Bishop Alex Lodiong of Yei, a city of 260,000 in South Sudan, described the dire situation in his region of the nation, two years after the official end of the South Sudanese Civil War.

“There are street raids and robberies by armed men, killing of peasants on their farms by armed shepherds, cold-blooded killings of clerics and perceived political opponents, lengthy imprisonments without trial of suspected criminals,” he said.

“Only high-ranking government officials, high-ranking army officers and employees of international non-governmental organizations (especially the UN) can afford a decent living,” he added. “In some areas of South Sudan, including my diocese, there are no functioning schools, and children born in the last 10 years have never attended school.”