Sudan: Six Children Die From Grenade
Oct 16 2007
Postings >> Sudan

Six children died after a man detonated a grenade in a Baptist church in southern Sudan, casting fresh doubts on whether peace in Sudan can hold.

Rev John Monykuer Wuor was leading evening worship at his church in Khorflus county in the Upper Nile region when a man in military fatigues marched in and set off a grenade. Five children and their attacker died instantly: a sixth child died later in hospital. A seventh person, believed to be an adult, was also killed, according to the Sudan Radio Service.

Assist News Service reports that Rev Monykuer and another pastor's wife are in a critical condition. And a number of children are still seriously ill at the Malakal Teaching Hospital, according to the Sudan Radio Service.

Saphano Riak Chol of the Faith Evangelical Baptist Church in Sudan said that the motive for the attack was unclear but that it is being viewed as an attempt 'to suppress the church'. This is clearly no time for complacency among southern Sudan's Christians, who suffered more than two decades of violence at the hands of attackers from the Arab/Muslim north.

Some observers say that tensions between north and south are escalating, with a 'military build-up on both sides', according to the International Crisis Group. Unresolved issues such as the continuing presence of northern troops and militia around southern oilfields are adding fuel to the fire.

Key politicians echo these concerns. Vice-president Salva Kiir told the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly last month that he was 'alarmed, worried and deeply concerned' about the status of the 2005 peace deal. He said: 'It is likely that Sudan will [revert] again to war if we do not act now with our partner NCP [the ruling National Congress Party].'

• Pray for the families of all those killed and injured in the grenade attack in Khorflus.
• Continue to pray that politicians in north and south Sudan would commit to achieving a just and lasting peace for their nation.