Three
years have passed since the start of the war in Sudan, and there seems to be no
end in sight. The conflict, which broke out on April 16, 2023 remains in a
stalemate with constant changes in territorial control. The Sudanese Armed
Forces (SAF) have recaptured large parts of Khartoum (including Omdurman and
Bahri) as well as areas in central and eastern Sudan and established their base
in Port Sudan.
Their
opponents, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), have consolidated control over most
of the western Darfur region after capturing El Fasher (the capital of northern
Darfur) in October 2025 following a long siege. The RSF have captured some
areas in Kordofan and other regions, although Sudanese forces have pushed back
the militants in areas such as South Kordofan (e.g., Kadugli and Dilling).
The
war has claimed at least 150,000 lives, most of them civilians. In total, the
conflict has displaced approximately 14 million people: around 9 to 10 million
internally displaced persons have been resettled in other regions of Sudan,
while about 4.4 million refugees and asylum seekers are living in neighboring
countries (Chad, Egypt, South Sudan, and others).
…Many
internally displaced persons live in precarious conditions, and those who have
been able to return to devastated areas (such as Khartoum) are at risk due to
unexploded bombs and a lack of basic services such as healthcare. Women and
girls constitute a significant proportion of the displaced and are among the
most vulnerable. Meanwhile, Bishop Paul Swarbrick of Lancaster, the delegate of
the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales for Africa, called on
Catholics in England and Wales to pray for peace in a message commemorating the
three-year war in Sudan and asked the [everyone] not to lose sight of this
crisis. "I am aware, through my links with the Church in Sudan and with
Catholic charities working in the region that there is a fear that the conflict
risks being overlooked by the international community.”…
Article
from FIDES missionary news service of the Pontifical Mission Societies. Please remember the Pontifical Mission
Societies of the Diocese of Ogdensburg INC. when writing or changing your will.
