by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) - As the deadly civil war in Sudan rages on, an 81 year-old church in Omdurman was heavily bombed in the first week of November, leaving two communities without the source of stability they had drawn comfort from, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
The war broke out in April, between Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), now rivals but previously collaborators in bringing down the interim moderate government brought in after the ousting of dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019.
Shared by two local Christian communities, the Church of Savior in Ombuduran was destroyed in this month’s bombing; its roof and interior were completely burned, as were the church’s Bibles and Hymnals, ICC said.
“This incident is one of many church bombings in the past year. Since former president Bashir was removed from power in 2019, Sudan has been in a state of flux, which only increased in April when the two leading forces, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), split power previously,” ICC said in its report.
“Sudanese Christians face danger in their daily lives but are especially at risk when they attend worship services due to the high volume of church attacks,” ICC said. “We pray that the Lord would do a mighty work in Sudan. We pray for the hearts of the Christians in Sudan to be fortified and for the hearts of the persecuted to be broken for what breaks the heart of the Lord. We praise God that he has not abandoned us or the people of Sudan and never will.”
With an Islamic military government, war-torn devastated Sudan ranks 10th on the US Open Doors World Watch List 2023 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.