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Cardinal urges restraint as retaliatory attacks ignite after killings of South Sudanese refugees

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Women who fled the war-torn Sudan following the outbreak of fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces wait in line May 1, 2023, to receive food rations at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees transit center in in Renk, South Sudan. (OSV News photo/Jok Solomun, Reuters)

Cardinal Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla of Juba called for restraint and compassion as retaliatory attacks in South Sudan followed the alleged killings of South Sudanese refugees in Sudan.

Violence erupted after a video surfaced showing Sudanese soldiers killing South Sudanese civilians in Wad Madani.

At least 29 South Sudanese were reported dead, with children among the victims. In response, South Sudanese youth attacked Sudanese nationals, killing 16 and injuring many others.

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Cardinal Ameyu condemned the violence and urged South Sudanese to avoid revenge, stressing the importance of unity and healing. He also expressed solidarity with the victims’ families.

The violence follows ongoing conflict in Sudan between army forces and the Rapid Support Forces, with reports of ethnic-based killings and persecution of black Africans.

South Sudanese refugees
Cardinal Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla of Juba, South Sudan, speaks at an Oct. 18, 2024, press briefing about the Synod of Bishops at the Vatican. (CNS photo/Robert Duncan)

Meanwhile, the US imposed sanctions on Sudanese leaders for human rights abuses, and the US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets accused the Sudanese army of war crimes, including airstrikes on civilian infrastructure.

Earlier in the month, the leader of Rapid Support Forces, Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, known as “Hemedti,” was sanctioned, with the US accusing his forces on committing genocide in Sudan.

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