April 2013

Christian Prisoners in Sudan’s Jails

The government has been cracking on Christian workers in Khartoum. They deported around 150 foreign workers. It is hard to know how many national Christian workers have been arrested. Estimated number is around 55.

We will appreciate prayer:

1 for the release of the believers

2 for God's presesnce to be with them

3 for grace and strength for their families in Sudan

4 for religious freedom in Sudan

5 that  God will expose the atrocities of this regime

6 the people of Darfur, Nuba Mountain and Blue Nile provinces who are under aerial bombardments and attacks by the armed forces of the government of Sudan

7 Human rights activists and politicians who seek freedom and justice and are now in prison for their stand against the atrocities of the government.

8 the government officials  to have a ‘Saul-experience’

Your brother,

Kamal

Genesis 50:20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

March 2013

Persecution Soaring in Sudan

Islamist discontent is rising, forcing Sudan’s President Omar el-Bashir to prove his Islamist credentials. As churches are demolished, property is seized, Coptic priests are detained and foreign Christians are deported, despair is setting in, and Sudanese Christians are wondering if the day is coming when they will no longer be able to practice their faith at all. Meanwhile, the 54-member states of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UNECOSOC) showed how little they care about the Sudanese citizens when they elected Sudan as a Vice-President and nominated it to chair proceedings on humanitarian affairs. The US and Canada protested, forcing Sudan to cede the humanitarian post reluctantly to Pakistan. Only God can be trusted! Please pray for the Church in Sudan.

Elizabeth Kendal

http://rlprayerbulletin.blogspot.ca/

From: NAME News name.news2012@gmail.com

February 2013

Sudan Threatens to Arrest Church Leaders

Christians subject to stricter controls, religious freedom violations.

http://www.christianpost.com/news/sudan-threatens-to-arrest-church-leaders-67479/

By Compass Direct News

January 18, 2012

Khartoum, Sudan – Sudan’s Ministry of Guidance and Religious Endowments has threatened to arrest church leaders if they carry out evangelistic activities and do not comply with an order for churches to provide their names and contact information, Christian sources said.

The pressures on Christians come as war in Sudan’s South Kordofan state has led leaders there and in North Kordofan to incite hatred against Christians, with officials in both states calling for holy war against the predominantly Christian Nuba people.

From: Sten Johansson (stenjohansson@bor.se)

January 2013

Sudan and South Sudan Prayer Chain

From the Sudan Support Network (SSNet): We feel compelled to mobilize a 40-hour prayer chain for Sudan & South Sudan for the weekend of 25 to 27 January 2013.

To be exact: Next weekend, starting on Friday evening 19:00 to Sunday 11:00.

The structure is quite easy to understand: 40 slots of 1 hour each. We want to encourage believers from different nations to take responsibility for part of that 40 hours. It does not matter so much if in the various time zones it does not match up precisely; we believe that in heaven it will add up. 

Please mail me specific commitment(s) to Sudan4Jesus@swissmail.org

Could I encourage that you sign up and ask others to do too for 1 hour or more next weekend in prayer for Sudan.

Key directions for prayer:

*Psalm 2 – the whole Psalm

*From the Scripture given below, it is a sobering thought that in the past month more than 100 Christian workers have been kicked out of Sudan. Right now, they're picking up the pieces. The process is continuing relentlessly! It reminds a LOT of when Christian workers were kicked out "en masse" from China in the 1950's. Everybody thought that's the end of Christianity in China, but now we know that GOD had to do that for the growth that would come.

Pray that God would raise up indigenous believers to take up the baton in Sudan. (He's already doing that).

Pray healing and direction for those kicked out and picking up the pieces.

For more info on Sudan, please go to www.Sudan4Jesus.com.

October 2012

Sudan/S. Sudan

Announcing: "Unite in prayer for Sudan / South Sudan from 19 to 21 October 2012". Take some time during these 3 days, wherever you are, to unite in prayer for Sudan/South Sudan. Prayer hub for this initiative in Khartoum. May it spread to believers in many different places in Sudan & South Sudan to many other nations.

