After Sunday's Angelus, Pope Leo XIV made a call for peace in two of the world's hottest military hotspots: Sudan and Ukraine, Aleteia.org reported.
Speaking in English, the pope said he continued to follow "with concern the tragic situation" in Sudan, mentioning the city of El Obeid in particular. "I renew my appeal to the authorities to guarantee humanitarian corridors for the civilian population," he said, urging the international community to support efforts for an "immediate ceasefire."
The appeal is particularly important given the deteriorating situation in El Obeid. The war between Sudan's two rival generals, which began in April 2023, has already claimed an estimated 400,000 lives, displaced 13 million people internally and forced another 4 million into exile - one of the worst displacement crises since World War II.
The pope also appealed for an end to the war in Ukraine. “Painful news continues to arrive of innocent people killed and injured in Ukraine and Russia,“ he said. “Tragic episodes follow one another – and even multiply – causing increasing casualties among the civilian population, including children.“ The pope renewed the “urgent appeal for respect for humanitarian law and for an end to attacks on civilian targets by both sides,” adding that “war only breeds more war and causes immense suffering.”
“It is time to stop the spiral of violence and make way for diplomacy and dialogue,” Leo XIV said.
The UN human rights office reported in July that the number of civilians injured and killed in Ukraine had risen by more than a third in the first half of the year, due to a surge in drone attacks.