Christians caught in Sudan’s civil war face rising persecution, a charity has warned.
Barnabas Aid reported that at least 95 Christians in River Nile State were arrested by the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) in the first week of October.
The charity’s head of operations Jeremy Frith said that jihadists were targeting Christians with the connivance of the Sudanese government.
“While it may be argued that the constitution does not explicitly include Sharia as part of the legal constitution of the country, the criminal codes are based on sharia,” he told The Tablet.
“It is impossible for Christians, the largest non-Islamic religious group that is only five per cent of the population, to get rights under such an oppressive socio-political environment,” he said.
He emphasised the scale of religious intolerance in the country, influenced by the Islamic Jihad group in South Sudan.
“When it comes to the conflicts in Sudan, religion becomes the key issue. This is more so when Christians are targeted by the Sudanese government,” he said, explaining that Christians in Sudan have “learnt to survive because they do not have options” or fled to neighbouring countries.
Sudan bowed to international pressure to moderate its blasphemy laws in 2020, “but many [Christians] are still serving long jail terms”, Frith said.
The conflict between the SAF and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed thousands and displaced at least 8.2 million people since it broke out in 2023. Barnabas Aid reports that religious minorities have been particularly affected by the fighting.
“Through our partners, we have helped Sudanese Christians in areas of education, health and are currently helping with refugees fleeing the conflict between the rebel army and the Sudan Armed Forces,” Frith said.
“We are reaching both those still inside Sudan and many who are taking refuge in neighbouring countries like Chad and Ethiopia.”
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