Sudan’s Christians endure daily deprivation, distress, and dread. The new for 2026, which evaluates global persecution of Christians, ranked Sudan fourth, climbing one position from the prior year’s assessment.
Approximately 2 million Christians reside in this war-torn Northeast African nation. The civil war has surpassed the 1,000-day mark, with reports indicating 150,000 fatalities and more than . Christianity has existed in Sudan since the late first century.
A significant portion of Sudan’s Christian population inhabits the Nuba Mountains within the Kordofan region. Rafat Samir, general secretary of the Sudan Evangelical Alliance, informed Digital that the Nuba Mountains—home to most of the alliance’s congregants—has faced continuous siege and aerial bombardment daily for the past six to seven months. Following Christmas last week, our church, hospital, and school were bombed.
Compounding the tragedy, a report from , referencing Christian Daily International, stated that 11 Sudanese Christians were killed while participating in a church procession for a religious observance on Christmas Day by a drone operated by the government’s Sudanese Armed Forces. Eighteen additional individuals sustained injuries. MEMRI reported that the SAF receives support from the Muslim Brotherhood.
A State Department spokesperson informed Digital, “Since conflict erupted in Sudan in April 2023, we have observed considerable regression in Sudan’s general adherence to basic liberties, religious freedom included. This deterioration particularly affects Sudan’s marginalized ethnic and faith communities, Christians among them.”
According to a Digital report from last year, Christians were reportedly consuming grass to stay alive. Samir indicates the situation has grown even more dire in 2026: “Now even the grass has disappeared.”
“The war is hastening the destruction of and holy legacy,” remarked Mariam Wahba, research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), to Digital. “These damages will prove considerably more difficult to undo than reconstructing roads or government offices after the fighting ceases,” she noted.
From an ideological standpoint, Sudanese Christians confront a menacing future, according to Samir of the Evangelical Alliance. “Both factions in the civil war are offshoots of Sudan’s Islamist movement, and their Islamic doctrine rejects tolerance toward others. They view anyone different as adversarial. Christians are deemed enemies within their religious framework, and combating them constitutes a religious obligation.”
He added, “Therefore, anyone who inflicts harm upon Christians is seen as acting in accordance with divine law or pleasing Allah.” Samir further observed, “The nation is regressing into a dark age.”
Persistent and ongoing efforts to bring the government’s Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and rival militia, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), to have failed. Both parties acknowledge they continue to engage in combat and, evidently, persistently target civilians, especially in Sudan’s central Kordofan region, where many Christians reside.
“The United States remains dedicated to terminating Sudan’s devastating war,” a State Department spokesperson told Digital, continuing, “Under President Trump’s direction, we are collaborating with allies and other partners to secure a humanitarian ceasefire and halt external military assistance to the warring factions that is intensifying the bloodshed. in Sudan.”
The spokesperson further stated, “Civilian suffering has attained catastrophic proportions, with millions deprived of food, water, and medical treatment. Each additional day of combat claims more innocent victims. The Sudanese conflict poses a persistent danger to regional stability.”
The U.N. reports that combat is intensifying in Kordofan, as U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk informed journalists in Port Sudan on January 18, “I am deeply concerned that the atrocity crimes perpetrated during and after the capture of El Fasher face serious risk of recurrence in the Kordofan region, where hostilities have sharply escalated since late October.”
“The Kordofan states remain highly unstable,” he continued, “characterized by unceasing military operations, intense artillery fire, drone attacks, and airstrikes that have triggered extensive devastation and the breakdown of critical infrastructure.”
Wahba noted that “although the United States continues to maintain active military operations in adjacent regions, direct intervention in Sudan’s civil war appears improbable.”
“President Trump,” Wahba added, “has expressed a distinct wish to see the war resolved—an aim supported by both—but converting that agreement into tangible results on the ground has demonstrated itself far more challenging than official statements indicate.”
“For the present,” Wahba continued, “U.S. policy focuses on assembling regional actors and urging consensus among them, while emphasizing humanitarian access routes, relief distribution, and collaboration with nations prepared to sponsor negotiations. Washington is serving as a mediator rather than an enforcer.”
“This stance demonstrates both limitation and prudence. Sudan offers scant dependable points of influence, lacks a cohesive opposition ally, and neither Congress nor the White House shows much desire for another prolonged involvement in a divided civil conflict. Consequently, the policy stays adaptable and responsive, driven more by emergency management than strategic planning,” she explained.
Nevertheless, Samir of the Sudan Evangelical Alliance maintains hope: “The Holy Spirit is active and God’s hand is at work in our nation. I can assure you that amid this evil and darkness, the illuminating love of our God is shining in numerous hearts. The devil claims lives daily through death. We pray that we Christians may survive one more day, one more day to declare Jesus’s message.”