From: Norman Johnson GDOPInt@groups.facebook.com

September 2012

The Frozen War – a very useful summary of recent developments in Sudan/South Sudan

August 21, 2012: The rainy season has begun in the Sudans. The result is less fighting, though small-scale actions continue in Sudan’s Blue Nile and South Kordofan states and in the Darfur region, and tribal violence continues to plague South Sudan. The various factions in both Sudans are always talking about peace, or at least talking about talking about peace, but the impact of the new oil production and transport agreement, reached on August 3, on the various armed conflicts has yet to be determined. Sudan and South Sudan remain locked in a frozen war. 

http://www.strategypage.com/qnd/sudan/articles/20120821.aspx

http://www.sudan4jesus.com/2012/08/the-frozen-war-very-useful-summary-of.html

Norman Johnson (norman@sudanpartners.org)

August 2012

Encouraging Development for the Two Sudans: Bashir and Kiir Hold Face-to-Face Meeting in Addis Ababa

14 July 2012

Independence day ceremony: Sudan's president Omar Al-Bashir and South Sudan's president Salva Kiir met in Ethiopia for the first since the two countries went to battle over the Heglig oil field in April. Presidents Omer al-Bashir and Salva Kiir met in the Ethiopian capital to discuss unresolved issues between the two countries for the first time since the clashes over Heglig in April last year.

The meeting sends encouraging and positive signals to the people of the two countries who suffer from a severe economic crisis and to the international community expressing their serious commitment to reach a deal before the deadline of 2 August. "The two presidents have agreed and instructed their negotiating teams to expedite negotiations and develop bold decisions in key areas as well as to reach agreements in all issues," South Sudan chief negotiator Pagan Amum told reporters after the private encounter. "It was a good meeting," he further told reporters who gathered outside the meeting room where they met at the Sheraton on Saturday evening…

Bashir underscored the security concern and the need to speed up the operationalization of the buffer zone saying there was no reason to contest Sudan's current border because it served to give South Sudan its independence.

Kiir on the other side focused on the issue of oil transportation saying Juba wants clear commitment to not divert South Sudan production, and asked for international guarantees. He also stressed on the need to reach a quick solution over Abyei issue.

The delegation of the two countries have already agreed earlier this month to hold talks on all the outstanding issues as Juba reassured Khartoum on the implementation of the demilitarized zone and the presence of Darfur rebels in South Sudan. The Sudanese delegation also agreed with the mediation on the resumption of talks with the SPLM-North rebels over South Kordofan and Blue Nile…


The chief negotiator also pointed out that the two parties have an opportunity to conclude a "fair deal" and to end hostilities.

"We are ready to resume oil production if there is a fair deal, and there is a guarantee that there will be no diversion (of the oil)," he further pointed out.

After a session of talks in presence of their close aides and ministers, Bashir and Kiir held a one-on-one meeting.

The two men were seen in good mood smiling and shaking hand after the private meeting as Bashir accompanied Kiir outside the room where they held their talks.

On 7 July Sudan and South Sudan announced they reached a Comprehensive Strategic Approach providing to enhance confidence, good faith and transparency to resolve the pending issues between the two countries.

They also committed themselves to resort to peaceful means to resolve their disputes and to not interfere in the internal affairs of each other.

Yesterday Pagan Amum, who is also the secretary general of the ruling party in Juba, in statements to Sudan Tribune praised the new spirit of the talks stressing that he believes the two sides will "get out with something positive".

"Peace is in the interest of our people. They need peace to prevail so that we can live side by side as friendly neighbours," he said.

The delegation of the two countries will hold non-stop meetings during the upcoming two weeks in order to finalize a deal over the outstanding matters before 2 August.

Please thank the Lord for this positive development which must be seen as answered prayer! Pray for the full cessation of hostilities between the two Sudans and for successful, continued peace talks to resolve their differences.

July 2012

Sudan Needs a Revolution

The protest movement against Omar al-Bashir is growing – fast – and it needs the world’s support. Some excerpts from an article by Amir Ahmad Nasr

June 26, 2012

“The past decade has been a roller-coaster ride for the Sudanese citizens. From the humanitarian catastrophe in Darfur to the ethnic cleansing campaign targeting the Nuba people to the violent border clashes that accompanied the separation with South Sudan, this nation has witnessed hell. At least 200,000 people have lost their lives, and 2 million more have been displaced in Darfur alone, according to conservative U.N. estimates. Hundreds more have died during the recent border clashes between the two Sudans, and thousands have been driven from their homes.

