Sudanese bishops: Killings in South Sudan mark a “descent into the abyss of human depravity”

Catholic bishops in Sudan and South Sudan have described the recent killings in parts of South Sudan as “a fresh descent into the abyss of human depravity.”

At least 178 people were killed on Sunday, February 28, when gunmen stormed Ayod County in Jonglei State and Abiemnom County in the Ruweng Administrative Area.

James Monyluak Mijok, Ruweng Administrative Area’s Information Minister, said dozens of armed youth carried out the attack. He claimed that the attackers came from neighboring Unity state and were linked to the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO). But the SPLA-IO has denied any involvement in the attack, accusing the authorities of politicizing the violence.

According to Mijok, the attack resulted in the deaths of dozens of combatants and an unspecified number of women and children. The U.N. Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) subsequently stated in a release that its base had become a refuge for a thousand people following the violence.

“Such violence places civilians at grave risk and must stop immediately,” Anita Kiki Gbeho, an UNMISS official, said in a statement. “I urge all involved to cease hostilities without delay and engage in constructive dialogue to address their grievances.”

“Our peacekeepers will continue to do everything within their capabilities to protect civilians seeking refuge at our base,” she added.

Catholic bishops of Sudan and South Sudan put out a statement condemning the violence, saying their hearts were “weighed down by profound sorrow and a spirit deeply alarmed by the persistent cruelty of violence.”

Describing the attacks as “brutal” and targeting civilians, the clerics condemned the “heinous and senseless killings” in the strongest possible terms.”

“There can be no justification whatsoever for the murder of civilians,” said the statement signed by 10 bishops, including Cardinal Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla of Juba, who is president of the Sudan and South Sudan bishops’ conference

“These acts represent not only a tragic loss of life, but a fresh descent into the abyss of human depravity, where the sanctity of life, a sacred gift from God, is trampled upon with alarming impunity.”

“The blood of our brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, shed not on a battlefield but within their own communities cries out to Heaven,” they added. “We are profoundly disturbed, not only by the scale of suffering, but by the brazen disregard for human dignity that such acts represent.”

The clerics expressed profound sorrow and alarm at the growing violence in the world’s newest country, and expressed pastoral solidarity with the affected populations who have once again been plunged into “mourning, fear and displacement.’

“To the families devastated by this tragedy, to mothers who have lost sons and daughters, to children who have lost parents, to communities burying their neighbors, we extend our deepest condolences,” the Bishops said.

“We cannot fully comprehend the depth of your suffering, but we assure you: you are not alone. The Church is your family. We weep with you. We pray with you.”

Going beyond simple condemnation of the killings, members of the South Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SSS-CBC) also confronted a deeply entrenched culture of retaliatory violence that perpetuates conflict in the region.

The Catholic leaders warned that cycles of revenge driven by anger, historical grievances, and collective blame continue to devastate families and tear at the fabric of communities.

“With pastoral honesty, we must confront a painful truth: the culture of deadly revenge has taken root in parts of our society,” they said.

In comments to CWR, Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala of South Sudan’s Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio said that “for the last ten years, South Sudan has been in conflict and only tears and brokenness of innocent people have remained.”

“Ongoing fighting between rival factions continues to claim civilian lives, displace families, destroy property, and create economic hardship. Civilians are frequently targeted for their ethnicity or perceived affiliation with opposing groups,” Bishop Hiiboro told CWR.

Amid growing political instability in South Sudan, clashes between the national military (SSPDF) and opposition forces (SPLA-IO) in Jonglei state have become tragically frequent.

The fragile peace in South Sudan hangs in the balance, jeopardized by the trial of Vice President Riek Machar on treason and murder charges. His supporters denounce the case as a politically motivated scheme to remove him, warning it could unravel the nation’s tenuous power-sharing agreement and reignite a brutal conflict.

This latest chapter is rooted in the long and tumultuous rivalry between Machar and President Salva Kiir. Although the two men were former comrades who secured independence in 2011, their partnership collapsed in 2013, plunging the country into a civil war fought along ethnic lines between the Dinka and Nuer peoples.

While a 2018 peace agreement halted major fighting and established a transitional government, its core promises have gone unfulfilled. Key commitments, such as general elections and security reforms, were never implemented.

In 2019, the late Pope Francis made a dramatic appeal for peace, famously kneeling to kiss the feet of the nation’s political leaders.

“To the three of you who have signed the peace agreement, I ask you as a brother: stay in peace”, said Pope Francis at the time.

“I am asking you with my heart. Let us go forward. There will be many problems, but they will not overcome us. Go ahead, go forward, and resolve the problems. You have begun a process. May it end well,” he said. “There will be struggles and disagreements amongst you, but let this be within the community – inside the office, as it were – but in front of the people, hold hands, united; so as simple citizens you will become fathers of the nation.”

But the path to peace has been blocked. The apparent persecution of Machar has unified the opposition, and that has intensified fighting between government forces and the opposition in the opposition stronghold of Jonglei. At least 280,000 people have been displaced in the area in the last two months.

“Even if he’s detained or is incommunicado or cannot issue orders, he has become very effective,” said Akech Daniel Akech, a senior analyst for South Sudan at the International Crisis Group.

The UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights has urged urgent action to preserve the peace agreement and prevent a return to all-out civil war.

“We are at a dangerous point, when rising violence is combined with deepening uncertainty over South Sudan’s political trajectory, as the peace agreement comes under severe strain,” Volker Türk told the UN Human Rights Council.

The nation’s Catholic bishops, in their March 4 statement, reminded leaders of the transitional government of their “sacred duty to protect life” and urged them to “act immediately, decisively, and transparently.”

The bishops also demanded thorough, independent investigations into the recent killings in Ayod and Abiemnom to ensure the perpetrators are identified and prosecuted.

They extended their call for prayers to all Christians and the people of Sudan and South Sudan, hoping to break the “cycle of violence.”

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