Unidentified gunmen recently ambushed a van carrying Catholic pilgrims along a highway in eastern South Sudan, killing five people, including two Catholic nuns. The attack is only the latest to highlight the dangers faced by faith leaders trying to usher in reconciliation after civil war and aiding a humanitarian crisis.
Read MoreA recent shooting of a Catholic bishop highlights the dangers of living in South Sudan and the tenacity of clergy who refuse to leave people behind in the region, even while death threats to Christian leaders there are rising. South Sudan has been trying to implement a new peace agreement in a civil war that’s plagued them since 2011, but their national forces are up against civilian rebel groups with even more gun power. More than 50,000 people have died in war and 4 million forced to relocate since 2013.
Read MoreAs political alliances struggle to implement peace agreements in a civil war that’s raged since 2011, three South Sudan government forces stormed a church during the Christmas holidays and brutally beat and raped its members, attempting to kill at least eight. Military authorities have vowed the men will be brought to justice.
Read MoreRenewed fighting between Sudan’s army and militants killed an Anglican priest last week, despite a negotiated peace agreement and the pause of a church-mediated peace process when the Rome-based organization began grappling with coronavirus in Italy. Since 2013, Sudan’s civil war has displaced thousands of civilians. Now they must grapple with displacement during a pandemic and food insecurity.
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