But now there is a glimmer of hope. Daily growing protests against President Omar al-Bashir’s regime are spreading demographically and geographically, along with calls for strikes and civil disobedience. The spark was the government’s June 18 announcement of a new round of austerity measures, including massively unpopular cuts to fuel subsidies. The most dramatic protests have so far occurred in Khartoum’s al-Daim neighborhood, where police used extreme force and obscene amounts of tea gas in an attempt to suppress the demonstrators. In an example of the defiant mood taking over the streets, the protesters responded by burning a police truck.

As the fear barrier crumbles, Sudanese have a chance to topple Bashir and his National Congress Party (NCP) cronies – and to build a better future for their country.

It is important to understand why Sudanese would risk their lives to oppose Bashir. The narratives peddled by some commentators about the country’s recent conflicts – that they are between “Arabs versus Africans,” or “Muslims versus Christians” – are not only unhelpful, they are wrong. These characterizations have neither benefited the international community nor the diverse citizens of Sudan – including the Arabs and Afro-Arabs of the North who felt alienated by it and who have been violently oppressed for decades.

John Garang, the late southern Sudanese leader, made a crucial contribution to framing the situation as it atually is: A struggle between Sudan’s diverse population and Omar al-Bashir’s heinous dictatorship, which uses religion and tribalism to divide and control. “The Northerners are suffering too,” Garang said in one speech. “This is the problem of governance in Khartoum.”…

“It is not secret that Bashir’s Islamist regime, which seized power in a military coup on June 30, 1989, and hosted Osama bin Laden in the early 1990s before kicking him out only under withering international pressure, has a long list of bloody failings. But it just may be the worsening economic situation, which seems to have been the last straw for a growing number of non-ideological citizens of Khartoum, that could end his grip on power. The recent austerity cuts have been particularly painful in a country already suffering from inflation that hovers over 30 percent and which lost more than 70 percent of all its oil revenues upon South Sudan’s independence.

The recent demonstrations in Sudan’s capital are different than previous student-led protests. They have been strategically dispersed – relatively small crowds have spread out in numerous locations throughout Khartoum, stretching and exhausting the security forces’ resources. Demonstrations calling for the fall of the regime erupted in university campuses as well as in Wad Nubawai, al-Sajjana, Bahri, Jabra, al-Kalaakla, and Um Badda, among other neighborhoods and areas in the capital.

Unlike in the past, the protests were not just led by students but also by older folks and Sudanese women and mothers. There were also coordinated protests in other towns and regions throughout Sudan such as Kosti, Sinnar, and the northern parts of the country…

So far the response by the government, its armed thugs, and the NISS has been predictably brutal. In addition to tear gas and rubber bullets, student activists have reported being attacked by pro-government “militias” intent on breaking up the protests. It will likely get more violent. Yet despite the mass arrests of protesters…the demonstrations are continuing and intensifying.

The world has long struggled for a solution to the seemingly endless humanitarian disaster in Sudan. The protesters’ victory would represent a way forward. With Bashir and the NCP battered and gone, the door to change will open up in Khartoum – and a new, more responsible government could lead to better policies toward South Sudan and Darfur. Better leadership could bring the kind of peace that will finally ensure economic development in both Sudans – fueled by their bountiful oil reserves – and also open its doors to foreign governments and international oil companies seeking to invest and grow.

The Sudanese street has shown its resolve loud and clear. Time is now of the essence, in light of the protests’ building momentum and worsening crackdown. There isn’t a moment to lose: The international community must do its part to help Sudan achieve a better future.

Excerpts from:

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/06/26/sudan_needs_a_revolution?print=yes&hidecomments=yes&page=full

Let us please support the Sudanese struggle for liberation from this dictatorial oppressive and genocidal regime by our prayers!

