South Sudan: Over 6,000 people forced to flee refugee camp

Caritas boat rescues fleeing refugees

Source: Fides, Caritas

More than 6,000 refugees have been forced to flee the Aburoch reception camp by armed militants.

Sister Elena Balatti, a Comboni missionary in charge of Caritas in the diocese of Malakal, in the Upper Nile state in South Sudan told Fides: "Here the fighting is very heavy and it is difficult to see the light of peace."

Fighting between different armed factions has been raging in the area since August. The latest tragedy is the assault carried out by an armed group on the Aburoch reception camp, in the Upper Nile County of Fashoda, which housed about five to six thousand people displaced by the previous war (2013-18).

"These people from other areas had managed over the years to rebuild their lives by starting small businesses," Sr Elena said. "The brutal attack on their camp (this is the second IDP camp attacked in recent days) shattered all of that. Camp residents were forced to flee through the swamps. There were several deaths, but we don't know how many."

"Last night the Caritas boat carrying supplies on the White Nile encountered a group of these people and ferried them overnight to a safe location. It was a difficult task. The boat got as close as possible to the swampy area from where the pirogues loaded with displaced people left and were loaded onto the boat. The boat would leave, unload the people, then return to the collection point and start again."

For Sr Elena, the recent suspension of the South Sudanese government's participation in the Rome peace talks "was a cold shower, but this does not mean that the "door to peace is definitively closed."

In mid-November, the government in Juba announced the "suspension of its participation in the peace talks in Rome", accusing non-signatory South Sudanese opposition groups (NSSSOG) of "lack of commitment."

Pope Francis, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, leader of the world Anglican Communion, and pastor Iain Greenshields, moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland are expected in Juba from February 3 - 5.

"Their visit demonstrates the commitment of the Christian communities for peace in South Sudan. A visit that we await with hope."

She said she hopes the high profile visit will also attract some media attention to the crisis in the Upper Nile "on which the international press is silent.. it is a question of giving visibility to the suffering of these populations who have been living in a war situation since August this year."