Pope Francis renews call for an End to Violence in Sudan

Vatican City, Apr 23 (RHC) Pope Francis on Sunday repeated his call for an end to the armed conflict in Sudan, which began on April 15 between the local army and the so-called Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The Supreme Pontiff referred to this issue, among others that he addressed after concluding the Regina Caeli Easter prayer, which he performed at noon, local time, from the window of his study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, in front of thousands of believers who gathered at Saint Peter’s Square.

“Unfortunately, the situation in Sudan remains serious, so I renew my appeal to stop the violence as soon as possible and resume the path of dialogue,” the Bishop of Rome noted.

Last Sunday, the Pope expressed concern about the bloody events in that African country, just 24 hours after the start of the fight for power between the president of the Sovereign Transition Council (STC) and the RSF leader, General Abdel Fattah al Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, respectively.

On that occasion, Francis pointed out, “I am close to the Sudanese people, already so stricken, and I invite them to pray so that they lay down their arms and dialogue prevails, so that together we can resume the path of peace.”

The clashes between the two forces continue without signs of a possible truce, even though a possible 72-hour ceasefire was announced. So far, hundreds of civilians have been killed, while several nations have started to withdraw their citizens from Sudanese territory due to the existing danger. (Source: Prensa Latina)