Sudan (MNN) — Sudan remains in a communications blackout 18 days after military leaders took control of the country. More about that here.
United Nations officials say mediations continue between coup leaders and the ousted prime minister. John*, a Gospel worker focused on Sudan, says the October 25 military coup did not surprise believers.
People loyal to Bashir, the dictator overthrown in 2019, still held positions of power. “Until that part of the government was effectively dealt with, we believed that there would either be a second renaissance that went deeper within the civil government and military cooperation, or there would be a coup,” John says.
A new report from the Religious Freedom Institution explores conditions in Sudan leading up to the coup. It describes active threats to religious freedom and stability, like the Security Forces.
“The Security Forces were kind of a government within a government. You had the government that was visible to the world, but the Security Forces were behind mobilizing Arab militias that brought about the genocide [in places like Darfur],” John explains.
“The Security Forces are the ones implementing religious persecution – tracking pastors, arresting them.”
Nonetheless, hope remains. The Lord is still at work in Sudan.
“There has been a grassroots movement among Muslims who have come to Christ. They came to know the Lord out of [visions] and dreams. They came to know the Lord because they were so distraught over the Muslim-on-Muslim violence. Islam wasn’t giving them answers,” John says.
Sudanese partners tell John about “new believers and baptisms, and house churches planted that have not come from [a] traditional structure, but rather from the grassroots movement of God among Muslims.”
Pray these new believers will become a powerful Kingdom-building force in Sudan. Pray negotiators can find a resolution that restores peace and order to Sudan.
*Pseudonym
Header image courtesy of Prayercast.
