The Catholic archbishop of Juba, South Sudan, condemned “in the strongest terms possible” the murder of three young girls, killed while watching television in their Juba home.
The girls, ages 9, 7 and 4, were the children of Edward Jami Andrea, a lecturer at the Upper Nile University in the capital. The children were alone in the house on August 1 while their mother was at the market.
“I don’t know whether it was revenge or ritual killings, but these were innocent children who someone just decided to take their lives,” Archbishop Stephen Ameyu Mulla told Catholic News Service from Torit, where he is on a pastoral visit. “I am very shocked and saddened by the deaths.”
In a statement, Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala of Tombura-Yambio called the murders “really heart-breaking”.
“What kind of monstrous cowards can sneak up on defenceless children and slaughter them in their home?” he asked, saying he joined all of South Sudan in condemning the murders.
“We, the peace-loving people of South Sudan, must stand united…in the face of those who would use violence and intimidation,” said Bishop Kussala.