SUDAN'S CHURCH UNDER SIEGE: Pastor Recounts RSF Attack as Christians Survive on One Meal a Day Under Bombs
A pastor in North Darfur recounted how he and 80 people sheltering at his church survived on one meal a day from July to September while hiding under plastic chairs when the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group attacked, according to Christianity Today.
Darmali Ismail of Episcopal Church El Fasher in North Darfur, Sudan said the group sheltering at his church included 30 children between the ages of 3 months and 12 years.
"We were feeling stuck and sad," Ismail said. "Each day was a battle for survival."
Intensified fighting between RSF and the government backed Sudanese Armed Forces in El Fasher has displaced Ismail, his congregation, and at least 80,000 people in North Darfur's capital in recent months. RSF has used drone strikes against hospitals, displacement shelters, power plants, and marketplaces to gain an edge in its bid to drive the government's army out of its last stronghold in Darfur.
After fleeing the RSF in September, Ismail and his group headed to Abu Shouk camp about four miles from El Fasher. They slept under trees and in empty houses while continuing to dodge bombs and bullets. "I was not feeling that I would be alive until now," Ismail said. "I was thinking, They will shoot me now. I will fall soon."
As bombing increased, Ismail's group walked 18 hours to Tawila, a town west of El Fasher now controlled by the Sudan Liberation Army. Thousands of displaced Sudanese occupy the town, including 117 Christian families who sometimes join Ismail in daily prayers under a desert date tree.
Sometimes they eat together, still just one meal a day. The winter nights are cold, and Ismail said they don't have blankets.
From June 9 to 11, RSF launched coordinated airstrikes on three churches in El Fasher, targeting the Sudanese Episcopal Church, African Inland Church, and Roman Catholic Church, resulting in at least five deaths including Father Luka Jumu. Dozens more were injured.
The RSF specifically uses churches as their headquarters, taking over church buildings and killing pastors. At least 165 churches have been destroyed so far. The war has displaced nearly 12 million people in Sudan, and about 4 million have entered neighboring countries as refugees.
THE CRUSADER'S OPINION
Eighty Christians hiding under plastic chairs as paramilitary jihadists hunt them.
One meal a day. Children starving. Pastors murdered in their churches. This is Sudan's reality.
The RSF evolved from the Janjaweed militia that committed genocide in Darfur. Same evil, different name, backed by foreign powers including the UAE.
They target churches deliberately because Christians represent everything they want to destroy.
El Fasher fell in October. Estimates suggest 2,500 civilians executed in the massacre, with tens of thousands more killed, displaced, or in hiding.
The world ignores Sudan because there's no political advantage in caring about African Christians being slaughtered by Arab supremacists.
Pastor Ismail and 117 Christian families pray under a tree in the desert without blankets as winter comes.
This is martyrdom in real time. This is faith tested by fire.
May God sustain Sudan's remnant and bring justice upon the RSF butchers.
TAKE ACTION
Support Sudanese Christians: • Voice of the Martyrs Sudan: https://www.persecution.com/give | 800.747.0085 • Samaritan's Purse Sudan Relief: https://www.samaritanspurse.org/our-ministry/sudan | 800.528.1980 • Open Doors Sudan: https://www.opendoorsusa.org/donate | 888.524.2535
Advocate for intervention: • Contact US State Department demanding action on Sudan genocide • Support ICC investigation and prosecution of RSF war crimes • Pressure UAE to stop funding and arming the RSF
Pray and inform: • Pray for Pastor Ismail and 117 Christian families displaced in Tawila • Pray for protection of remaining Christians in Sudan facing starvation and violence • Share stories of Sudan's church under siege using #SudanChristianGenocide • Follow Christianity Today and Religion News Service for ongoing Sudan coverage
