Sudan (MNN) — As fighting rages in the urban battlefield of Khartoum, Sudan’s military chief directed Sudanese bank to freeze all accounts connected to the paramilitary group, Rapid Support Forces (RSF). It’s been a month since RSF went head-to-head with Sudan’s military in the ultimate power struggle.
Greg Kelley with World Mission explains, “There’s essentially two warring generals who are power hungry and they’re being asked to negotiate. These people have all kinds of authority and power, [and] what happens in every situation is that the people suffer.”
At least 600 civilians have been killed so far in and around Khartoum as a result of the fighting. Thousands of displaced Sudanese are fleeing to other parts of the country and even across national borders.
“It’s not just the areas that are affected around Khartoum right now,” says Kelley. “There’s suffering that’s going on in the Nuba Mountains and in Darfur. We have active work going on that are getting food supplies in there, medical assistance, blankets, and of course our solar-powered audio Bibles.”
(Photo courtesy of World Mission)
In Sudan, the Arabic language goes a long way unlike other African countries with populations that rely heavily on a myriad of tribal languages. World Mission helps local Sudanese believers distribute solar-powered audio Bibles — called Treasures — in Arabic across the country. They’re also pairing Treasure distribution with humanitarian assistance.
“If you just show up and you’re trying to preach the Gospel, even giving them a Bible alone, it doesn’t have nearly the impact as if you come along with a loaf of bread or a cup of cold water…. When you express the love of Jesus Christ in a tangible way, it opens the heart,” says Kelley.
“Pray that God just grips the heart of these leaders so that they would come to reason and come to a place so that their people don’t suffer.”
Also, Kelley asks, “Pray for the indigenous leaders, the church planters, the missionaries that are risking their lives to go into these very hostile environments sharing the Gospel. We need to pray that God would protect them, guard them, [and] provide resources for them so that they can effectively do their work.”
Learn more about World Mission here.
Header photo of Bank of Khartoum Headquarters, Khartoum, Sudan. (Caption, photo courtesy of Abdel-Moneim Mustafa/Flickr: https://rb.gy/lizdh)
