The All Saints Anglican Cathedral in Khartoum, despite the ongoing civil war in Sudan, remains standing, although its compound has turned into a graveyard, with an altar that has been vandalized and pews that have been cut up for firewood by soldiers, according to Archbishop Ezekiel Kondo.
When the war erupted in April 2023, the cathedral was the official residence of Kondo, the 67-year-old primate of the Episcopal (Anglican) Church of Sudan. On April 15, paramilitary Rapid Support Forces seized control of the compound, turning it into a military base while Kondo and his family were trapped inside.
Kondo recounted the rapid onset of violence, recalling that it happened unexpectedly while he was preparing for a Sunday service after Easter. He described hearing heavy gunfire and noticing thick smoke rising in the vicinity.
The conflict in Sudan involves two factions of the military government: the Sudanese Armed Forces led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces under the Janjaweed leader Hemedti. The two factions turned against each other after previously collaborating to control the civilian government.
Due to restrictions on media coverage and humanitarian access, accurate data regarding the extent of the destruction is challenging to obtain. The United Nations estimates that approximately 750,000 people are at risk of starvation, while U.S. envoy Tom Perriello has suggested that the conflict may have resulted in the deaths of around 150,000 people, although some estimates put the number of confirmed casualties at about 15,000. More than 10 million individuals have been displaced, making this the largest displacement crisis globally, with an additional 25 million in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, representing over half of Sudan’s population.
For some individuals, this conflict marks the second civil war they have escaped in recent years, following nearly 400,000 deaths in South Sudan from 2013 to 2018.
The cathedral’s location, near the army headquarters and the airport, saw violence escalate during Ramadan last year. As armed confrontations grew, the Rapid Support Forces stationed troops around the church, believing that its status as a place of worship would offer them some level of protection from bombings.
Kondo described the dire situation, stating that the soldiers were stationed at the gate, preventing them from leaving. Families gathered in the church hall, and they spent three nights there together.
After three days confined in the cathedral’s basement without food or water, Kondo and other church leaders opted to leave. They faced interrogations at gunpoint before being permitted to exit. They then walked for an hour and a half to find safer transportation south of Khartoum. Kondo and his family stayed in that area for two months until escalating bombardments forced them to relocate again.
“One of the shells fell near where we were,” Kondo recalled. He eventually moved his family to Port Sudan, expressing gratitude for their survival, saying, “It was very difficult, but we thank God. He has been our protector.”