World must act on ‘colossal’ suffering in Sudan, says bishop

According to the United Nations, nearly 100,000 people fled El Fasher this month after the end of the 18-month siege by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

The civil war in Sudan is “almost a sideshow” to the wider world despite the scale of violence and its threat to the wider region, the Bishop of Lancaster said.

Bishop Paul Swarbrick, who served as a missionary in Zambia for 15 years and is lead bishop for Africa for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, warned that the fall of the city of El Fasher last month was not receiving sufficient attention although “the loss of life, widespread suffering and the number of displaced people is colossal”.

“The reports from the city of El Fasher are deeply troubling and call for immediate international attention,” he said. “The situation has become even more dire and there’s no evidence of it moving towards a resolution.”

According to the United Nations, nearly 100,000 people fled the city this month after the end of the 18-month siege by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). There have been reports of mass killings and other atrocities by RSF fighters. The UN human rights chief Volker Türk repeated his warning that the fall of the city “would result in a bloodbath”.

Bishop Swarbrick said he had received accounts from the local Church and aid agencies of “widespread displacement and hunger [while] communities are exhausted and humanitarian access remains severely limited”.

“My overriding sense when I visited the Tigray region of Ethiopia earlier this year is that the effects of Sudan’s tragedy are spreading across international borders in the region and further afield. This is a worrying development,” he said.

“While I am deeply grateful that faith communities continue to work on the ground despite risks, words must now be matched by action – the international community can no longer turn away from the immense human cost of this conflict.”

Last week, the Catholic bishops of Sudan and South Sudan appealed for an end to violence in both countries. They said they were “deeply disturbed by the ongoing devastating conflicts and the dishonoured peace agreements in both nations, especially with the worsening situation in 2025”.

“The ongoing power struggles within our governments and opposition groups in Sudan and South Sudan lack respect for human dignity. They are harmful to the core and maliciously selfish,” the bishops said following their joint conference’s plenary on 7-14 November.

They committed “to continue advocating for dialogue, reconciliation, healing, unity, and peace both with political leaders and grassroots communities”.

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