Dozens of Sudanese women and children shelter in Catholic church as fighting in Khartoum escalates

With fighting between opposition forces in Sudan showing no signs of slowing down, dozens of people remain stuck in a Catholic church in the capital of Khartoum. With few opportunities for members to leave and pick up food without the threat of being killed, supplies at the Dar Mariam mission have dwindled over the past few months to such an extent that the adults have begun skipping meals to allow the children to eat instead.

Evacuation missions have been attempted, but have thus far not yielded any results. Nonetheless, those inside the religious compound have remained confident that they will one day escape.

According to Reuters, there are currently around 80 people confined to the church in the city's al-Shajara district. All around them, members of the Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been battling it out for control.

The structure has been heavily damaged by the crossfire, with shells hitting the roof of the church and bullets striking its walls. The nuns' area was even set on fire. While none of those sheltering in the structure have been killed, a boy from the area lost his life while trying to help carve out an escape route from the back of the compound.

"We got used to it and we are not afraid," one of the nuns, Sister Miriam, told Reuters. "God is protecting us, but we are waiting for evacuation." Father Jacon Thelekkadan, 69, added that the current food situation was "very bad," noting that everyone was "very weak." He made it clear, however, that, "when the road is safe, we will be the first to leave, but with the people."

An evacuation attempt was made by the Red Cross in December of last year, however the convoy was forced to turn back before reaching the compound after two people were killed and seven were injured.