Central Equatoria State (CES) Governor Emmanuel Adil Anthony has urged the church to reach out to National Salvation Front led by Gen. Thomas Cirilo to join the peace initiative.

The governor met members of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan in Juba to deliberate on how the church and the state can weed out insecurity that has for the past few months rocked the church. The delegation that paid the governor a courtesy call was led by the Archbishop of Central Equatoria Internal Province (CEIP) Archbishop Paul Yoane Yugusuk Benjamin.

“I am calling upon you as the church leaders through prayers to faithfully continue engaging the holdout groups especially the forces loyal to Gen. Thomas to denounce violence and join the peace process,“ the governor said, as per the press statement shared by his office on the official Facebook page.

He pledged to work together with the church leaders for the sake of development and peace in the CES.

“[Be] rest assured of my unwavering support. As we journey together, state and church [will have] to do God’s will. Both of us are here for the service of humanity in all aspect and we need to work more closely,” the governor added.

Yugusuk on his part vowed support from the church for preaching peace and tranquillity in the state.

He said, “Our position as church leaders in the country has been very crystal clear as always and as such, we would like to reiterate our commitment towards consolidating efforts geared towards sustainable peace and development.’’

Attacks

The courtesy call comes after a wave of attacks on the clergy that left the country reeling in shock.

For instance, Gumbiri Parish Priest Rev. Cosmas Matayo from Lainya Diocese was mysteriously killed after being taken by armed gunmen on May 30, alongside four other people.

Yugusuk blamed the killing of the cleric on South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF). However, SSPD Spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Lul Ruai Koang refuted the claims saying there was no way the SSPDF were responsible.

“It is highly unlikely that our forces were responsible for such killings. The accusations are serious and as a result, the [SSPDF] will carry out investigations so that we clear out our name,” he told the City Review.

Lainya became a hostile ground in the past one after government forces engaged the NAS forces loyal to Gen Cirilo. The two sides pointed fingers at each other with each side blaming the other for torturing innocent civilians.