Africa
Pope calls for Sudanese parties to sign peace treaty
Pope Francis called on warring factions in Sudan to lay down their arms on Sunday, expressing regret at the African country’s ongoing conflict.
“In encouraging the partial agreements reached so far, I renew my heartfelt plea for weapons to be set aside,” the Pope told pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square.
“I urge the international community to make every effort to ensure that dialogue prevails and that people’s suffering is alleviated,” he continued.
The fighting between Sudan’s army and the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has led to a collapse of order. The rival groups in Sudan signed an agreement late on Saturday for a seven-day ceasefire that is due to take effect on Monday evening.
“Please, let’s not get accustomed to war. And we should continue to support the war-torn people of Ukraine,” added the pope after delivering the Regina Caeli prayer.
The pope has asked Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, head of the Italian bishops’ conference, to carry out a peace mission to try to help end the war in Ukraine, the Vatican said on Saturday.
A Vatican diplomatic source said Zuppi would try to meet separately with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
