Muslims in Sudan’s River Nile state on Oct. 19 drove 34 displaced Christians from their homes, sources said.
The Muslim residents of the El Matamah area of Al-Makniya told the Christians of Nuba Mountains ancestry who had fled military conflict in Omdurman, near Khartoum, that they did not want Christians or black people in the area, according to a report on the website of the Sudan’s People Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N).
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An area church leader confirmed the SPLM-N account to Morning Star News. Though the Muslim residents initially accused the Christians of stealing livestock and violating Islamic codes, a police officer told the Christians that the residents’ objected to their presence essentially on religious grounds, according to the SPLM-N website. It added that authorities later apprehended the cattle thieves, who were not Christians.
Initially about 30 residents showed up at the home of one of the displaced Christian families last month and said they must vacate their houses and leave the area, according to the SPLM-N. Later more than 50 Muslims issued the same demand, and when the Christians refused to leave, some days later an even larger crowd of neighbors arrived and demanded they leave within three days.
In December 2020, the State Department removed Sudan from its Special Watch List.
The Christian population of Sudan is estimated at 2 million, or 4.5 percent of the total population of more than 43 million.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written and originally published by Morning Star News.
