An Update from Sudan
A further update: 19th October 2011
We can give a first-hand report on the situation around the border areas between the new South Sudan and Sudan (the area that was known as Northern Sudan with which the Diocese of Bradford is linked).
Bishop Ezekiel of Khartoum Diocese travelled to Salisbury for the enthronement of their new bishop on 15th October and had conversation with two members of Bradford’s newly-styled “Sudan-Bradford Link” group.
The current situation in the border region is that the Government army has control of the large towns (Kadugli, Damazin and Dilling) and areas immediately around them. In the rural areas, the SPLA is now in control, and fighting between these groups continues sporadically.
The government calls up government aircraft to bomb areas and many people have fled, and many have been killed. Other towns which are far from the South Kordofan and Blue Nile states are safe and travel to and from them is safe (El Obeid, Khartoum, Port Sudan and Medani). However, NGOs and the UN are banned.
Bishop Ezekiel considers the only way forward is to sit down and talk between the government and the SPLM (north), and so far that has not worked. At present it’s like having a new ‘south Sudan’ inside Sudan.
Bishop Ezekiel is grateful for the support we have given and is glad that another £5,000 is on the way. There are still new displaced people turning up in Khartoum who need help.
Although second hand clothes could help (these are being collected by a group of Sudanese from Leeds and elsewhere), the first priority is medicine and the second is food - and both of these can be purchased locally if the funds can be found.
Bishop Ezekiel confirms that a container of clothes could not come from Khartoum to people in hiding or those displaced. It may be possible to import such items to Juba and then drive them to the border (in SPLA control) and enter Sudan from Southern Sudan but it is dangerous. Bishop Ezekiel recommends collect funds for medicines as priority number one.
At a meeting in September, the Bradford Sudan Group welcomed the Revd Nabil Abdallah Kuku, who is currently studying in the UK
Nabil told us that many of his family were in the East Nuba mountains and communications had broken down so he has no recent news of them. Earlier news indicated that supplies were difficult to obtain and very expensive. The government had been bombing the area from 2am daily so they couldn’t go to their farms. Many people had been killed and injured.
Recent news is that there are now attacks on the Blue Nile state just over the border from Wad Medani. In Kadugli some churches have been destroyed and others occupied by government forces. Coptic churches are untouched; they are mostly Arabic. It is very difficult to hold any form of public worship and people are mostly just meeting in their homes.
One school near Kadugli was bombed and some children were killed and others injured. Many people are taking refuge in the caves in the mountains but food and water is a problem. Damazin has become a ghost town.
The SPLA has fallen back to Kurmuk on the Ethiopian border; some people have fled across the border into Ethiopia and others have gone into the surrounding countryside.
Solomon Lul, archdeacon of Damazin is safe in Renk with his family.
The present governor in the Nuba mountains was imposed on them by the government and is wanted for war crimes. The Blue Nile state elected their own governor but the government sacked him and replaced him with a man of their choice.
Nabil believes that the war will continue because Nuba and the Blue Nile state do not want to be a part of the south. They would prefer some self governance, rather like the situation with Scotland and the UK.
It appears that the government has a long-term plan to remove Christianity from their region, saying that the Christians are SPLA supporters. However, Moslems as well as Christians have been killed and it would seem that the black Africans are being targeted regardless of their religion.
Bishop Ezekiel has written to Bradford Diocese:
'Thank you for all that you have been doing to help the suffering people of Kadugli and the Nuba mountains as a result of the fighting that began on 5th June 2011. The situation remains uncertain as the bombing of the people in the area continues. The UN have acknowledged the seriousness of the situation and are appealing for cessation of hostilities'
The amount raised by the Diocese so far for the tragic situation in Northern Sudan is £28,000. The Diocese of Khartoum, out of their own circumstances of poverty, have also raised a small contribution and people have collected a good number of clothes and food items for the displaced. The diocese is accommodating families and pastors in Omdurman.
Please remember the church in Northern Sudan in your prayers.
As well as people from the Nuba mountains and Kadugli fleeing north the Diocese of Khartoum has seen an exodus. The government required people of southern heritage to move to Southern Sudan before July 9th when the country became two separate entities (even though many of their homes were in the north). Many churches in Northern Sudan, particularly in Khartoum & Khartoum North have been left with depleted congregations. Some churches had to be closed down as unsustainable. Of the 5 churches in Dar es Salaam, at least two will close. These empty churches are now being used to accommodate people fleeing north from Kadugli and the Nuba mountains.
The future remains uncertain for many people. Thank you to all those who have given so generously. We continue to appeal for your prayers and practical support as we, in Bradford, endeavour to support our link dioceses as best we can.
Any cheques should be made out to Bradford Diocesan Board of Finance, marked Kadugli Appeal and sent to Kadugli House, Elmsley St, Steeton, Keighley BD20 6SE.
Download a flyer for the Kadugli Appeal
Download a Gift Aid form for the Kadugli Appeal
See the side menu "Kadugli Troubles" for all the rest of the information