Prayer: Church in Sudan Caught in the Crossfire

On Friday, November 3 around 6:30am, a bomb fell on the mission house of the Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco in Khartoum, El-Shajarah. Since the start of the war the nuns have welcomed Christians and non-Christians alike. Open Doors sources share that a group of children and two nuns sustained injuries, as well as the headmaster of a school. Altogether 23 people sustained injuries (4 adult and 19 teenagers and children). 

The next day, the church building used by both the Evangelical and Episcopal Church in Omdurman, was also bombed. At least six children have died following the bombing. The explosion not only damaged the church, but also the Orphan boys’ house situated in the church compound, killing the children. 

Earlier in 2023, conflict escalated between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary 

Rapid Support Forces. It is believed that these church buildings were hit because they are situated in between the two warring factions. Sources suspect the bomb was fired by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).

A partner on the ground in Khartoum shares that there is no way to know for certain if the church buildings were bombed intentionally. However, the Salesian nuns were providing much needed shelter and care for many who had been unable to leave Khartoum. “The nuns gave people a safe place to stay, water, food and electricity to charge their phones. They even provided medical care,” OD partner shares.

Representatives of the warring factions in Sudan’s ongoing conflict in October agreed to meet in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to resume negotiations. The fighting between the SAF led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, has so far “killed more than 9,000 people and displaced some 5.6 million since April”. 

Sudan sits at number 10 on the 2023 World Watch List. While it looked for a time like it was on a positive trajectory in regards to human rights (including religious freedom), a military coup in 2021 effectively undermined the progress that had been made. That political instability resulted in the current conflict, and the Sudanese church continues to find themselves at risk of imprisonment and violence. 

Pray

• Pray for complete healing and quick recovery for the injured. 

• Pray that relief will reach the Church in Sudan, especially those who are still in ‘hot zones’. 

• Pray for God’s protection over Christian leaders who are in the ‘hot zones’ who have decided to continue helping and serving the Church irrespective of the circumstances.  

• Pray that peace will soon find it’s home Sudan.