SUDAN: Bishop of El-Obeid, Priests Survive as Rockets Hit Cathedral Church in Sudan
Ginaba Lino
The Secretary General of Sudan and South Sudan Bishops’ conference in Juba has confirmed that the Catholic Bishop of El-Obeid and priests are safe after two rockets hit part of the Mary Queen of Africa Cathedral in Sudan on 21 April 2023.
Father Peter Suleiman said the first rocket hit part of priests’ presbytery and the second rocket hit the front of the Cathedral damaging its glass windows.
“The war intensified in El-Obeid between military government of Sudan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, and it happened that the Church fell victim. Two rockets fell in the premises, one hitting the residence of priests where by Father Michael Konji is living who is also bedridden, but we thank God that he was not in the room as the room is completely damaged. The other rocket hit in front of the main gate of the Cathedral and resulted in damaging the glasses.”
The incident happened when the Bishop of El-Obeid Tombe Trille and other priest were praying during Blessed Sacrament in the Church.
“We thank God that nobody is armed, only it become a general situation where people are lacking food, water, and access to electricity in the Town, “Father Peter adds.”
“Bishop Tombe Trille and Fr Fadi Ibrahim were praying in front of the Blessed Sacrament when this incident happened, but all in all, we thank God. The general situation is that people are lacking food, water, and electricity.”
The Secretary General states that the Church is adding its voice to the rest of people seeking peace so that the two parties should stop the fighting and come to table. He says people are still scared as the conflict continues, but he believes that evil will not last.
“We are still scared, but we do believe that evil will not last, it will come to an end.” Father Suleiman explains adding that the Bishop of El-Obeid and the priests are still in their place, except the Sisters at Saint Francis School who stay very close to army barracks who were asked to evacuate to different location.
“Only as far as I know, the Sisters in Saint Francis School are the one who are close to the military barracks, so they were asked to evacuate or to move to a different location where it’s a bit safe. But all the Church personal are in their places. The rockets did not affect much of the Cathedral apart of the resident of the Priest and front of the Church” he says.”
He regrets the conflict in Sudan saying such war destroys the historical buildings around the City. “Off course, it has happened already that a lot of infrastructure has been destroyed. These are historical buildings that are meaningful to the country. The barracks and the presidential palaces, which are the symbols of the country are destroyed and this will cause a lot of energy to rebuild them.”
He calls on the people of South Sudan to continue praying for the people of Sudan and for leadership to end the fight.
The Secretary General of the Sudan and South Sudan Bishops’ Conference made this statement to Catholic Radio Network in an interview on Monday in Juba.
On Thursday 27, April 2023, the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) agreed to extend their ceasefire amid ongoing violence in the capital Khartoum and the western Darfur region.
In the final hours of the repeatedly broken three-day truce due to end at midnight (22:00 GMT) on Thursday, the army said it would extend the ceasefire “for an additional 72 hours” following mediation efforts by Saudi Arabia and the United States.
The RSF also said it approves the extended truce, adding that the proposal came from two diplomatic groupings that include the US, Saudi Arabia, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.
