Catholic bishops have joined diplomats and other leaders across the world in urging fighting factions in Sudan to lay down arms, as the death toll in the four days of violence continued to rise.
Fighting between the regular army and a paramilitary broke out in the northeastern African country April 14, with the two sides firing tanks, artillery and other heavy weapons.
In Khartoum, the capital city, giant mushroom smoke clouds were seen billowing as fighter jets and attack helicopters dropped bombs. Anti-aircraft fire could be heard cracking in response. The latest fighting has raised fears of a civil war for the country, which has been trying to return to democracy after decades of military rule.
“There is fighting all over the country. We are indoors,” Bishop Tombe Trille Kuku Andali of El Obeid said April 17 from Khartoum. “Right now, there are gunshots all over. Thank God, we are safe.”
Out of a Sudanese population of 46.8 million, 5.4% are Christians. Catholics account for about 1.1 million people. But the bishops’ reactions captured the situation of millions of people trapped by the heavy fighting in their homes and other places.
After weeks of tension, a power struggle between Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), which is the regular army, and Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, the leader of the paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF), engaged in full fighting April 15.
In practice, al-Burhan is the Sudanese president, while Dagalo is his deputy, but “the straw that broke the camel’s back,” many say, was an attempt to integrate the paramilitary into the country’s army. The army leader said this was part of the effort to restore civilian rule.
The two generals rose to prominence as leaders of a transitional government formed in 2019, after the ouster of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir. Bashir had ruled the country for 30 years but was overthrown following months of mass popular uprising.
With al-Bashir out of the way, the Sudanese leaders formed a hybrid government composed of the military leaders and a civilian prime minister. The pact forming the government involved a gradual move to civilian rule, but two coups — in which al-Burhan and Dagalo were involved — forced the civilian part of the government to resign in 2022.
On April 17, reports indicated that Khartoum — a city of 6 million people — was running out of water and food. Most families have been unable to restock supplies as fighting forced the closure of shops and markets.
On April 15, three employees of the U.N.’s World Food Program were killed and another two injured while on duty in Kabkabiya, North Darfur. The tragedy forced the agency to halt its operations in Sudan.
According to agencies, hospitals have been attacked, and medical and other supplies have been looted in parts of the country.
The World Health Organization is alarmed that several hospitals treating wounded civilians in Khartoum have run out of blood, transfusion equipment, intravenous fluids and other important supplies.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the fighting and appealed to the leaders to immediately cease hostilities, restore calm and begin dialogue to end the crisis. “The situation has already led to horrendous loss of lives, including many civilians,” Guterres said.
Diplomats were assaulted in Sudan as a U.S. diplomatic convoy was fired at on Tuesday, April 17. The same day the European Union ambassador also was attacked in his home. These attacks were reported as hospitals came under attack and students in Khartoum were trapped inside buildings on the campus. The death toll from the fighting was nearly 200 to date. An estimated 1,800 people also have been injured.