Khartoum, 28 June, 2023 / 10:51 pm (ACI Africa).
The ongoing violent conflict in Sudan that broke out on April 15 is, “for the moment”, neither on the basis of religion nor is it a civil war, the representative of the Holy Father in the Northeastern African nation has said.
In a Tuesday, June 27 interview with ACI Stampa, ACI Africa’s sister news agency in Italian, Archbishop Luís Miguel Muñoz Cárdaba appealed for prayers for the people trapped in the conflict between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary force under General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, and army units of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) that are loyal to the head of Sudan's transitional governing Sovereign Council, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
“The serious military conflict dramatically experiencing Sudan today is not a religious war, for the moment, not even a civil war,” Archbishop Muñoz said.
He added, “It is a conflict between two powerful military groups, and in between is the civilian population who suffer dramatically as a result.”
“It is true that some churches were looted, including the Catholic cathedral of Khartoum, but the churches were not the target of the attacks,” he said, and added, “Rather, the looting extends into all the actions of the conflict, so much so that even embassies have been looted, including the nunciature, universities and shops, mosques, and private residences. It's not a religious issue or a religious war.”