Juba, capital of the Republic of South Sudan. (Rigan123, Creative Commons)

JUBA, South Sudan (Morning Star News) – A church pastor near Juba, South Sudan was abducted on Thursday (Feb. 19) and later killed, a relative said.

The body of Pastor Lino Pasquale of Hai Baraka Pentecostal Church was found on Wednesday (Feb. 25) after he was abducted while fishing at a river in Gondokoro, 10 kilometers (six miles) from Juba, said a family member who requested anonymity.

Pastor Pasquale was “targeted and killed by unknown gunmen,” leaders of the Sudan Pentecostal Church (SPC) said in a statement on Wednesday (Feb. 25). Following an agonizing search, family members and church officials confirmed that his body was discovered in the area on Wednesday morning.

“This cowardly act has left our church community shocked, heartbroken and in deep mourning,” the church’s Juba Area Board members said in the statement. “We condemn in the strongest terms possible this heinous and targeted killing.”

They called on the government of South Sudan and all security authorities to conduct an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation.

“Such acts are evil before God and unacceptable under the laws of humanity and the Republic of South Sudan,” the church leaders said. “Failure to address such crimes decisively may have serious implications for peace, justice and the stability of our land and its people.”

Congregation and family members gathered at the church premises in the Hai Baraka neighborhood west of Juba on Wednesday afternoon (Feb. 25) to mourn the leader, described as a great servant of God, a faithful shepherd and a man devoted to the work of the gospel, church leaders said.

The killing was not an isolated incident. On Jan. 14, the Rev. Christopher Maring, a senior leader within the Africa Inland Church (AIC), was assassinated, according to AIC Deputy Presiding Bishop Martin Mogga. Pastor Maring was shot and killed at approximately 7:30 p.m. at his home in the Gudele suburb by unidentified gunmen, they said.

Church leaders in the region are increasingly calling for better protection and investigations into targeted killings, as the motives behind the attacks remain officially “unidentified” by local authorities.

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