Pope Francis on Sunday called for dialogue between warring military factions in Sudan as a bloody outbreak of fighting entered a second week.
“Unfortunately the situation remains grave in Sudan, that is why I am renewing my call for the violence to stop as quickly as possible and for dialogue to resume,” he said during traditional Sunday prayers in Saint Peter’s square.
He added, “I invite everyone to pray for our Sudanese brothers and sisters”.
France, Italy, Turkey and the United States are all evacuating citizens from Sudan, AFP reported.
More than 400 people have died and tens of thousands have been injured in brutal clashes between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary organization, which included tank combat in densely populated Khartoum and airstrikes by fighter jets.
The conflict over the proposed merger of the Rapid Support soldiers (RSF) into the regular army started on April 15 and involved army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s soldiers and the competing RSF of his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, according to AFP.
