Tombura-Yambio – “To all those engaged in fighting, I raise my voice as a shepherd: Cease hostilities! Respect human life! Protect civilians!” said the Bishop of Tombura-Yambio, Barani Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala, following the attacks by the Sudan People’s Liberation Army – in Opposition on a military barracks in Nagero district, in the state of West Equatoria, which injured a government soldier and forced civilians to flee the area.
“Violence only deepens the wounds and dishonors the dignity of our people,” the prelate continued. “Our land cries out for peace, reconciliation, and respect of every human being created in the image of God.”
“Civilians panicked and ran into the bush after hearing the gunshots,” the county’s chief executive reported in a local statement. “The situation is now calm, but people remain afraid, and most residents have not yet returned from the forest they fled to.”
“News has reached me of our faithful who are now trapped in the middle of nowhere, unable to move either Tombura or Wau, forced to hide in the bushes without food, medicine, or shelter, exposed to the rains and dangers of disease. Some of our beloved have been killed, many wounded, and countless others, especially the elderly, women, children, and the disabled, are in desperate conditions,” Bishop Hiiboro lamented in his address to the faithful of St. Daniel Comboni Catholic Parish, Maringindo, and Nazareth Catholic Parish, and all the people of Nagero County. “As your bishop, I want you to know: you are not forgotten. The Church is with you, I am with you, and Christ Himself walks with you in this valley of tears. Even though your homes, schools, and health centers have been looted, and though you now sleep in the open sky, remember that you are still held in the shelter of God’s hands. In this time of confusion and disaster, I appeal to all people of good will, especially Christians, let us stand in solidarity with our suffering brothers and sisters in Nagero.”
The prelate also requests humanitarian agencies, the Bishop of Wau, Matthew Remijio Adam Gbitiku , Caritas of South Sudan, and the Catholic Organization for Development and Peace to provide emergency aid in the form of food, medicine, clothing, and shelter.
At the end of his appeal, Hiiboro concludes with an encouragement to the faithful: “Your suffering is not unseen. The Church carries you in her heart, and I will not rest until support and relief reach you. Beloved children, though scattered and wounded, remember that you remain one family in Christ.”
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