‘Give peace a chance,’ churches urge South Sudan leaders

The South Sudan Council of Churches urged Salva Kiir Mayardit and Reik Machar Teny to use dialogue to end the confrontation.

Church leaders in South Sudan urged its people to reject war, warning that renewed violence threatened the world’s youngest nation’s hard-won peace.

Since February, disputes between President Salva Kiir Mayardit and the First Vice President Reik Machar Teny have escalated, driving fears of civil conflict.

In 2013, only two years after independence, similar disputes triggered a deadly war that killed an estimated 400,000 people. Under international pressure, the two signed the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS) in 2018, ending the conflict. The latest tensions follow attempts by the South Sudanese military to disarm the White Army militia allegedly linked to Machar.

“As shepherds of God’s people, our hearts are heavy with the weight of the escalating insecurity, political tensions and violence that threatens the peace that you and many other have worked so hard for,” said the leaders of the South Sudan Council of Churches, including the Archbishop of Juba Cardinal Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla. “The revitalised agreement … remains a gift of hope to our nation.”

According to the leaders, R-ARCSS promises to end the people’s suffering and lay the foundation for justice, peace and prosperity.

“Yet today, we stand at a critical juncture where this precious agreement is being shaken by the current wave of hostilities and limited political will among the parties,” said the leaders.

The latest violence has affected the Upper Nile, Western Equatoria, Western Bahr el Ghazal and Southern Warrap regions. Machar accused Kiir’s army of attacking his forces in Ulang County, and his allies in other parts of the country. In Juba, Kiir has arrested Machar’s senior allies.

On 7 March, 27 government soldiers, a general and a crewmember died when the militia attacked a UN helicopter on a rescue mission. On 3 March, militia captured an army base in Nasir, a major town near the Ethiopian border.

The Church leaders urged Kiir and Machar to use dialogue to end the confrontation, reminding them that the future of our nation depended on their choices.

“Let us choose peace and not war,” said the leaders. “Our people are tired of war and displacement that have always compromised their dignity. Let’s give peace a chance.”

Most South Sudanese are Christians or follow African traditional religions. The country gained its independence in 2011, after 21 years of war with Muslim-majority north.

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