Sudan Drought Portends New Disaster, Warns Bishop

ROME, JAN. 6, 2003 (Zenit.org).- Bishop Cesare Mazzolari of Rumbek in southern Sudan warned that the ongoing drought could further ravage the war-torn area.

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He told the Misna missionary agency that the region’s drought is relentless and expressed his fears that the lack of food and water might result in thousands of victims by the time spring arrives in the Northern Hemisphere.

Bishop Mazzolari said that close to 4 million Sudanese live in his diocese in conditions that have deteriorated markedly due to the war that broke out in 1983.

«After 20 years of disaster, the population is no longer in conditions to endure the conflict,» he said Saturday.

The bishop expressed the hope that a national reconciliation might begin among the factions fighting for control of the rich oil lands. He also hopes that an agreement would be based foremost on the needs of the people rather than on «purely economic interests.»

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