Khartoum, March 22, 2021
 |
| People in Sudan and South Sudan, including Christians, face hardship. |
Hundreds of thousands of Southern
Sudanese Christians are "effectively being forced
to leave" Sudan within three weeks having been
stripped of their citizenship, a Christian aid workers
confirmed Wednesday, March 21.
Barnabas Fund, a Christian advocacy and aid group, told
BosNewsLife that as many as 700,000 people originating
from neighboring South Sudan, are effected by the
ultimatum.
"They have until 8 April either to leave the strongly
Islamic" Sudan "or to be treated as foreigners
under a regime that is extremely hostile to non-Muslims
and non-Arabs," the group said in a statement.
Most of the Christians fled north to Sudan during the long
civil war which eventually led to the creation of the new
state of South Sudan.
After the South voted to secede in January 2011, Sudan
removed citizenship rights from all those of Southern
origin.
Yet, as they have lived in Sudan for decades "few
have ties with the South", Barnabas Fund explained.
CHURCH LEADERS CONCERNED
Church leaders are reportedly concerned that many
Christians cannot leave as they have children and homes in
Sudan.
However "There are fears that Christians who remain
in Sudan after the deadline may face increased persecution
or even forced repatriation," Barnabas Fund said.
The Khartoum government reportedly says that that people
in Sudan whose parents, grandparents or great-grandparents
were born in South Sudan, and those who belong to any
Southern ethnic group, "are nationals of that
country."
Barnabas Fund said it fears a massive exodus could trigger
a humanitarian emergency at a time when both Sudan and
neighboring South Sudan face difficulties.
"Despite the end of the long civil war and
independence of South Sudan, Christians in both nations
continue to suffer grievously," explained Patrick
Sookhdeo, international director of Barnabas Fund.
PEOPLE FLEE SUDAN
"South Sudan is taking the strain as hundreds of
thousands of people flee from [Sudan's] President Omar
al-Bashir’s ongoing brutal campaign to Islamise and
Arabise Sudan completely," he told BosNewsLife in a
statement.
It comes as the young state of South Sudan faces a major
food crisis as drought has ruined crops, according to the
UN World Food Programme (WFP).
Nearly five million people in South Sudan could suffer
from food insecurity in 2012, with an estimated one
million in severe need, according to UN estimates.
The country’s resources are also strained by the
arrival of refugees from clashes in the border states of
South Kordofan and Blue Nile, adjacent to
newly-independent South Sudan.
Around 185,000 people have fled to South Sudan and
Ethiopia to escape the ongoing aerial bombardment of
civilians by the Sudan Armed Forces, Barnabas Fund said.
INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE
Over 400,000 people are internally displaced as the area
has been under attack since mid-2011, according to UN
estimates. The Nuba Mountains area, which is around 30 per
cent Christian, has been one of the worst hit, Christian
rights activists said.
The Sudanese military has been relentlessly bombing the
Nuba Mountains since June, killing hundreds of civilians,
trying to quash a dug-in rebel movement, according to aid
workers.
Recently Chinese-made long distance rockets have been used
by the Sudanese Armed Forces in the area, which often hit
villages instead of military targets, residents said.
Khartoum accuses Juba of continuing to back the
insurgents, which South Sudan denies.
However South Sudanese and Sudanese forces have
increasingly clashed in a poorly-defined border area since
late last month, the Sudanese military said. That outbreak
of violence has also put a recently signed non-aggression
pact into question, Western bservers say.
"Our brothers and sisters need our help and prayers
as they are forced to leave their homes and rebuild their
lives elsewhere," Sookhdeo said.
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