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Pope Francis Urges the Conflicting Parties in Sudan to Dialogue. PHOTO/Reuters
VATICAN – Pope Francis called for dialogue between the warring military factions in Sudan . This cry arose as the bloody battle entered its second week. “Unfortunately, the situation remains bad in Sudan,” said Pope Francis, Sunday (23/4/20223).
“That is why I have renewed my call for the violence to end as soon as possible and for dialogue to resume,” the pope said in a traditional Sunday prayer in St. Peter’s Square in Rome, as quoted by AFP.
“I invite everyone to pray for our brothers and sisters in Sudan,” he added. France, Italy, Türkiye and the United States all evacuated citizens from Sudan.
Fierce fighting between the Sudanese army and paramilitary groups — which have seen tank battles in densely populated Khartoum and airstrikes launched by fighter jets — has killed more than 400 people and left thousands injured.
Fighting between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s forces and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) rivals began on April 15 over a dispute over plans for the integration of the RSF into the regular army.
The move was a key condition of a deal aimed at restoring Sudan’s democratic transition after the military overthrew former leader Omar al-Bashir in April 2019 following mass protests by residents.
The two men had joined forces to overthrow the civilian government set up after Bashir’s fall, before turning on each other.
(esn)
