Eighteen Christians remain imprisoned by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) after being accused of collaborating with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Twenty-six believers were arrested on 11 October as they tried to leave Khartoum State for the River Nile State to seek refuge from the ongoing fighting in the country. Since then, eight believers have been released.
The Christians all belong to the Sudanese Church of Christ and were interrogated by the National Intelligence Division. They are all being detained in unknown army detention centres. Despite several appeals from church leaders to the government for their release, there has been no response from officials.
“Hostility facing Christians is acute”
Civil war broke out in Sudan last year. The crisis stems from a power struggle between the national army and the RSF; more than 9,000 people have been killed and nearly six million displaced. It has been labelled the world’s largest displacement crisis.
While all citizens are caught up in the violence, local Open Doors partners working with believers say that Christians face an additional layer of suffering. “The hostility facing Christians is particularly acute outside Sudan’s capital city of Khartoum. But the epicentre of the conflict is the capital, where most Christians live. Many have been forced to flee, while those who remain may be forced, or seen to, take sides in the conflict, putting them at further risk,” says Fikiru*, an Open Doors research expert for East Africa.
“This arrest is evidence and a reminder of the painful situation Sudanese Christians remain in,” says Jo Newhouse*, spokesperson for the work of Open Doors in sub-Saharan Africa. “We call on the Sudanese Government to engage Christian leaders in discussions about the detained believers’ current conditions and allow access to their families and lawyers. We call for their immediate and unconditional release. Fighting over the past year has only exacerbated the suffering of the most vulnerable. We call on Sudan’s partners and the international community to do all in its power to convince the warring factions to find negotiated solutions to the conflict.”
*Names changed for security reasons; picture for illustrative purposes only
please pray
- For the immediate release of our brothers and sisters
- According to local Open Doors contacts, several of these believers are unwell – please pray for God’s healing
- For a peaceful end to the civil war in Sudan.
please give
- Every HK$170 could provide emergency shelter to a Christian driven from their home.
- Every HK$280 can sustain a displaced believer with food, clothing and medical care.
- Every HK$600 could provide a month of education to a displaced child, to give them a future.
*Any excess funds from this appeal will be used to strengthen other persecuted Christians where urgent help is needed.
Give today: Africa
