A South Sudanese Catholic Bishop has decried media indifference as killings continue in remote areas in the country, Radio Easter reported.
Bishop Erkolano Lodu Tombe of Yei said that the media is not reporting what is happening in villages and blames the international community for its inability to take action.
“Notwithstanding a return to calm in the South Sudanese city of Yei, those living in rural areas continue to die immersed in the deafening silence of the media and before the indifferent gaze of the international community,” he said.
The religious leader said that the country has been hit by a wave of murders and massacres, which are believed to have been carried out by mixed military-civilian groups that target suspected supporters of former vice president Riek Machar.
Tombe said that hundreds of people have lost their lives in violent attacks in villages on the outskirts of Yei and said they are dying also due to lack of food and medicine.
He pointed out that the local residents are currently living in fear of new waves of violence. He decried the lack of security on the roads and said that villagers are unable to reach the city of Yei and farmers are unable to travel to their agricultural fields to be able to cultivate them.
The bishop noted that the population will be forced to rely on humanitarian assistance throughout the coming year because there are no crops.
Bishop Tombe said the people of South Sudan are exhausted and together with the Catholic Church and other religious confessions appeal for an end to hostilities and the restoration of peace in the country.