KHARTOUM, Sudan — A paramilitary group in Sudan intercepted and jailed a church leader and demanded a ransom for his release.
Morning Star News reports that Rapid Support Forces apprehended Antar Abbas Abu Hidia near Omdurman on April 12. Hidia was en route to Shendi to an annual assembly of the Sudanese Church of Christ, of which he is general secretary.
He was incarcerated in Khartoum’s Soba Prison.
The paramilitary group gave no reason for the incarceration. The Sudanese church condemned the incident, and Hidia was released that weekend without payment of ransom.
According to Morning Star, Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces have battled each other for more than a year. The fighting “has terrorized civilians in Khartoum and elsewhere, leaving more than 14,600 people dead and displacing an estimated 8 million others inside and outside the country,” the news service states.
Sudan is No. 8 on Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List of places most difficult to be a Christian.
Morning Star says about 4.5% of Sudan’s 43 million people are Christians.
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