Catholic Priest Killed in Nuba Mountains
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John Ashworth
Jun 21, 2026, 3:22:16 AM (8 days ago) Jun 21
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Priest who remained with his people despite violence killed in Nuba Mountains
Fr. Youhanna Al-Amin died in Kauda, a region of Sudan marked by tribal
tensions and disputes among armed groups. According to local sources,
the killing appears to have been an act of retaliation after he
reported the theft of medicines intended for the local population.
Maria Lozano and John Burger
Aid to the Church in Need
June 20, 2026
The Catholic Church in Sudan is mourning the death of Fr. Youhanna
Al-Amin, parish priest of St. Vincent’s Parish in Kauda, who was
killed on Friday, June 19, together with a parish watchman and another
person in the Nuba Mountains, a region that has suffered the
consequences of war and instability for decades.
According to information received by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN)
from local sources, the priest was killed amid growing tribal tensions
and internal disputes among armed factions operating in the area. The
same sources indicate that the priest’s death appears to have been an
act of retaliation after Fr. Youhanna reported the theft of medicines
that the Church was safeguarding for the benefit of the local
population.
Kauda is the main center of the areas of the Nuba Mountains controlled
by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N). In recent
months, the deteriorating security situation, together with armed and
tribal conflicts, had forced the evacuation of some religious
personnel from the region. Fr. Youhanna, however, chose to remain with
the community he served, becoming one of the few priests still
carrying out his ministry in this region very much affected by
violence.
Those who knew him say that he did not abandon his people when
circumstances became increasingly difficult. His role extended beyond
spiritual care. As is often the case in remote and impoverished
regions where ACN supports projects, the Church served as a vital
source of healthcare assistance and support for the most vulnerable.
News of his death has caused deep shock throughout the Diocese of El
Obeid. For nearly three decades, Fr. Youhanna accompanied generations
of faithful, becoming a much-loved figure both within and beyond the
Catholic community. In a message of condolence received by ACN, St.
Peter’s Parish in Babnusa recalled that the priest served there from
1997 to 2021. He first arrived as a seminarian, later became a deacon,
then a priest, and finally parish priest of the community.
“He was a friend of the youth and the children, and he loved his work
until the very end,” the parish said in its tribute.
In an email to ACNUSA, Dr. Tom Catena, medical director of Mother of
Mercy Hospital in Gidel, about six miles from the Kauda parish
compound where the shooting occurred.
“There’s been very severe intertribal fighting for the past six weeks
but not clear who the perpetrators are,” Dr. Catena said Saturday. “We
had a Mass for him this morning and are now waiting for his body to be
brought here to Gidel.”
Catena, a US native who has been working in the Nuba Mountains for
years, asked for prayers for the people of the area, who, he said, are
experiencing “pretty dark times these days.”
The death of Fr. Youhanna adds to a series of violent incidents that
have affected the Church in Sudan in recent years. In June 2025, Fr.
Luka Jomo, a priest of the Diocese of El Obeid, was killed by a stray
bullet during an attack on the city of El Fasher, the capital of North
Darfur State. Months earlier, Bishop Yunan Tombe was brutally beaten
by armed men while travelling back to his diocese, suffering serious
injuries.
As the local Church calls for the full circumstances of Fr. Youhanna’s
death to be clarified, ACN joins the Diocese of El Obeid in praying
for the eternal rest of Fr Youhanna Al-Amin and the two other victims
of the attack.
https://www.churchinneed.org/sudan-priest-who-remained-with-his-people-despite-violence-killed-in-nuba-mountains/
END
______________________
John Ashworth
ashwor...@gmail.com
+254 725 926 297 (Kenya mobile, WhatsApp and Signal)
PO Box 403 - 00206, Kiserian, Kenya
Fr. Youhanna Al-Amin died in Kauda, a region of Sudan marked by tribal
tensions and disputes among armed groups. According to local sources,
the killing appears to have been an act of retaliation after he
reported the theft of medicines intended for the local population.
Maria Lozano and John Burger
Aid to the Church in Need
June 20, 2026
The Catholic Church in Sudan is mourning the death of Fr. Youhanna
Al-Amin, parish priest of St. Vincent’s Parish in Kauda, who was
killed on Friday, June 19, together with a parish watchman and another
person in the Nuba Mountains, a region that has suffered the
consequences of war and instability for decades.
According to information received by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN)
from local sources, the priest was killed amid growing tribal tensions
and internal disputes among armed factions operating in the area. The
same sources indicate that the priest’s death appears to have been an
act of retaliation after Fr. Youhanna reported the theft of medicines
that the Church was safeguarding for the benefit of the local
population.
Kauda is the main center of the areas of the Nuba Mountains controlled
by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N). In recent
months, the deteriorating security situation, together with armed and
tribal conflicts, had forced the evacuation of some religious
personnel from the region. Fr. Youhanna, however, chose to remain with
the community he served, becoming one of the few priests still
carrying out his ministry in this region very much affected by
violence.
Those who knew him say that he did not abandon his people when
circumstances became increasingly difficult. His role extended beyond
spiritual care. As is often the case in remote and impoverished
regions where ACN supports projects, the Church served as a vital
source of healthcare assistance and support for the most vulnerable.
News of his death has caused deep shock throughout the Diocese of El
Obeid. For nearly three decades, Fr. Youhanna accompanied generations
of faithful, becoming a much-loved figure both within and beyond the
Catholic community. In a message of condolence received by ACN, St.
Peter’s Parish in Babnusa recalled that the priest served there from
1997 to 2021. He first arrived as a seminarian, later became a deacon,
then a priest, and finally parish priest of the community.
“He was a friend of the youth and the children, and he loved his work
until the very end,” the parish said in its tribute.
In an email to ACNUSA, Dr. Tom Catena, medical director of Mother of
Mercy Hospital in Gidel, about six miles from the Kauda parish
compound where the shooting occurred.
“There’s been very severe intertribal fighting for the past six weeks
but not clear who the perpetrators are,” Dr. Catena said Saturday. “We
had a Mass for him this morning and are now waiting for his body to be
brought here to Gidel.”
Catena, a US native who has been working in the Nuba Mountains for
years, asked for prayers for the people of the area, who, he said, are
experiencing “pretty dark times these days.”
The death of Fr. Youhanna adds to a series of violent incidents that
have affected the Church in Sudan in recent years. In June 2025, Fr.
Luka Jomo, a priest of the Diocese of El Obeid, was killed by a stray
bullet during an attack on the city of El Fasher, the capital of North
Darfur State. Months earlier, Bishop Yunan Tombe was brutally beaten
by armed men while travelling back to his diocese, suffering serious
injuries.
As the local Church calls for the full circumstances of Fr. Youhanna’s
death to be clarified, ACN joins the Diocese of El Obeid in praying
for the eternal rest of Fr Youhanna Al-Amin and the two other victims
of the attack.
https://www.churchinneed.org/sudan-priest-who-remained-with-his-people-despite-violence-killed-in-nuba-mountains/
END
______________________
John Ashworth
ashwor...@gmail.com
+254 725 926 297 (Kenya mobile, WhatsApp and Signal)
PO Box 403 - 00206, Kiserian, Kenya
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