After Catholic priest’s murder, human rights group urges Sudan to address tensions

KHARTOUM, Sudan — Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), a U.K.-based human rights organization, has called for concrete steps to diffuse tensions in Sudan after the murder of Father Youhanna Al-Amin, a priest who remained with his people amid growing violence in the Nuba Mountains.

In a report shared with ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, on June 25, CSW founder president Mervyn Thomas condemned the June 19 killing of the priest of St. Vincentʼs Kauda Parish in Sudanʼs Catholic Diocese of El Obeid after allegedly reporting the theft of medicines intended for the local population.

“We call on authorities in the area to take concrete steps to diffuse tensions and protect citizens, and once again urge the international community to increase efforts to bring an end to the devastating conflict in Sudan,” Thomas said in the report.

Al-Amin was murdered alongside a parish watchman and another person in Sudanʼs Nuba Mountains, a region long plagued by conflict and instability.

According to a June 20 report by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) quoting local sources, Al-Amin was killed amid escalating tribal tensions and disputes among armed factions operating in the area.

The sources said the killing appears to have been an act of retaliation after Al-Amin reported the theft of medicines that the Church was safeguarding for the benefit of residents.

Kauda serves as the main center of the Nuba Mountains areas controlled by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N).

In recent months, worsening insecurity and clashes involving armed and tribal groups forced some religious personnel to leave the region.

Al-Amin, however, chose to remain. According to those who knew him, he refused to abandon the community he served even as humanitarian conditions deteriorated.

In a region marked by poverty and limited access to essential services, his ministry extended beyond pastoral care. The Church also served as an important source of healthcare assistance and support for vulnerable families.

News of his death sent shockwaves through the Diocese of El Obeid, where the priest had ministered for nearly three decades.

In a condolence message shared with ACN, St. Peter’s Babnusa Parish of the El Obeid Diocese recalled the priest’s long years of service, noting that he ministered in the parish from 1997 until 2021.

The parish, located in Sudan’s West Kordofan province, described a journey that began when Al-Amin arrived as a seminarian before serving as a deacon and eventually parish priest.

“He was a friend of the youth and the children, and he loved his work until the very end,” the parish said in its tribute.

According to the CSW report, tensions broke out in Kauda approximately three months ago when SPLM-N, which is the ruling authority in the city, demarcated land between the Otoro and Shawaya tribes, prompting some members of the former to attack Shawaya villages.

The report says attacks have since extended to the Kawaleeb tribe, to which the commander of the SPLM-N, Izzat Koko, belongs, and CSW sources speculate that this may have been the motive for the killing of Al-Amin, since both the Otoro and Kawaleeb tribes are predominantly Christian.

The CSW report disclosed that there may also be an economic motive arising from shortages of food and medicine among Otoro fighters.

Churches have reportedly been widely used as shelters over the course of the conflict in Sudan, particularly in the Nuba Mountains, from where the majority of Sudanese Christians originate.

Attacks on places of worship and religious leaders have also been widely documented throughout the conflict, and both the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces have used places of worship for military purposes.

“Attacks on places of worship should always be condemned but are particularly concerning in a region known for peaceful coexistence between religious and ethnic communities,” Thomas said in the report.

This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.

Source: https://www.ewtnnews.com/world/africa/after-catholic-priest-s-murder-human-rights-group-urges-sudan-to-address-tensions