Since South Sudan's secession from Sudan in 2011, believers in both countries have faced increased harassment, arrests and persecution. No longer considered "citizens" of Sudan, many South Sudanese are still stranded in the north due to job loss, poverty, transportation limitations and conflict in South Sudan. Some officials have reportedly threatened to kill South Sudanese Christians who do not leave or those not willing to co-operate in the effort to locate other believers.
In the midst of ethnic and political tensions, our Christian family in Sudan and South Sudan is facing great risk and opposition. This area of the world is also coping with such issues as ongoing internal conflict, poverty, hunger and natural disasters.
Since South Sudan's secession from Sudan in 2011, believers in both countries have faced increased harassment, arrests and persecution. No longer considered "citizens" of Sudan, many South Sudanese are still stranded in the north due to job loss, poverty, transportation limitations and conflict in South Sudan. Some officials have reportedly threatened to kill South Sudanese Christians who do not leave or those not willing to co-operate in the effort to locate other believers.
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Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is calling on the international community to facilitate and guarantee an official referendum on Abyei’s future after an unofficial plebiscite resulted in 99.9% of participants voting to join with South Sudan. On 31 October, 98% of registered Ngok Dinka voters participated in an unofficial vote, termed the “Peoples’ Referendum”, which was organized by the Ngok Dinka General Conference. In accordance with the stipulations of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended the Sudanese civil war and a subsequent ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), voting was open to the nine Ngok Dinka Chiefdoms and all permanent residents of the Abyei Area. However, permanent residents from the Arab Misseriya tribe refused to participate in the referendum. Over 200 people are reported to have died and an estimated 500 may have been injured as Sudanese security forces continue to use live ammunition on unarmed anti-government protestors. The demonstrations have continued into their ninth day amid a clampdown on press freedom and mass arrests of activists. Peaceful demonstrations began last week in Wad Madani, parts of Khartoum, Port Sudan, Gadarif, Sinaar and Nyala to protest the government’s decision to lift fuel and food subsidies, which caused these commodities to double in price overnight. However, the protests soon evolved into a demand for the government’s downfall, with protesters adopting chants made popular during the Arab Uprisings. The demand became stronger as security services responded to protestors with disproportionate force, firing teargas, rubber bullets and live rounds. According to the Ministry of Interior, the death toll stands at 29. However in an interview with Sudanese media Dr Ahmed Al Sheikh, the head of the Sudanese Doctors’ Syndicate, said at least 210 people had died, mostly from gunshot wounds to the head and chest, with families forced to accept death certificates stating their relatives had died of “natural causes.” “In the wake of the “Arab Spring” across northern Africa, Islam has been on the rise throughout the continent, and with it, violent persecution against Christians,” said Michael Carl, a veteran journalist and bi-vocational pastor. Carl recalled, in an article in American news site WND today, how “Christians in Tanzania, for example, are on alert after an Assemblies of God pastor was killed while attempting to stop Muslim youth from killing two Christian meat cutters.” A Sudanese pastor and former South Sudan Army soldier is in the United States telling his story of restoration and redemption.
Last July, South Sudan gained its independence, creating a constitution built on Christian principles. As a 14-year-old boy, John Garang served in the South Sudan Army through the mid-1980s and witnessed unimaginable bloodshed while battling the predominantly Arab North Sudan. |
Walter Blackwood
Associate Pastor with The Bridge Community of Faith in Kelowna BC Canada. Archives
May 2017
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