More than a year into a brutal civil war in Sudan, Christians feel they have been abandoned and forgotten, according to a spokesperson from Open Doors.

Sudan descended into a civil war between the Sudan Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces in April 2023. When Illia Djadi, Open Doors’ Senior Analyst for Freedom of Religion or Belief in Sub-Saharan Africa visited the region recently, he found church leaders saying they feel forgotten by the outside world. “The situation is deteriorating every day and there is no response from the world. There is a strong feeling of abandonment,” he said.

“Sudan is home to the world’s largest mass displacement with nearly nine million people on the run, and is facing the world’s largest hunger crisis, but it is not getting the attention and the response it should compared to other crises,” says Illia.

His words echo those of Bishop Anthony Poggo, the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion in April. Bishop Anthony called on “the international community not to abandon the people of Sudan, despite the focus on conflicts elsewhere.

“While there are many positive grassroots efforts to support, including peacebuilding initiatives by religious and traditional leaders and financial provision flowing from the Sudanese diaspora, we appeal urgently for much greater international humanitarian support to mitigate the enormity of the suffering of the people,” he said in a statement. (Open Doors)