In one of the latest incidents, in June, the sole secondary school in South Kordofan’s Umdorain Country was destroyed.

In April, the US State Department designated Sudan a “Country of Particular Concern” for the tenth consecutive year under the International Religious Freedom Act, for “having engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom.”

“A new report by Open Doors, a charity that supports Christians under pressure for their faith, says Sudanese Christians – especially those in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states – have been facing and continue to face ‘ethnic cleansing,’” stated World Watch Monitor.

“The Sudan government's modus operandi was to conquer them, convert them and/or finish them off.”

According to the report, successive Islamist regimes have attempted to turn Sudan into a Sharia state that does not recognize other religious groups, with strict punishments for apostasy, blasphemy and defamation of Islam.

World Watch Monitor went on to say that these laws have been particularly harsh on ethnically African (as opposed to Arab) Christians, notes the report, which references the high-profile case of Meriam Ibrahim, who was sentenced to death in 2014 for converting from Islam to Christianity. (She was eventually released and allowed to resettle in the United States.)

Following South Sudan’s independence, many Christians in Sudan, especially those whose family roots were in what is now South Sudan, were forced to leave the country, as the Sudanese government embarked on what the report refers to as its mission to create a “homogenous nation,” in which Islam is the sole religion.

The report, which also reviews the Sudanese government’s record over the past 30 years and considers current trends, concludes that attacks against Christians in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states are “systematic” and “widespread” in their nature and therefore qualify as “ethnic cleansing.” According to the report, the modus operandi in the 1980s and 1990s was to “conquer them, convert them and/or finish them off”. This continued after war broke out between Sudan and the SPLM/N, the political movement linked to the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), which fought for South Sudan’s independence.

World Watch Monitor says that the report states that the government of Sudan has been using non-violent, administrative measures, coupled with military action, to accomplish its mission. It says the Sudanese military has bombarded civilian villages and agricultural land, hampered the planting of crops and forced people to live in caves. Other studies by USCIRF, Human Rights Watch and Africa Rights Watch are also referenced, which, Open Doors says, are consistent in testifying to “systematic” and “widespread” attacks against Christians.

USCIRF’s report states: “In violation of international law of armed conflicts, Sudanese Air Forces attacked houses of worship through ground offensives and aerial bombardment. Four of Kadugli’s five churches were destroyed and their offices and guest houses attacked … Episcopal pastors and a Sudan Council of Churches representatives in Kadugli described doors and windows torn down, documents and religious papers ripped apart, parts of churches burned and, supplies, vehicles and electronic equipment looted.”

On the subject of attacks against civilians in the Nuba Mountains (part of South Kordofan,) the Open Doors report’s findings are in line with the evidence listed in the Nuba Reports (a website that chronicles the attacks against the Nuba people, but without registering the religious affiliation of the victims) and with incidents reported by other rights groups concerned with the Nuba people.

According to Nuba Reports, government forces, especially the air-force, have been attacking civilians consistently for years. In an extensive 2015 report on attacks on civilians in South Kordofan, Amnesty International documented the bombing of hospitals, schools, IDP camps and relief organizations. Again, the report by Amnesty International does not list religious affiliation; however Open Doors’ report says Christians are being targeted specifically.

On the Brink

“Heavy explosions and gunfire rocked the capital of South Sudan on Monday, as the world's youngest nation hovered on the brink of a return to all-out civil war,” she said.

“The deadly spasm of violence started with a skirmish Thursday between two longtime rival’s forces and since rapidly intensified — all amid mounting fears the groups' leaders have lost control of their forces.

“Thousands of civilians have fled their homes in the capital of Juba to seek shelter at United Nations bases — sites which have themselves been caught in the crossfire.”

One aid worker at a U.N. base wrote on Twitter, “Heavy shooting is happening right outside our windows. House keeps shaking with RPGs & tanks firing.”

A journalist in Juba, added, “Large explosion just now. Seems like whole city hearing big booms right now.”

How did we get here?

Vinograd explained, “South Sudan split from Sudan in 2011 after years of fighting. The new nation’s independence was championed by the U.S. — its success seen as an exercise in democracy.

“However, tensions quickly emerged between South Sudan's President Salva Kiir and his deputy, Riek Machar. The country descended into chaos in 2013 after Kiir accused Machar of attempting a coup.

“Both sides have since been accused of committing atrocities in the ensuing conflict, which has killed thousands.”

Photo captions: 1) Man shows where a bomb just landed. 2) A heavily armed South Sudanese soldier. 3) Meriam Ibrahim with her husband, Daniel Wani. 4) Thousands of Nuba Mountain civilians have taken refuge in caves from government bombing. (Diocese of El Obeid photo). 5) Sudanese church being bulldozed. 6) Peter Wooding, younger son of Dan and Norma Wooding, reporting from South Sudan for CBN. 7) Dan and Norma Wooding on a reporting assignment for ANS (Bryan Seltzer).

About the writer: Dan Wooding, 75, is an award-winning winning author, broadcaster and journalist who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, Alfred and Anne Wooding, who worked with the Sudan Interior Mission, now known as SIM. He now lives in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for some 53 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. Dan is the founder and international director of the ASSIST News Service (ANS), and is also the author of some 45 books. In addition, he has a radio program and two TV shows all based in Southern California.