KHARTOUM, Sudan — Soldiers detained and tortured three Sudanese Christians earlier this year after a Bible was found during a checkpoint search, one believer said.
Hamza Haroon Ahmed said a soldier of the Sudan Armed Forces inquired Jan. 16 as to the ownership of a Bible in Ahmed’s belongings, reports Morning Star News. Ahmed admitted the Bible was his.
The search occurred at a military checkpoint in El Daein in Sudan’s East Darfur state near Sudan’s border with South Sudan.
Ahmed explained to Morning Star that the two Christians with him were recent converts from Islam. Because they would not leave Ahmed, they were jailed as well. The three were released in March.
Ahmed said that while in jail the three were tortured, during which he suffered a broken hand.
Morning Star says the Sudan Armed Forces and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces have battled each other since April 2023. The fighting, which has displaced 8 million or more, has killed in excess of 14,600 people.
Sudan is No. 8 on Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List of places most difficult to be a Christian. The population of Sudan exceeds 43 million; the number of Christians is about 2 million.
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