The Bishop of Winchester has highlighted the plight of Sudanese Christians caught up in the country’s latest civil war.
Since April 2023 Sudan has been locked in a vicious civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Both factions were previously aligned and the current conflict is essentially a battle for supremacy between two formerly allied warlords.
The latest conflict is sadly far from an aberration in Sudan’s post-independence history. For most of the 70 years since independence, Sudan has been embroiled in one major civil war or another, with even times of relative peace being marked by near constant regional insurgencies and conflicts.
The current war is believed to be at least partially fuelled by both foreign governments and militant groups from other African nations. At one point Russia’s Wagner Group was believed to be aiding the RSF, while the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was accused of funnelling equipment, also to the RSF, via an airport in Chad. The UAE denies the allegations.
Christians have petitioned the Premier League to intervene against Manchester City, which is owned by the UAE’s deputy prime minister.
Last week in a House of Lords debate the Bishop of Winchester, Philip Mounstephen, said that churches in Sudan are being used as shelters from aerial bombardment and that both sides in the conflict have used churches for military purposes.
The bishop asked the government what assessment it has made "on the situation of freedom of religion in Sudan and what steps particularly they are taking to ensure that the urgent humanitarian assistance … is also reaching vulnerable and historically marginalised religious communities, including in the Nuba mountains?”
The Nuba mountains is the home of much of Sudan’s historic Christian community.
Lord Wood of Anfield, speaking on behalf of the government, responded by stating that the government is providing £146 million in humanitarian support to Sudan every year.
“We are pleased to say [the aid] is reaching millions and millions of people …,“ he said.
"We are providing help to local responders using NGOs and local organisations, including religious organisations, as partners and destinations for funding.”
