JUBA, South Sudan (Morning Star News) – At least two Christian buildings were bombed last week amid fighting between rival military factions in Sudan, sources said.
On Wednesday (Nov. 1) a Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church (SPEC) building in Omdurman, across the Nile from Khartoum, came under heavy shelling from the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) at about 9 p.m. that left its worship structure in ruins, two SPEC sources said.
Several people were at the SPEC compound, which includes an orphanage, but were unhurt.
The SPEC church building was hit three times, causing severe damage especially to its roof. Everything inside was destroyed, including Bibles and hymnbooks, one of the sources said.
“Pray that peace comes to Sudan” said one of the SPEC members who escaped injury.
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Christians on social media in Sudan condemned the attacks.
A Roman Catholic building in the Al-Shajara area south of Khartoum was bombed on Friday (Nov. 3), injuring at least five nuns, according to a local source whose name is withheld for security reasons. It was unclear whether the SAF or the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) battling each other targeted the structure, and at this writing Morning Star News was unable to independently confirm the reported shelling.
The RSF has been fighting the SAF since April 15. Fighting between the RSF and the SAF, which had shared military rule in Sudan following an October 2021 coup, has terrorized civilians in Khartoum and elsewhere, leaving more than 10,000 people dead, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project. Another 5.6 million people have been forced to flee their homes due to fighting, according to an Oct. 15 statement by the United Nations.
Christian sites have been targeted since the conflict began in April. On May 14 unidentified gunmen attacked the Coptic Orthodox Church of Mar Girgis (St. George) in the Masalma area of Omdurman, according to Egyptian news outlet Watani.
The RSF on May 15 seized a central Khartoum cathedral after having evacuated the Coptic Orthodox Church of the Virgin Mary near the presidential palace on May 14, converting the latter into a military headquarters, according to Egyptian news outlet Mada. Advocacy group Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) noted the RSF had reportedly been intimidating and harassing those in the church for a week before forcing them to leave.
The RSF reportedly stormed buildings of the Episcopal church on Khartoum’s First Street on May 16 to use as a strategic base, Mada new outlet reported, adding that a vehicle belonging to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Khartoum was stolen at gunpoint.
On May 3, a Coptic Church in Khartoum North (Bahri) was attacked, after the Evangelical Church in the same area was bombed and partially burned in April, CSW reported.
On April 28, the Gerief Bible School in the Gerief West area of Khartoum was bombed. Its worship auditorium, halls and student dorms were destroyed, an area source told Morning Star News.
On April 17, gunmen raided the compound of the Anglican cathedral in Khartoum, the United Kingdom-based Church Times reported.
