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South Sudan’s bishops lament war crimes; ‘this famine is man-made’

February 24, 2017

As famine spreads in South Sudan, the nation’s bishops issued a pastoral message in which they pleaded again for an end to the nation’s civil war and decried war crimes committed by both sides.

“The killing, torturing and raping of civilians is a war crime,” the bishops said in their February 23 message. “People have been herded into their houses which were then set on fire.”

The bishops said that “this famine is man-made” and lamented the scorched-earth policy that has contributed to the famine. They also decried increasing attacks on churches.

 


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  • Posted by: vboast4348 - Feb. 26, 2017 5:06 PM ET USA

    This pastoral message calls to us all over the world to pray for these bishops as they bravely head into the fray, and for Pope Francis who has said he will make a visit to Sudan this year.

  • Posted by: Randal Mandock - Feb. 25, 2017 9:39 AM ET USA

    "The bishops said that 'this famine is man-made' and lamented the scorched-earth policy that has contributed to the famine." This much was evident in the 22 February CWN article. Starvation and denial of necessities for human life is a tactic used throughout the last 100 years (and throughout history, for that matter) to wipe out innocent noncombatants. South Sudan's president is Catholic, and the country's struggle for survival has been described as a war against Christianity.

  • Posted by: seewig - Feb. 25, 2017 1:15 AM ET USA

    The Bishop o the Diocese of Tombura-Yambio, Most Rev. Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala is asking for donations to the Sudan Relief Fund (sudanreliefund.org), or per address P.O. Box 7084, Merrifield, Virginia 22116 This is where the rubber hits the road.

  • Posted by: JimKcda - Feb. 24, 2017 11:21 PM ET USA

    How sad.