Christians in Sudan Face Killings, Abductions, Church Bombings

Two church leaders and six other Christians in Sudan were slaughtered during recent attacks, while violence toward Christians increases as the nation’s civil war rages on. Communities are being caught in the crossfire of rival armed factions in the war, says Open Doors, a Christian persecution watchdog organization. 

Islamic militants shot Pastor Abdel Ibris Jongool on July 24. He died a few days later. Jongool had led a church in the Nuba Mountains, South Kordofan, where there is a substantial Christian presence. The six civilians were shot in the Dabbi area of Heiban District the previous day. 

The church leaders were reportedly targeted by the extremists amid religious and tribal tensions. The killers were reportedly members of a breakaway faction from Sudan’s People Liberation Army-North (SPLA/M-N). The SPLA/M-N is a political movement allied with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which is fighting against Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in the civil war. Al-Sir Hassan Kuku, a bishop for the Diocese of Heiban of the Episcopal Church of Sudan, condemned the attack. 

“We urge all parties involved in the conflict between the SPLA-N and its breakaway faction to respect church leaders and religious institutions,” Kuku said.

Christians are also being abducted. One recent attack included the kidnapping of dozens of worshippers at a Christian seminary in the Nuba Mountains. Reportedly, 32 of those kidnapped have since been released. Two prominent church leaders at the Sudanese Church of Christ in Heiban were also abducted and later released. Pastor Yaqob Ibrahim Tia, one of the kidnapped pastors, was taken from his home alongside two of his sons, a nephew and a friend. 

The hostility toward Christians worsened after April 2023, when the war broke out between RSF and SAF. The region of South Korodofan, within the Nuba Mountains, is one of the nation’s most volatile regions. 

Many churches in the region once housed those affected by the war within what they deemed neutral community spaces and humanitarian shelters. But their buildings became targets and assets for military purposes, leaving them vulnerable to strikes and destruction.

The violence against Christians stems from both religious discrimination and the civil war, Open Doors says. 

“The motivation behind this pattern [of] violence is very complex,” they said. “According to a local Open Doors source, many church leaders are being targeted in the south of Sudan—a predominantly Christian area—by Islamist extremist militias due to tribal issues relating to gold in the area.”

Open Doors reports that resource competition is “a key driver of instability across the region.”

“At the same time, church leaders and believers appear to be particularly vulnerable to targeting for their faith. Sudan is number four on the World Watch List, and converts from Islam are particularly vulnerable,” Open Doors said. 

The primary religion in Sudan is Islam, with 91.9% claiming to be Muslim and 4.3% claiming to be Christian. 

Photo above: Worshippers gather in prayer during Christmas Day services at a church in Omdurman, Sudan, on Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, amid ongoing conflict in the country.