Archbishop Justin Welby said:

"Tomorrow, Pope Francis is calling for a day of fasting and prayer for peace in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and in the world.

He is inviting non-Catholic brothers and sisters to join him. I support this call and invite you to join us – and people around the world – in praying that these terribly suffering populations will know peace.

On my visits to both countries in recent years, it’s been impossible to describe the overwhelming scale of destruction. These conflicts are causing terrible loss of life. Huge numbers of people have been forced to flee their homes, which is tearing apart families and communities.

There are more than a million new internally displaced people. Famine is causing great suffering and danger. In South Sudan, up to 6 million people face starvation. Sexual violence and humiliation are being committed on the most atrocious scale in both countries.

On my last visit there, I listened to a political leader tell me about the suffering and slaughter of her people. I visited a refugee camp in Uganda filled with South Sudanese children whose families had fled their homes to escape death.