SUDAN/ The missionary: a war fueled by anti-Christian hate and oil

Three thousand dead and 60 thousand refugees in a week because of clashes between two ethnic groups in South Sudan six months since the Christian and animist South won independence from the Muslim North, which seemed to have put an end to the war with clear religious connotations that had caused 2 million and a half martyrdoms in 40 years. Blood is flowing once again in the African country. Ilsussidiario.net interviewed Father Daniele Moschetti, a Comboni missionary in Juba in Southern Sudan to talk about this forgotten war. According to the priest, "behind what is apparently a feud between herders for some cows, lies the Islamic regime of North Sudan, which arms the tribes to destabilize the South. Its goal is to continue to control the huge oil fields in the newly independent State. Until last July, the oil was completely at the disposal of the Khartoum regime". Father Moschetti adds, “Within a few months, the government will impose the Sharia in the North, and the Church present there will become a persecuted Church".

Father Moschetti, what is the situation like now in South Sudan?
Not exactly calm, considering the fact that, at this time, there are six thousand young men armed to the teeth, facing the Army as a show of force against their ethnic rivals. In recent days, this has resulted in a feud that has dragged on for some time among the Lou Nuer and Murle tribes, two of the more than 60 ethnic groups that make up South Sudan.

Why has war broken out so quickly after South Sudan gained their independence?
The two ethnic groups who are fighting live on sheep farming and their livelihood is based on cows. Raising thousands of cattle means needing water and pastures. This automatically increases the tribal tensions, especially in dry seasons like the present one. The young fighters from the two rival ethnic groups attack villages, burning them and killing everyone they meet, and then they take away all the cattle.

What is the religious composition of the tribes who are fighting?
They are animists and Protestants, but the areas in question are areas where evangelization is still very superficial. This is a relevant fact because, in areas of South Sudan where the involvement with the Church is more profound, there are definitely fewer tense situations. Of course, the real distinction is not whether a tribe is Christian or not, but if the people who make it up are trying to walk a path of conversion to transform their tribal traditions.

Is it true that the clashes were instigated by the Muslim North, which wants to weaken the Christian South?