By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
KHARTOUM (Worthy News) – Displaced Christians in wartorn Sudan are among millions of people “facing starvation”, Christian aid workers said Thursday.
“Just yesterday, health experts on the ground assessed the famine and shared this dire warning: starvation in the nation ‘is almost everywhere,’” added David Curry, the president and CEO of the Global Christian Relief group.
“Innocent Christian men, women, and children are crying out for help as we speak,” he told Worthy News. “They face the threat of starvation.”
In comments shared with Worthy News, Salma, a local church leader in Sudan, suggested that minority Christians are not receiving aid in this Islamic African nation. “Thousands are homeless and wandering without guidance. No humanitarian aid is reaching us.”
Yet, “Sadly, this crisis will only escalate as 12 million people have been displaced by the civil war, and now 25 million are in need of food relief. That’s half of Sudan’s entire population,” warned Curry, whose group supports Christians in the Islamic African nation.
Christians, who already cope with persecution, are “in desperate need of assistance” as their supplies of food and water run dangerously low, Curry established.
The situation is dire, “A refugee camp in [the western region of] Darfur [as it] is overflowing with more than 500,000 displaced people—without enough food and water for everyone,” he explained, citing several sources.
CHILDREN SUFFERING
“Hospitals are filled with children suffering from such severe malnourishment that they appeared to be mere skin and bone,” noticed Curry, who has appealed for donations for more meals.
The starvation adds to the ongoing suffering faced by many Sudanese Christians who also face persecution because of their faith in Christ, suggested the advocacy group Open Doors.
It said that a “devastating conflict that broke out in April 2023 is threatening to further undermine the positive steps made towards religious freedom following the ousting of Sudan’s leader Omar al-Bashir in 2019.
“The crisis stems from a power struggle between the National Army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). More than 9,000 people have been killed and nearly 6 million displaced. More than 165 churches have closed and others have been destroyed,” in the armed conflict, Open Doors said.
“Churches have also reported human rights violations such as rape, kidnap and looting. Many Christians have been attacked indiscriminately in areas such as Darfur, the Blue Nile, and the Nuba Mountains region, where government forces and rebel groups are in conflict.”
There are long-term concerns that the conflict will give Islamic extremists a renewed foothold in the country. That would mean “undoing the reforms made by the transitional civilian government which gave more freedom to Christians, including abolishing the apostasy law and removing Islam as the state religion,” according to an Open Doors assessment.
“More immediately, those who convert to Christianity from Muslim backgrounds continue to face huge dangers. Some will even refrain from telling their children about Jesus, for fear they may inadvertently disclose their parents’ faith to the local community,” the group wrote.
FACING HOSTILITY
The hostility facing Christians is particularly acute outside the capital, Khartoum, Christians said.
“However, the epicenter of the latest conflict is the capital, where most Christians live. Many have been forced to flee, while those who remain may be forced to take sides in the conflict, putting them further at risk,” Open Doors added.
The levels of pressure and violence faced by Christians who are ethnic Africans or converts from a Muslim background are exceptionally high, according to Christians familiar with the situation. Over the years, “many” have been arrested and charged with crimes such as espionage, Open Doors concluded.
Yet “Despite all these challenges, I’ll stick to my faith and continue to love and serve Jesus,” said a Sudanese convert who her family reportedly excommunicated.
Christians comprise roughly 4.3 percent of Sudan’s population of approximately 25 million people, according to Christian researchers.
Open Doors ranks Sudan 8th on its annual World Watch List of 50 countries where it says Christians face most persecution for their faith in Christ.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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