International Christian Concern, 9 May 2023
Amid the escalating violence currently wracking Sudan, priests in violent hotspots have kept church doors open. They continue to minister and provide shelter despite increased dangers.
“I want to stay until the last minute, I do not want to leave the people here alone,” one missionary priest told Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). “But we face the same problems as the rest of the people.”
At least 600 people have been killed since the conflict began on April 15, when fighting broke out between military units and the paramilitary Rapid Support. According to the UN, the number of displaced people inside Sudan has more than doubled this past week, now reaching more than 700,000.
Armed fighters also forced their way into the cathedral in Khartoum, and a chapel belonging to a religious congregation was bombed.” Internationally, people push for dialogue, but there is still shooting.”
Sudan was removed from the U.S. Dept. of State’s list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) in December 2019. Advances in religious freedom lasted for only two years, however, until a military coup in October 2021.
The coup brought back fears of repression and harsh implementation of Islamic law.