Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Juba (Agenzia Fides) - "The fighting continues, the entire population has fled from the city", says His Exc Mgr Michael Didi Adgum Mangora to Fides, Coadjutor Bishop of El Obeid, and South Kordofan (in South Sudan) is part of this jurisdiction, whose capital, Kadugli, has been the center of violent fighting between the troops of the north and south Sudan for days . "The UN has sent observers. Two Comboni nuns and a priest, along with a few dozen people have been evicted from the church where they had taken refuge and are now in the compound of the UN observers", says the Bishop. Mgr. Mangora, even though he appreciates their intervention, he underlines that the men sent by the UN "are mere observers, not peacekeepers. They are not even able to protect themselves, let alone civilians".
"There are seven parishes in the Nuba Mountains, including one in Kadugli. I contacted the parish priests of other parishes and they told me that their situation is calm. So the question is in the town of Kadugli " stresses Mgr. Mangora. To help understand the gravity of the situation, the Bishop says: "This morning I managed to call the nuns who are under UN protection, but I could not hear well because of the sound of fighting coming from the city". Mgr. Mangora hopes that there is space for negotiation: "an MP told me that there are attempts to find a peaceful solution, but so far the situation is disrupted, and fighting continues ". (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 09/06/2011)