June 2012

Sudan: Desperate Situation in the Nuba Mountains…Children Dying

Please see this disturbing message from Juba on the situation in the Nuba Mountains. Right now many people, including children, are facing a life/death situation. Norman Johnson who leads a prayer network for Sudan writes: “May we be moved by the love of Christ to compassion for these people. Please lift them to the Father’s throne of grace and for an outcome for the situation in the Sudan. Pray for the fulfilling of God’s destiny with the nations of Sudan/South Sudan.” He has included this letter from a ministry leader inside Sudan who describes the current conflict and suffering of the people:

Dear Norman,

I have seen what happens when the world turns its back and looks the other way. For 20 years, I have worked in Sudan, helping its people struggle through the horrors of starvation and murderous attacks. During Sudan’s civil war, the people in the south were being butchered. Shocking, it took the deaths of more than 2 million before the world finally called it genocide.

When President George W. Bush came to office, he didn’t look the other way. Instead, he engaged all parties and forced them to sit down to negotiate what we hoped would be an end to the violence. Those discussions resulted in the agreement that led to the independence of South Sudan.

I was in President Omar al-Bashir’s office on the day the International Criminal Court indicted him for war crimes. I pleaded with Mr. Bashir to continue the peace process, explaining that although he could not change what he had done in the past, he could set a new course for his people by working for a lasting peace. Two years later, on July 9, 2011, I was in Juba sitting behind Mr. Bashir as he gave a speech during the Republic of South Sudan’s independence ceremonies. He spoke of peace, but within days, he began to attack his own people in South Kordofan and the upper Blue Nile.

Last week, I traveled to South Kordofan where 800,000 people slowly are being annihilated, victims of ethnic cleansing. According to Mr. Bashir, their only crime is that they are black and they won’t bow to his radical Islamic government. For the past nine months, the world has largely looked the other way with this humanitarian crisis.

The situation is desperate. I personally saw children starving to death last week while in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains. All they had to eat were insects, leaves from thorn bushes, roots and tree bark. It is only going to get worse.”

Please pray for an end to the conflict that restarted after some years of peace and the partition of Sudan into two nations. May healing and reconciliation come to these two nations that have so many reasons to cooperate for the betterment of both.

May 2012

Conflict Intensifies Along the Sudan/South Sudan Border

Mission News Network

(http://globaldayofprayer.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=61b0c63c85d40ff9701a40c76&id=3648c7487b&e=f9768a534f)

reports:

Bombs are exploding as war continues to escalate between Sudan and South Sudan. Sudan's president declared war against the south last week.

Peter Howard with Food for the Hungry (http://globaldayofprayer.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=61b0c63c85d40ff9701a40c76&id=10842048af&e=f9768a534f) reports that the heightened tensions have affected their programs. "The government of South Sudan told their communities - communities in which FH is working - (to have) their people dig fox holes so that when the bombings come, they can go in to those fox holes to get cover; but also the conflict gets too much, so people actually start fleeing or moving." "As conflict increases, food prices increase, and food becomes more scarce. So right now, the big concern is malnutrition.... There are concerns that malnutrition could increase by 50% in the coming weeks because of the challenge of getting food in and out of Sudan right now.”

But Howard says the Gospel is making a difference. "We feel that being there and sharing the message -- the Gospel of peace -- is critically important. Our hope is that people not only will sense it physically and feel real peace, but also know the peace of Christ." Prayer is most important, says Howard.

Read the full article.

(http://globaldayofprayer.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=61b0c63c85d40ff9701a40c76&id=61c4d2bee5&e=f9768a534f)

PRAY:

• Pray that God will end the conflict and bring many to Christ as a result.
• Pray for the innocent who are suffering
• Pray for the hungry for nourishment and shelter
• Pray for workers in the field - for their safety and personal needs 

May 2012

Sudan in Trouble

Sudanese President Omar Hassan Bashir has practically declared war against South Sudan, the world's newest country, by stating that his main goal is now to "liberate" the southern people from their rulers, following recent border fighting.

The Heglig oil field, which is recognised by the international community as part of Sudan and was seized by the southerners this month, "will not be the end. The end will be in Juba," Bashir told a rally on Wednesday. He told the crowd that his message to South Sudan was: "Either we end up in Juba and take everything or you end up in Khartoum and take everything."

