Release International

Release is encouraging its supporters to pray for peace as South Sudan prepares to become the world's newest nation.

From midnight tonight local time (9pm GMT), South Sudan will officially become an independent nation – after 99 per cent of southerners voted to split from the north in January's referendum.

The ballot was a condition of the 2005 peace deal which ended more than two decades of civil war between the mainly Arab and Muslim north and the predominantly Christian and animist south. An estimated 2 million people died in the conflict.

Sudan's current President, Omar al-Bashir, will join dignitaries from across the world in celebrations focusing on the southern capital, Juba. Earlier this week, President Bashir pledged his support for South Sudan, according to the BBC.

However, Christians in the north remain apprehensive about the future if Bashir fulfils his stated intention to introduce Sharia or strict Islamic law in the north after tomorrow. As recently as May, Compass Direct news agency reported the case of Omar Hassan and Amouna Ahamdi, a Christian couple in the northern capital, Khartoum, who were attacked with knives for leaving Islam.

Ongoing conflict in oil-rich border areas – such as South Kordofan and Abyei – remains a serious concern too. South Kordofan will be part of North Sudan as of tomorrow but it is home to many pro-south communities, especially in the Nuba Mountains. The Nuba people are mainly Christian and some fought with southern rebels during the civil war.

Last month, Islamist militias were accused of bombing churches and Christian homes in South Kordofan and killing at least two Christians, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes. The Bishop of Kadugli, Andudu Adam Elnail, has given warning of possible 'genocide' against Christians in the region.

A referendum in Abyei for residents to decide whether to join south or north has been delayed over issues of 'voter eligibility', says the BBC. The UN Security Council sent UN peacekeepers to patrol the area last month.

A series of deals brokered in Ethiopia last month led to the withdrawal of rival forces from border areas ahead of independence – but tensions remain high.

(Sources: BBC, Christian Today, Compass Direct)
 
• Pray for peace in North and South Sudan as the country divides. Thank God for the progress that has been made since the 2005 peace accord – and pray for a just and lasting peace for the whole of Sudan.
• Pray particularly for Christians living in North Sudan which is expected to introduce Sharia. Pray that their religious freedom will be respected. Ask God to guide and grow the church in South Sudan and raise up strong church and political leaders to shape this new nation.

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