uganda.”
At least 528 people have been killed and 4,599 injured since the war erupted on April 15.
Many more are thought to have died because critical services have been disrupted.
Van Megen acknowledged the international community’s efforts to end the violence. Politicians from the warring factions are to blame, he indicated.
These factions are the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) under General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on one side and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the other. The RSF is the paramilitary force under General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo,
“The International Community is working very hard to get things back into place and up to now it hasn’t really worked … the two parties involved are not really ready to listen to each other,” van Megan said.
“That war in Khartoum is happening because two political leaders cannot agree with one another and the whole population has to suffer because of it.
“Politics is a question of give and take. You negotiate, you sit around the table, but if you go into your own bastions and start to throw stones at each other, sooner or later you will hit somebody on the head and then it doesn’t work anymore.”
He also said Kenyans should see Sudan’s violence as a warning.
Kenyans are experiencing rising political tensions and “a lot of accusations,” counter-accusations and “suspicion,” he said.
He urged Kenyan politicians “to sit around the table and come up with solutions for the good of the country, for every Kenyan from whatever tribe or language he might speak.”
Kenyan Bishops
The Kenya Catholic Bishops Conference is also concerned and are expressing their solidarity with God’s people in Sudan.
“Many people are walking down from north to south to seek foreign refuge, including our Religious men and women.
“We want to remember them at this particular moment as we send our greetings of condolences and pray with them,” they said. Church leaders in Kenya are praying for peace to return to Sudan.
Sudan’s rival factions arrived in Saudi Arabia on May 6 for direct talks.
“Sudanese are pinning their hopes on talks in Saudi Arabia between envoys of warring factions to end bloodshed that has killed hundreds and triggered a mass exodus,” Reuters reported.
The US and Saudi governments have managed to bring both sides together.
“We …urge both parties to take into consideration the interests of the Sudanese nation and its people and actively engage in the talks toward a ceasefire and end to the conflict,” they said.
Source
Related Posts:
News category: Great reads, World.