That clearly means, if Bashir acts accordingly, that it will be an open war between the Khartoum government in the north and the southern authorities based in Juba.

It is the peak of tensions between Khartoum and Juba since South Sudan became an independent state last July, after decades of a bitter civil war which killed two million people.

The Juba government says that it was forced to seize Heglig because the northerners had been using it as a base to launch attacks on South Sudan, which is ruled by the former rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement.

Forces of the north and south have been fighting in several areas since South Sudan seceded from Sudan following a referendum held last year. The feud is essentially a creation of the British colonial power, which gave little regard to the sharp disparity between the Arab Muslim-dominated north and the mostly African south when it ended its rule of the area in the 1960s. The north-south conflict had been simmering since then, but it burst out into an open civil war in the mid-1980s. An internationally brokered agreement ended the fighting in 2005 and led to the 2011 referendum and creation of South Sudan.

However, Khartoum and Juba failed to agree on several key issues. These include transit fees Juba should pay Khartoum to use its oil pipeline, demarcation of the border, division of national debt, conflicting claims to the oil-producing area of Abyei in the south and the rights of citizens who after separation found themselves in a foreign country. It is estimated that there are 500,000 southerners in Sudan and 80,000 northerners in South Sudan. The two sides accuse each other of supporting rebel groups.

There is no longer any pretence of peace and any understanding between Bashir and South Sudan President Salva Kiir. Both sides are said to be building up their forces, including voluntary fighters, for a major clash in which Khartoum hopes to retake Heglig, which the southerners call Panthou.

There is an Israeli involvement in the conflict. Israel has been supplying weapons to the southerners since the start of their uprising, as admitted by Joseph Lagu, former leader of the rebel forces. Tel Aviv maintains close relations with South Sudan. Kiir paid a visit to Israel last year to cement the relationship.

An all-out war will be disastrous to both sides. Their oil-dependent economies cannot withstand a conflict. The Juba government had earlier shut off the oil wells that financed both governments. A few more weeks of closure of the northern pipeline, will wreck the south's only oil export route beyond salvation.

The currencies of both sides have all but collapsed. The two stand to suffer from hyperinflation and massive food deficits if they spend any large amount on war. The peoples of Sudan, both north and south, suffered enough but could face a worse situation.

Nobody seems to know how to go about finding a peaceful solution to the conflict.

(The writer is a prominent columnist. The article was published in Jordan Times on April 20, 2012.) norman@sudanpartners.org

We know Someone who can bring true peace and healing of this worsening conflict. Please pray for the powers of division and darkness to be bound and overthrown so that the two next door neighbor nations can be reconciled and get along with each other.

March 2012

Sudan

It is about nine months since Sudan divided into two countries. While there was an initial celebration in South Sudan, the situation once again has become very dire. About half a million Christians have fled from the North. A Christian organization has been asked to play a mediating role in some of the current challenges. Senior Government leaders in both the North and South have indicated that, in partnership with Sudanese faith leaders, this organization can act as a broker in building a peaceful solution to the conflict. In addition, to the North-South conflict, they have also been asked to intervene in a violent conflict between two tribes in South Sudan. Pray for them as they take a small team to Sudan the latter part of March.

December 2011

Continued Prayer for Sudan and South Sudan Needed

“The presidents of Sudan and the new nation of South Sudan are both predicting the possibility of a new war in an oil-rich region that has seen a spike in cross-border attacks.

Troop build-ups are being reported on both sides of the Sudan-South Sudan border, the world’s newest international boundary, and rebels in Sudan announced a new alliance with the aim of overthrowing their own government, which is seated in the capital, Khartoum.

The U.S. is pleading for cooler heads to prevail, even as aid workers are withdrawing from the region after two bombing runs into South Sudan by Sudan, its northern neighbor, last week.

After two long wars that spanned decades, South Sudan formally declared independence from Sudan in July following a successful independence referendum in January that was guaranteed in a 2005 peace deal. The world celebrated the peaceful break-up of Sudan. But big disputes that have long lurked in the background are now festering and flaring into violence.

An agreement to split the region’s oil revenues was never reached. The borders were never fully demarcated. And perhaps most important, the break-up left two large groups of people in Sudan’s south in the lurch, groups that Sudan has labeled rebels and that Khartoum’s military has been attacking for months.

