Helping Refugees in Sudan
The UN Security Council has strongly condemned the government of northern Sudan for its continued military occupation of the Abyei area, resulting in the displacement of tens of thousands of residents. In a June 3 statement, the Council called on the northern army to "ensure an immediate halt to all looting, burning, and illegal resettlement" and asked both the north and the south to withdraw all troops from the area.
The northern army has refused to pull out of Abyei and has warned that it will attack any remaining southern troops in the border states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile. Reports of armed clashes in South Kordofan are heightening fears of a new civil war.
Samaritan's Purse is continuing to provide emergency aid to thousands of people who fled the violence in Abyei. Most of the refugees are women and children who have walked for days to escape the conflict.
Our team is helping to supply food, clean water, blankets, mosquito nets, hygiene items, medical supplies, plastic tarps for shelter, and other essentials. We have a field office in a strategic location in the region with significant capacity to respond to the critical needs of the displaced population.
Abyei is in an ethnically mixed, oil-producing area claimed by both sides. On May 21, the northern government launched a full-scale military assault on Abyei, accusing southern forces of ambushing northern troops that were part of a convoy of UN peacekeepers. The southern government has called the invasion "a declaration of war."
Sudan struggled through 21 years of civil war between the Muslim-dominated government in Khartoum and the largely Christian tribal groups in the south before a peace agreement was reached in 2005. Southern Sudan gained limited autonomy for six years, leading to an overwhelming vote for independence earlier this year. The new nation is set to become an independent state on the 9th of July.
Samaritan's Purse began ministering to the suffering people of Sudan in 1997, providing food, shelter, clean water, medical care, and other basic necessities to hundreds of thousands since then. Our programs quickly expanded to include agricultural assistance, education, vocational training, well-drilling, and church reconstruction. During the recent referendum, we helped mobilize Christians throughout Sudan and around the world to pray for the voting process, which later was widely praised for being peaceful and fair.
Ways You Can Help
Please Pray
Please pray for the victims of the conflict and for our teams working to help them.
Pray that there will be a peaceful resolution to the hostilities and that the independence process will not be disrupted.
Give
Please visit our donation page to help us respond to emergencies like this one around the world.
