Release International

Christians in central Sudan have had to abandon their church part-way through reconstruction work, amid fears that militia will try to destroy it for a fourth time.

The congregation of the Episcopal Church of Sudan (ECS) which meets in Shatt Damam in the Nuba Mountains has been forced out after years of persecution from a local Muslim militia leader.

The 190-strong congregation had to rebuild their wooden church twice in September last year after it was set alight. Then, on Boxing Day 2005, the building went up in flames again after it was filled with explosives.
Aboud Kafi Jamaiza, an evangelist in the church, told ECS headquarters that he believed that local Muslim militia leader Kafitiyar Al Yideen was behind the campaign of violence. Al Yideen, who commands several hundred soldiers, is said recently to have incited locals to destroy the church as soon as reconstruction work was finished.

The ECS has filed a complaint with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement which now heads up a semi-autonomous administration governing this part of Sudan.

The abandoned church has just two walls and a partial roof. Its congregation has no intention of standing down, however: they are planning to make sufficient bricks to build a fire-resistant church, according to Compass Direct.

Sudan's civil war saw government troops and Muslim militias making frequent attacks on churches. This religious persecution has reportedly subsided since the peace deal was signed in January 2005, but the church is still struggling to gain full use of its land, much of which was confiscated during the war.

• Pray for the congregation of the Episcopal Church of Sudan in Shatt Damam. Thank God for their determination to stand in the face of opposition and pray that they will be able to rebuild in bricks and mortar soon.
• Pray for local Muslim militia leader Kafitiyar Al Yideen who is persecuting this church. Pray that the church's resilience will have an impact on him.

Back to top