In addition, the Khartoum government is facing a financial crisis due to the loss of oil revenue and rising food prices, said John Prendergast, the co-founder of the U.S.-based Enough Project, which closely monitors Sudan.

Norman Johnson norman@sudanpartners.org

October 2011

Muslim Extremists in Sudan Threaten to Target Christians

“Please join in praying – 138 least-reached people groups live in Sudan, the largest being the Sudanese Arabs.

KHARTOUM, Sudan – Muslim extremists have sent text messages to at least 10 church leaders in Khartoum saying they are planning to target Christian leaders, buildings and institutions, Christian sources in Khartoum said. “We want this country to be purely an Islamic state, so we must kill the infidels and destroy their churches all over Sudan,” said one text message circulating in Khartoum last month. The text messages were sent in July and August.

Church leaders here said they fear more persecution as they and their flocks become targets of local Islamists. In addition, Muslim extremists from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh arrive in sudan every two weeks to undergo training in secret camps in Khartoum before they are sent to various parts of Sudan to preach Islam and demolish church buildings, according to a Christian source in Khartoum…

The Rev. Ramadan Chan Liol, general secretary of the Sudan Council of Churches, told Ecumenical News International last month that threats have caused Christians to stay away from some church services, and some government leaders have ordered pastors to close down churches without proper documentation.”

From a letter from Elizabeth Adleta asianrd@sr21.com

South Sudan is “on Fire” and Needs Prayer

Messages from reliable sources coming in about Sudan Government forces’ continued bombing in the Nuba Mountains describe a severe crisis in the Blue Nile region. One message just received from Sudan says: “Southern Blue Nile region is on fire, and we need to pray.” Fire here means vicious onslaught on the civilians by the government forces. How many innocent people will die?

Please pray:

1)   that God will show his might for those who are helpless in the situation and be their shield and their protection.

2)   that He would change the hearts of the leaders and that world leaders would see what is actually happening and take appropriate response.

3)   that the people committing these things would be held accountable and that the works of the evil one in Sudan will be destroyed.

4)   for Muslims in Sudan – that God would reveal Himself to them and that they would turn to Jesus in their millions.

Based on reliable sources inside Sudan (relayed by Norman Johnson), September, 2011.

Sudan

“Only four months after the people of south Sudan overwhelmingly voted to secede from Khartoum's Islamic Republic of Sudan - and six weeks before the independence day of July 9 - a resumption of Sudan's civil war is threatened by north Sudan's military occupation of the disputed territory of Abyei and its calls to remove southern soldiers from Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile. Sudan's ethnic and religious divisions coincide in all three borderland territories, with a Muslim nomadic population that looks to the north's capital of Khartoum while Christian and animist farmers are drawn to the south's Juba.

According to the security arrangements in the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), both northern and southern soldiers are supposed to patrol the contested border territories. A week ago, southern military forces in the disputed Abyei region attacked UN forces escorting northern troops. Though the Juba government apologized, Khartoum made the attack the pretext for militarily occupying the territory, setting off large refugee flows out of Abyei.”

(John Campbell, CNN, June 1, 2011)

Please continue to pray for a peaceful transition towards the independence of South Sudan next month and for a good relationship to develop with the government in Khartoum with whom they will have to live amicably as their northern neighbor.

News from the Frontlines of Conflict and Persecution—Sudan, July 2011

According to reports we are receiving on the email from concerned brothers and sisters who are close to the scene, the “escalating violence against civilians in Sudan’s South Kordofan state is a major humanitarian catastrophe in the making, with an estimated 300,000 people besieged, cut off from relief aid, and unable to escape fighting.” Estimates are that up to 40,000 people have fled fighting between Sudanese government troops, Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), and members of the former southern rebel group, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), in Kadugli, the capital of Sudan’s oil-producing border state of South Kordofan. Shelling and aerial bombardment has been going on in civilian areas. People have locked themselves in their homes without food or water, for fear of being killed. Others have fled to the Nuba mountains, where they are being hunted down like animals by helicopter gunships, says the Sudan Council of Churches, an umbrella organization representing all Sudanese churches.

