‘God have mercy on us’: Sudan’s Christians struggle to survive under siege

Some reports say some 165 churches have closed in Sudan's civil war as both military factions attack Christian sites and force conversions to Islam for aid access.

Paul Tilsley is a veteran correspondent who has reported from four continents for more than three decades. Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, he can be followed on X @paultilsley.

It is the world’s largest displacement — between 13 million and 15 million have been forced from their homes, and an estimated 150,000 have been killed since the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese government’s Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) started fighting in April 2023. The civil war’s roots lie in tensions following the 2019 ousting of President Omar al-Bashir.

Christians, an estimated 4% of Sudan’s population, suffer from a double whammy of desperation. Like the rest of Sudan’s people, they face chronic food shortages and the horror of war. But Christians are also allegedly singled out for discrimination and persecution by both sides in the conflict.