Missionaries remain in South Sudan despite violence against foreigners

August 31, 2016

A number of Catholic missionaries have chosen to remain in South Sudan, despite the mounting risks of violence against foreigners there.

In July, Associated Press reports, government troops attacked relief workers in the capital city, Juba. Americans were special targets for beatings and mock executions; one woman was gang-raped. Shortly after that brutal attack, Catholic Relief Services announced that it would withdraw all "non-essential" foreign staff from the city.

However Brother Bill Firman, the head of Solidarity with South Sudan, told the Catholic News Service that he and his colleagues will stay "because we are committed to the ordinary people who are suffering so much."

 

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Further information:

• Catholic missionaries choose to stay in South Sudan despite attack on foreign aid workers (CNS)