Compass Direct News reports that: “Military intelligence agents killed one Christian, and Islamic militants sympathetic to the government slaughtered another last week after attacking churches in Sudan’s embattled South Kordofan state… Armed conflict in Kadugli broke out between southern and northern militaries on June 6 after northern forces seized Abyei last month. On June 8, Islamic militants loyal to the SAF slaughtered a young Christian man by sword in Kadugli Market, the sources said… The Islamic militias were heard shouting Allahu-akbar (God is greater) as they began shooting at a Roman Catholic Church building the same day… On Sunday (June 12), North Kordofan Gov. Mutasim Mirghani Zaki El-deen declared jihad (holy war) on the Nuba people, most of whom are Christians. Christians in the area said they are still traumatized as result of the atrocities committed against them by Sudan security forces and militias loyal to the government military. Sources in Sudan said Christians are calling their brothers and sisters worldwide to pray for the crisis in South Kordofan.” Let us join them in praying that the spirit of violence and death will be bound and that peace will be restored between North and South Sudan.

FLASH from COMPASS DIRECT NEWS, June 17, www.compassdirect.org

Sudan is Ranked #16 on the World List of Persecuted Countries

It is very interesting to see how the ranking of Sudan on the world list of persecuted countries changed through the 14 years of involvement with the country. Every year Open Doors bring out a list of top 50 countries in the world persecuted for their faith.

14 years ago, Sudan was number 5 on the world list. As people prayed for the country, God changed the nation. Gradually the situation changed in the country until it reached number 38 on that list in the beginning of 2011. It was the open question what spot Sudan would be placed at after the independence of South Sudan on 9 July 2011.

For a downloadable prayer map with lots of information on the topic, please go to: http://www.opendoors.org.za/downloads/pray_pdfs/our_father_wwl_2012.pdf

Currently Sudan is at number 16 of persecuted countries in the world. Important to note that there are four different categories of persecution on the list. The top category, with one country, is viewed as “SEVERE PERSECUTION”. ONLY North Korea (1) is categorized as being under severe persecution. It has been in that spot for a number of years now.

The second category is called “OPPRESSION”. This refers to countries like AFGHANISTAN (2), Saudi Arabia (3), and Somalia (4). Then the third category of the list is called “SEVERE LIMITATIONS”. That refers to countries like Mauritania (14), Egypt (15), and Sudan (16). The fourth category is called “SIGNIFICANT LIMITATIONS”. On the list for that are countries like Burma (Myanmar) (33), Tajikistan (34), and Tunisia (35).

A description about persecution in Sudan could be viewed on the website of Open Doors. Here is the link: http://www.opendoors.org.za/eng/persecuted_christians/wwl_2012/sudan/

The main persecution engine in Sudan is Islamic extremism. Sudan (North Sudan before the independence of South Sudan on July 9, 2011) jumped from position 35 to 16 in the World Watch List.

Please pray for the overthrow of Islamic extremism in Sudan and for protection over believers in Christ.

 A Call To Prayer and Fasting to End the Nuba Genocide and for the Peace of all Sudan, July 2011

“Once again we are facing the nightmare of genocide of our people in a final attempt to erase our culture and society from the face of the earth. It is not a war between armies that is being fought in our land, but the utter destruction of our way of life and our history, as demonstrated by the genocide of our neighbors and relatives in Darfur. This is a war of domination and eradication; at its core it is a war of terror by the government of Sudan against their people.

As we approach the July 9 day of independence for the New South Sudan, President Bashir has declared for all the world to hear that Sharia will be the law of the land for the North, refusing to recognize the legitimate presence of the Christian minority. It is a declaration of their determination to also end the remembrance of our Christian heritage that dates back two thousand years to the story of the Ethiopian eunuch (who was from modern day Sudan)…There is a meeting in Ethiopia with the different parties of Sudan, the African Union and other international parties seeking to find a true path of peace that recognizes our right to survive and thrive as a people, both Muslim and Christian alike, with equality and justice for all. Please pray and fast with us as you are able for a solution to this crisis.”

Rt. Rev / Andudu Adam Elnail, Bishop of Episcopal Diocese of Kadugli, Sudan