Sharia (Islamic law) is the foundation of Sudan’s legal system, and leaving Islam is punishable by death; Christians who talk about their faith can be accused of an “act that encourages apostasy”. Christianity is seen as Western, making it a political target. Several Christians have been imprisoned in recent years, charged with “spying”. Sudan’s President, Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes including “genocide”, is believed to want to “rid” Sudan of Christianity. In 2016 the government announced plans to destroy 27 churches, claiming they were in violation of the designated purposes of the land they were built on.
UN says 600,000 in need of food aid in S. Kordofan
A political impasse is delaying the delivery of aid to 600,000 people in need in Sudan’s war-torn South Kordofan region, writes Nuba Reports in the Huffington Post. Sudan has been bombing rebel groups based there, as well as destroying farmland and crops. Hope came from an agreed six-month ceasefire extension […]
Demolition plans for 21 Sudan church buildings
A lawyer representing four churches threatened in Oct 2016 with demolition in Sudan has uncovered plans for a further 21 places of worship to be knocked down. Middle East Concern reports that in a recent court ruling the lawyer was granted the right to see the official order for demolition. […]
Ceasefire extended in Nuba, Blue Nile, Darfur
The Sudan government last week said it’s extended a “ceasefire” for another six months in the Nuba Mountains, Blue Nile, and Darfur – where it says it’s fighting rebels. “If the ceasefire holds, it would be the first time in six years of war that the Nuba people experienced a […]
Is Sudan really ready for sanctions to be lifted?
One of Barack Obama’s last acts in office was to scale back a 20-year-old trade embargo on Sudan. The move has been criticised by human rights groups, which have called it “premature” and “despicable”, but has the country and its President, wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court, […]
Sudan government demolishes Bahri church building
A house belonging to a Sudanese church has been demolished by government officials, reports Christian advocacy group Middle East Concern. The Bahri Evangelical Church, on the outskirts of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, has seen a number of its buildings damaged or demolished since 2013, when a committee imposed by the […]
Sudanese pastor released, but others still face serious charges
UPDATE (3 Jan): One of four men detained in Sudan since December 2015 has been released, but three others continue to face charges which could lead to the death penalty or life imprisonment if found guilty. Kuwa Shamal, a Sudanese church leader, was released after a hearing in Khartoum yesterday […]
Sudanese pastors pressured to ‘inform’ or stand trial
Forty-eight-year-old father of three Rev. Yamane Abraha received an ultimatum in Khartoum following a trip to Ethiopia in the autumn of 2015. “[Sudanese government] security threatened me, saying I would have to appear in court either as a witness, or an accused,” the Evangelical Baptist Church of Khartoum pastor told […]
Mariam Ibrahim: ‘Sharia causing many to suffer’
Mariam Ibrahim, the Sudanese woman , says her story represents the ordeals of “many” Christians in Islamic countries forced to live under Sharia. In a rare public appearance since she was helped to travel to the US two years ago, she told a congregation in Washington DC last Saturday: “My […]
Sudan detains 6 Christians, threatens to demolish 5 churches
Sudan has detained three church leaders and three church members, meanwhile warning five churches of impending demolition. The six, from the Evangelical Church in Wad Medani (200km southeast of the capital, Khartoum), were briefly arrested on Sunday (9 Oct.) after refusing an order to hand over to the government a […]
Sudan’s trial of pastors for ‘spying’ continues
The trial of four defendants, including two local pastors and a foreign Christian worker, accused of “spying” continued in Khartoum yesterday (26 Sep.), with the prosecutor presenting more “evidence”. The hearing against Rev. Hassan Taour, Rev. Kuwa Shamal (both ethnic Nuba), Czech aid worker Petr Jasek and Darfuri graduate Abdulmonem […]