Beneath the trees, in a hollow, we gathered with perhaps a thousand parishioners. It was a truly festive occasion. During the service, the bishop received a message from the resistance. They had intercepted a message from the military the planes had been sent to bomb. He asked us to pray.
Terror bombing is literally an everyday occurrence in Sudan.
As human rights groups have reported, the government routinely bombs hospitals and refugee camps in the south. It drops cluster bombs and shrapnel bombs. It does so even on Christmas, and even during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The cease fire that was in effect for most of Sudan until January 15 did not apply to the Nuba Mountains, allowing the government to focus its bombing on the area. Luckily, the planes did not find us and the Mass was not interrupted.