Sudan Christians Mark UN Day Amid Killings, Abductions In Nuba Mountains

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent

KHARTOUM (Worthy News) – Sudanese Christians and their supporters used the United Nations’ annual “International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief” on Saturday to condemn what they called a growing wave of killings, abductions and attacks against Christians in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains.

The Nuba Mountains, a range of hills centered in South Kordofan state, has seen at least two church leaders killed in recent weeks, while other Christian leaders were abducted and later released, according to church and advocacy sources.

Christian aid and advocacy group Open Doors said dozens of Christians were also reportedly kidnapped during attacks on church communities in the region. Sudan ranks fourth on the group’s 2026 World Watch List of countries where it says Christians face the most severe persecution.

Among the victims was Pastor Adel Idris Jongool of the Episcopal Church of Sudan, who was shot after militants attacked the Dabbi area of Heiban District on July 24, Christians said.

Church sources blamed members of a breakaway faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-North (SPLA-N), saying militants targeted church leaders and other civilians amid tribal and religious tensions. Jongool later died of his wounds.

CHURCH LEADERS TARGETED

Additionally, Pastor Yaqob Ibrahim Tia of the Sudanese Church of Christ was abducted from his home in Heiban on July 23 along with two sons, his 15-year-old nephew and another man, Worthy News learned. They were released July 28. Another church leader, Zakaria Suliman Jana, was abducted July 31 and freed the following day.

The violence followed the June killing of another church leader in Kauda, South Kordofan. Open Doors said the recent attacks have underscored the vulnerability of Christians and clergy as armed factions compete for territory, resources and influence.

However, the motives are difficult to separate from Sudan’s complex political, tribal and military conflicts. Fighting in the Nuba Mountains involves the SPLA-N and breakaway factions, while the wider country remains devastated by the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Churches have also become caught in the fighting. Open Doors said church buildings that once served as community centers and humanitarian shelters have been attacked or occupied for military purposes.

WIDER WAR DEEPENS

Elsewhere, civilians continued fleeing fresh violence as the U.N. observance approached. Recent fighting in North Kordofan and Blue Nile states displaced nearly 10,000 people, according to United Nations figures, while local authorities reported civilian deaths in attacks and clashes.

Sudan’s wider war erupted in April 2023 following tensions between the SAF and RSF over, among other issues, plans to integrate the paramilitary force into the regular military. The conflict has since killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions, creating one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

Christians, estimated by Open Doors at about 4 percent of Sudan’s predominantly Muslim population, have faced additional pressure during the conflict, with church leaders reporting killings, abductions, displacement and attacks on places of worship.

The U.N. designated August 22 as the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief to draw attention to people targeted because of their faith.

Yet for Christians in the Nuba Mountains, this year’s observance comes amid renewed fears that their communities and leaders are increasingly vulnerable as Sudan’s fragmented armed conflict spreads.

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