Complex sentence: This priest'intervened at every attempt by the militia to abduct or murder' the refugees in his centre and even in the face of powerful opposition he tried to hold off the killers with persuasion or bribes.
Split into simpler sentences: This priest'intervened at every attempt by the militia to abduct or murder' the refugees in his centre. In the face of powerful opposition, he tried to hold off the killers with persuasion or bribes.