Pope, Welby to join forces

Pope Francis said on Sunday he wants to go to South Sudan, with the head of the Anglican Church, to bring attention to the suffering of people stricken by civil war and famine.

Francis made the comments in a visit to Rome's Anglican church to mark the 200th anniversary of its opening.

"My aides and I are studying the possibility of a trip to South Sudan," the pope said in response to a question about Christian churches in Africa.

He said in October the Catholic, Episcopalian and Presbyterian bishops were in Rome to discuss what was happening in their country and invited him to visit.

Francis said they told him "but don't come alone, come with Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury". Welby is spiritual head of the worldwide Anglican communion, which counts about 85million members.

"The situation is a bit ugly down there but we have to do it because the three of them [the local bishops from different churches] want peace and they are working together for peace," Francis said.

Oil-producing South Sudan, which became independent in 2011, descended into civil war in December 2013 when a dispute between President Salva Kiir and his sacked deputy Riek Machar ended with fighting, often occurring along ethnic lines.

Kiir's government declared a famine in some parts of the country last week. South Sudan has been hit by the same east African drought that has pushed Somalia back to the brink of famine, six years after 260,000 people starved to death in 2011.

Francis said the trip would last just one day for security reasons.