Bishop Yunan Tombe Trille Kuku Andali who was accompanied by a Deacon he referred to as Joseph fell in the hands of the paramilitary force while he was traveling from an unidentified place to the embattled country.
He shared his horrific experience with Bishop Edward Hiiboro Kussala of South Sudan’s Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio who shared the report with ACI Africa on Sunday, December 1. Both Bishops were not available to provide more details of where Bishop Tombe and the Deacon were travelling from when they met their assailants.
In the report, Bishop Tombe narrates how he and the Deacon were first harassed by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) who are in conflict with the RSF in the country’s worst civil war that is ongoing.
He writes to Bishop Hiiboro, saying, “I just arrived in El Obeid together with Deacon Joseph. This time, I was badly treated.”
He continues, “From the side of the army, some little cash in USD was taken on pretext that I was carrying the forbidden hard currency.”
After the harassment by the SAF, Bishop Tombe and Deacon Joseph ran into the RSF who beat the Bishop and left him for dead.
The Bishop narrates, “On the side of Rapid Forces, I was given countless heavy blows on the neck, forehead, on my face and two sides of my head.”
When he wrote to Bishop Hiiboro, Bishop Tome said he was so seriously injured that he could not move his jaws. “I can't bite food,” he said.
“Together with deacon, we missed narrowly martyrdom when one leader said that is enough,” he says in his note to Bishop Hiiboro, in which he also expresses gratitude for the “prayers of many.”
This is not the first time that Bishop Tombe has stared death in the face as war rages on in Sudan where he has been serving since he was ordained a member of Clergy of El-Obeid 33 years ago.
On 20 April 2023, just five days after fighting between SAF nad RSF erupted, the 60-year-old Bishop and some Clergy narrowly escaped death when rockets hit the premises of his Cathedral, destroying the main gate of Mary Queen of Africa Cathedral and the Priests’ residence.
The incident is said to have occurred when the Bishop of El-Obeid and the Priests were praying. Thankfully this time, no one was injured.
Bishop Tombe has been vocal about the Sudanese war that has reportedly led to tens of thousands of deaths and massive displacements, questioning the willingness of the warrying parties to lay down their weapons.
The war that is in its second year has reportedly led to 61,202 deaths according to the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine’s Sudan Research Group, which also reports that 26,024 of those killed died from direct injuries inflicted owing to the conflict.
In an interview with ACI Africa last year, Bishop Tombe lamented that dialogue between the two opposing forces had been given a wide berth, saying, “So far there is not even a clue to the light of peace dialogue that can bring hope for the Sudanese.”
“I believe that our leaders are not ready for peace. Fighting and conflict have the upper hand as we hear them say ‘unless we defeat the other group we won’t put down weapons’,” he said.
The immediate former President of the Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SCBC) cautioned that “the more the fighting, the more people get scattered” and “the more hatred grows among various Sudanese ethnic groups.”
The Bishop appealed for prayers, noting that the humanitarian situation in the country was dire.
The Bishop further appealed
to the people of neighboring South Sudan to share the little that they
have with the Sudanese who were fleeing the conflict, and to make the
refugees feel at home.