Pope Francis began a visit to South Sudan on the final leg of his Africa tour on Friday, a day after 27 people were killed in the latest bout of violence, in Kajo-Keji County.
The head of the Roman Catholic Church will join leaders of the Church of England and the Church of Scotland in issuing a joint call for peace in the Christian-majority country that gained independence from predominantly Muslim Sudan in 2011.
Continued violence, including fighting in the south that killed 27 people on Thursday, has displaced about two million people and hampered the implementation of a 2018 peace deal to end a civil war that broke out in 2013.
The latest deaths occurred during clashes between cattle herders and a local militia in Kajo-Keji County, Central Equatoria state, a local country commissioner told Reuters.
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Pope Francis waves as he arrives for holy mass at the John Garang Mausoleum in Juba, South Sudan. AFP -
Members of the choir sing. AFP -
A scarf bearing the faces of the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, left, and Pope Francis. AFP -
A child plays with a rosary as people wait for the Pope's arrival. Reuters -
People wait for the mass. Reuters -
A worshipper waits for the Pope to lead mass. Reuters -
Pope Francis waves as he leaves a meeting with internally displaced people at Freedom Hall. AP -
Pope Francis receives a gift. AFP -
Pope Francis addresses a gathering at the Presidential Palace in Juba. Reuters -
Pope Francis attends a meeting with authorities, leaders of civil society and the diplomatic corps, in the garden of the Presidential Palace. Reuters -
Traditional dancers welcome Pope Francis at the Juba International Airport. AFP -
Pope Francis receives a bouquet of flowers from a child. AFP -
A nun in the crowd shouts that the country needs peace as Pope Francis prepares to leave in his vehicle from the airport. AP -
South Sudan's President Salva Kiir Mayardit receives Pope Francis. Reuters -
From left, on red carpet, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, Pope Francis, President Kiir and Iain Greenshields of the Church of Scotland at the Presidential Palace, in Juba. AFP -
The pontiff waves as he leaves in his vehicle past crowds gathered at the entrance to the airport. AP -
Traditional dancers prepare to welcome the Pope. Reuters -
Security officers clear the way as Pope Francis's convoy leaves the airport. Reuters -
Pope Francis is welcomed by President Salva Kiir, second from right, on arrival at Juba airport, South Sudan. AP Photo -
Pope Francis is on a three-day visit to South Sudan, a country riven by the scars of civil war and extreme poverty. AFP -
Honour guards at the welcome ceremony for Pope Francis in Juba, South Sudan. Reuters -
A sea of raised hands welcomes Pope Francis to South Sudan. Reuters -
The pontiff's South Sudan visit is the second leg of a six-day trip that started in Congo. AP Photo -
Pope Francis arrives at Juba International Airport. AFP -
The faithful celebrate Pope Francis's arrival. Reuters -
The plane carrying Pope Francis arrives in Juba for the second and final leg of the pontiff's African pilgrimage. Reuters -
Nuns await the arrival of Pope Francis in Juba. AP -
The visit to South Sudan is the first by a pope since the predominantly Christian nation gained independence from Sudan in 2011. AFP -
Pope Francis is escorted to the plane when leaving Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. AFP -
A military waits to perform as Pope Francis and his delegation departs the DRC. AFP -
Pope Francis greets well-wishers before meeting bishops in Kinshasa. AP Photo -
Pope Francis meets Roman Catholic bishops of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo, in Kinshasa. Reuters -
Pope Francis waves as he departs for South Sudan from Kinshasa. AP Photo -
This is the pontiff's fifth trip to Africa. EPA -
Pope Francis's visit set out to bring comfort and encouragement to two countries riven by poverty and conflict. AP Photo -
Pope Francis arrives for a meeting with bishops at the National Episcopal Conference of Congo in Kinshasa. AFP -
Pope Francis at a prayer meeting with priests, deacons, consecrated persons and seminarians at Notre Dame Du Congo Cathedral in Kinshasa. EPA
People are hoping that the first papal visit to the country will provide the impetus for ending the violence.
“The Pope will bring us peace,” Monica Lado, a 40-year-old from Juba, told the Associated Press ahead of the three Christian leaders' arrival.
One of a group of 80 Catholics walked 300km in nine days from the central city of Rumbek to Juba to see the pontiff.
“As the Pope is coming, I believe what was killing us will stop,” said Victoria Yar, 58, after the long journey.
"Our country is being destroyed by the conflict and we hope that the pPope is coming with peace, and no one will be killed again," said Mary Yom, another member of the group. The mother of eight said she lost two children to the violence.
The Pope's South Sudan trip was first announced in 2017 but security concerns caused plans to continually slide. In 2019, the pontiff famously got down on his hands and knees and kissed the feet of South Sudan’s rival leaders, begging them to make peace during a joint prayer in the Vatican.
Pope Francis, 86, travelled to South Sudan from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where he heard harrowing stories of violence from victims of that country's conflict, including the killings of relatives, sexual slavery, amputation and forced cannibalism.
The Pope condemned the atrocities as war crimes and appealed to all parties, internal and external, who orchestrate war in the DRC to plunder the country's vast mineral resources to stop getting rich with "money stained with blood".
