Violence reaches Sudan’s Nuba Mountains, where Christians once found refuge

NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — A region in Sudan that was once a safe haven for refugees and where nearly half the population is Christian has become another scene of deadly violence, as the country’s army and para military battle in the fourth year of war.

The peak of the violence in the Nuba Mountains, a region in ​the South-Central state of South Kordofan where those of different faiths have long lived side by side, has killed Christian clergy and their followers, prompting Christian humanitarian groups and watchdogs to ​speak out.

The region has absorbed close to 1 million people — mainly Christian refugees — since the early stages of the war, which began in 2023. The war between the country’s military and Rapid Support Forces has killed an estimated 59,000 people, though aid groups believe the number could be much higher.

Last week, a rebel struck two village​s there, killing at least 27 people — including four children — and injured many others. The latest incident in the escalating violence came after the killing of a Protestant pastor in late July and a Catholic priest in mid-June.

The Rev. Abel Idris Jongool, a priest of the Episcopal (Anglican) Church of Sudan in Debe,…