On April 15, 2023, soldiers of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces seized the cathedral and transformed it into an operation base. Archbishop Ezekiel Kondo and his family were trapped inside. The church was close to the army headquarters and the airport, where the conflict started during Ramadan in 2023. Leaders of the Rapid Support Forces ordered their soldiers to encircle the cathedral, in the hope that they would be safe inside and it would not be bombed. 

Archbishop Kondo, who is now a refugee in Port Sudan since last June, recalls the horrors: “It happened very abruptly. Nobody expected it. It was Saturday when we were in the office preparing for the Sunday service after the first week of Easter Sunday. We heard a very heavy sound of gunfire, only to get out and find heavy smoke billowing nearby. They were there at the gate and we were unable to do anything. We were unable to get out. All the families that were there gathered in the church hall. Other people also ran and joined us. We spent three nights there.”

Surviving without food or water, the church leaders tried to negotiate with the soldiers and finally were allowed to leave. They had to walk with their families for an hour and a half to find transport to take them to the south of Khartoum. After staying there for two months, Kondo’s family was forced to move again as the violence became more intense: “One of the shells fell near where we were. It was very difficult, but we thank God. He has been our protector. There are pastors who are still with the people there, and I tell them to be strong, not be afraid. I would like to urge parachurch organizations to join in the effort to send relief food to the people of Sudan. If food is not given, many people are going to die.”

Two rival military groups have been fighting for control over the area – the Sudanese Armed Forces, under Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and its allies, under the Janjaweed leader Hemedti. Initially, the two teams were collaborators but turned against each other. The troubles put severe restrictions on media and medical aid access. More than 10 million people have been displaced, and an estimated 150,000 people have been killed. In South Sudan, almost 400,000 people died in wars between 2013 and 2018.

According to Open Doors UK, 165 churches have been destroyed since the war started. Out of 33 Anglican churches, only five are functioning in the greater Khartoum area.

Source: https://www.christiantoday.com/