Sudan (MNN) — The United States issues new sanctions and visa restrictions as Sudan’s conflict approaches the six-month mark.
Hope rippled across Sudan in 2019 following the ouster of long-time dictator Bashir al-Assad. Believers thought, “Now we can finally have freedom!” as a transitionary panel tried to steer the country toward democracy.
Four years later, Sudan’s dream has become a living nightmare. Members of the diaspora tell an unfoldingWord partner named John*, “I don’t know if I ever want to go back because there’s nothing in Sudan now that we can ever put our trust in.”
Fighting that began in April between the army and paramilitary forces has reduced Khartoum to an urban warzone. “The people of the country are not important” to the warring parties, John says.
“Human life is not important. Winning and controlling the resources of Sudan is the goal.”
(Photo courtesy of unfoldingWord)
More than seven million people are now displaced inside Sudan – the highest in the world. Furthermore, disease runs rampant in displacement camps, and supplies have reached a critical low.
Yet hope remains. Sudanese church planters are delivering relief aid to people in need. The Gospel accompanies every food distribution and trauma counseling session.
“Currently, our organization is helping 571 families in 12 locations inside Sudan and on Sudan’s border with Chad and South Sudan,” John says.
Find your place in the story
Now that you know, what will you do? Send tangible aid here. Use prompts listed alongside this report to intercede for Sudan.
Because these issues matter to the Lord, “we have to want to know those things, as unpleasant as they are,” John says.
“God wants us to be burdened – not the burden that crushes – but He wants us to be concerned in our hearts about the things, people, and realities in our world that burden His heart.”
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“When you open your email, the information you need to pray well and to pray informed will be right there for you,” John says.
*Pseudonym
Header image depicts Sudan flag and national emblem. (Wikimedia Commons)
