During a visit to the UK this week, Archbishop Ezekiel Kondo, Archbishop of the Province of Sudan and Bishop of Khartoum, has laid bare the scale of the humanitarian crisis facing the Sudan.
In an interview at Salisbury’s Sarum College on Monday (10 November), the archbishop described the devastation facing the country’s people and the unrelenting effects of the ongoing vicious civil war – which has seen 12 million people displaced, and, at the most conservative estimate, has claimed 40,000 lives, although the real figure is estimated to be as high as 150,000.
The international media focus has recently been on the besieged city of El Fasher, seized by paramilitary forces with verified reports of mass executions and atrocities committed against the city’s civilian population. The archbishop confirmed that similar incidents are happening in other areas of the country, including in Daleng in the Nuba mountains and the current flashpoint of North Kordofan.
Through the support of its partners, including in the UK, the Church in Sudan is continuing to distribute aid to people in churches and communities, irrespective of faith, providing a vital lifeline to those affected by the conflict. The archbishop said that the focus of his ministry was to see the people of his country survive and to see peace realised in Sudan.
While Archbishop Ezekiel welcomed the work of the Quad group – the United States, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Egypt – in their proposals for a ceasefire, he urged the international community to intervene to stop the war.
When asked what he thought Christians internationally could do, the archbishop responded: “I want Christians in this country and in other countries to know that Sudan is suffering. And we want them to pray for Sudan and for the people of Sudan in general. And we want them also to give in order to support the suffering people, and rebuilding our properties which have been destroyed, and I hope this message will go to everybody.”
The full interview can be viewed here: