As militant activity escalated in Sudan over the past few years, Fr Youhana Alamin, priest of St Vincent’s Church in Kauda chose to remain with his parish. He was however recently attacked and shot dead in his bedroom on the parish premises.
Sources from the Diocese of El Obeid told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that Father Youhana had been preparing to evacuate after militants entered the church compound in the Nuba mountains the previous day, demanding access to the parish’s medical store.
On June 18, an armed group is reported to have stormed into Father Youhana’s church, demanding the keys to the medical supply storage. The looters broke into the stores of the Bishop Gassis Relief and Rescue Foundation (BGRRF) and made off with medicines, food items, and whatever supplies they could carry after the premises were looted and damaged. Father Youhana reported the incident and planned to evacuate the remaining resources before the group returned.
Militants however returned the next morning before Father Youhana had managed to leave. “Unfortunately, on Friday the group military faction returned to the church compound and sought the room of the Father who was with his two watchmen,” a source told reporters. They located his room and shot him dead, along with members of the BGRRF organization’s staff who were with him: Mr. John Lemeya Adam, a security guard who also died, and Mr. Yohannes Kucho Marcus, storekeeper for the BGRRF organization, who was badly injured and taken to Lwere Hospital.
Humanitarian agencies have warned that the Sudanese conflict is intensifying in Kordofan. Following reports of a significant buildup of RSF militia and allied troops around the city, accompanied by intensified drone strikes and artillery shelling, the United Nations Secretary General issued a call for restraint. “Far too many times in this conflict, clear warnings have failed to trigger concerted action by the international community,” the statement noted. “The Secretary-General urges all those with influence over the parties to exert it to prevent further bloodshed. We must not allow the horrors of El Fasher to be repeated in El Obeid.”
News reports reveal that dozens of drone strikes have hit El-Obeid over the past two weeks, particularly targeting fuel stations and trucks, killing civilians and cutting off access to basic services.
