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South Sudan: 13 Christians killed in village that ‘experiences frequent attacks by Arab Islamic militias’

May 21, 2021

Persecution of Christians in South Sudan has so far been rare. The Primate of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan, Archbishop Justin Badi Arama, stated that South Sudan is “a country where Christians and Muslims live side by side.” South Sudan is about 60% Christian, mostly Roman Catholic and Anglican. This village raid raises the possibility that the persecution of Christians could become a recurring feature in the country.

By grace of God and the blessings of His Beatitude Theodore II, the Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, Metropolitan Narkissos (Gammoh) of Nubia founded the first Orthodox Christian missionary center in South Sudan in 2015. See details here.

For previous ChristianPersecution.com coverage of the persecution of Christians in South Sudan, see here.

“Primate of South Sudan urges prayer for Bishop of Abyei after ‘barbaric attack’ at Dungob Alei,” ACNS, May 18, 2021:

The Primate of South Sudan, Archbishop Justin Badi-Arama, has spoken out against the “senseless violence” occurring in parts of the country. He made his comments after a violent attack last weekend in the northern village of Dungob Alei, which resulted in the deaths of 13 people, with a further eight injured.

In a statement, the Episcopal Church of South Sudan said that its Diocese of Abyei sits in the most northern part of South Sudan, in “an area that experiences Islamic encroachments followed by harassment, intimidation and frequent attacks carried out by Arab Islamic militias”.

Giving details of the weekend’s violence, the Bishop of Abyei, Michael Deng Bol, said that the village of Dungob-Alei, which lies 5km north-east of Abyei town, had been “barbarically attacked by militiamen of Sudan since around 5.30 am on Sunday 16 May, killing 13 people and wounding eight others. The fighting is still continuing up to now [late Monday night].”

Bishop Michael added: “This is not the first attack of its kind. In 2020 Kolom village, 12km away from Abyei town, and Mabok Diil village, 18km east of Abyei town, were also attacked in the same way with 38 killed and 22 wounded, together with the abduction of 17 children and burning down of 77 houses including our prayer centres and medical facilities.”

The Primate of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan, Archbishop Justin Badi Arama, condemned the “barbaric attacks” and called for “an end to this senseless violence by the few in a country where Christians and Muslims live side by side”….