Father Luka Jomo died this Friday in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State in Sudan, during an attack by paramilitary militias on the city, which has been under siege since April 2023.
“Dear fathers, sisters, and all the faithful. It is with great sorrow that I write to inform you of Father Luka Jomo’s passing to the Father’s House this morning (13.06.) at 3 a.m. in El Fasher,” wrote Fr. Abdallah Hussein, Vicar General of the Diocese of El Obeid (Sudan). “The cause of death was a stray bullet that took his life and that of two other young people. Let us unite in prayer and ask God the Father that their souls may rest in peace,” he said in a statement shared with the international foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).
Local sources told ACN that “Fr. Luka Jomo was the parish priest in El Fasher.” The city has been under siege for nearly two years by the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary militia. The city remains surrounded, despite the United Nations calling for humanitarian aid to be allowed in, which the militias have refused,” they added.
“In recent months, the bombings and militia attacks have intensified, and during one of these attacks, a likely stray bullet ended his life.” “We do not believe he was the intended target,” they noted.
“Since January, we had been trying to help Fr. Luka leave the city, but it was impossible to escape due to the complete encirclement by the militias,” the same sources lamented.
In January, Bishop Yunan Tombe, Bishop of El-Obeid, told ACN that “all Muslim schools closed after a shell killed 35 girls in a school in the city.” Despite everything, “the local Catholic Church continues operating six kindergartens, six primary schools, and one secondary school in El-Obeid — the only educational institutions still open.”
(Source:https://acninternational.org/keeping-christ-present-in-war-torn-sudan/)
The city of El-Obeid, which had about 358,000 inhabitants in 2008, is under the control of Sudanese military forces and has been completely besieged by the paramilitary militias known as the “Rapid Support Forces” since April 15, 2023. Although many Christians managed to flee, around 300 families remained in the city — mostly elderly people, women, and children, but also others who had escaped from Khartoum and were passing through when the siege began.
“Let us pray for the eternal rest of Father Luka and the two others who died in El Fasher, and for their families and community. But also for all Christians in Sudan and all the people of this country, victims of war and violence, so that they may soon attain the longed-for peace,” urges Regina Lynch, Executive President of ACN International.
By Maria Lozano & Xavi Burgos.
