SUDAN, SOUTH SUDAN: “We Missed Narrowly Martyrdom,” Bishop Tombe’s Harrowing Ordeal
Bishop Yunan Tombe Trille Kuku of the Catholic Diocese of El-Obeid in Sudan
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
Bishop Yunan Tombe Trille Kuku of the Catholic Diocese of El-Obeid in Sudan has shared his traumatic experience following the civil war that has been ongoing in the north-eastern African country for over a year.
In a message shared with AMECEA Online on Tuesday, December 2, the bishop together with a deacon by the name of Joseph expressed how they were “badly treated” by soldiers when they arrived in El-Obeid from an un-named place saying, “together with the deacon, we missed narrowly martyrdom when one leader said that is enough!
“I just arrived in El Obeid together with deacon Joseph. This time, I was badly treated,” the bishop narrated referring to the incident when he met soldiers from both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) who have been in conflict since April 2023.
“On the side of Rapid Forces, I was given countless heavy blows on the neck, forehead, on my face and two sides of my head,” he narrated.
Recently, members of the Sudan and South Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SSSCBC) lamented that the protracted conflict has caused horrendous war crimes and human rights abuses committed by both parties and has led the people of the embattled country to “suffer a humanitarian disaster.”
“The fabric of Sudanese society has been torn apart, with people shocked, traumatized, and disbelieving about the level of violence and hatred,” the bishops disclosed in their message mid-this year and clarified that the war is not simply “between two generals, as the military has inextricably embedded itself in the economic life of the country, and both SAF and RSF each have a network of wealthy elite Sudanese and international individuals and cartels who benefit from their control of various sectors of the economy.”
Bishop Tombe thanks the many people who are praying for their country Sudan.
