Sudan: A Mother Mourns...Life in Southern Sudan (continued), Page 3

June 2002

Articles in this issue:  Southern Sudan, Page 1 | Sudan, Page 2 | Sudan, Page 3 | Sudan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Haiti, Page 4

“And if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness and your night will become like noonday.” Isaiah 58:10

A Mother Mourns...Life in Southern Sudan (continued)

	Remains of home where Abuk's baby was killed by GOS bomber

The flight officer decides to fly low to the ground since there is a lack of cover. The element of surprise will be maximized if he does. The unsuspecting people will not hear him coming until he is almost on top of them. The sight of people scrambling on the ground like bugs exposed to light gets him excited. "Easy picking's today," he tells himself. Since the revenues from the sale of oil, the GOS has been buying better weapons, built several ammunition factories, and even purchased tanks. The best of all, at least to this flight officer, was the purchase of the helicopter gunships. The SPLA has nothing to defend itself or it's people from these weapons of mass destruction, which is what the gunships are when used against unarmed people. ETA: 2 minutes from his objective.

Abruptly the silence of the mid-morning is broken by the sound of the death machine almost directly overhead. There is no time to do anything but run from the gunship. Those close enough to bushes dive into them to escape the view of the pilot. Some of these bushes have thorns two to three inches long. Everyone scatters in all different directions, panicked by the sight of the approaching helicopter gunship.

From his position, the flight officer spots people hiding in bushes. The downdraft created by the rotor fans opens the bushes, exposing the people inside. He fires several rockets into them. The scene underneath him looks like he said, "bugs exposed by the light running for cover." Too bad there is no cover for them, he thinks.

After circling the area he picks several homes to receive his deadly care package from the GOS. The first is a direct hit and disintegrates instantly. His next shot lands a few yards short of the target; however, the explosion sets the hut ablaze immediately.

After several minutes the gunship destroys most everything in sight. As he turns his machine of death around, he congratulates himself on another successful mission. Allah and his commanders will be most happy with him, again!

Abuk breaks through the bushes in sheer desperation, runs up over a small hill and then collapses in total anguish. Her baby is in the burning inferno she called home.

ICC Team Discovers Relentless Campaign Against Southern Sudanese Christians

ICC has just returned from a crisis relief trip to Sudan with ministry partner Faith in Action (FIA). Together we were able to deliver 11 tons of relief supplies consisting of food, shovels, cooking pots, jerry cans (for water) and other tools to assist displaced Sudanese Christians.

The team went to the area of the February bombing of the World Food Program distribution site in a village called Bieh. Several other villages in this part of Sudan were also attacked that same day. The UN only expressed outrage over the attack on Bieh because it is the only place they had personnel on the ground. Why did they not mention the other villages attacked by the same helicopter gunship?

On Jan 24, 2002 the GOS bombed the village of Koch and the following day the GOS returned to this village with a helicopter gunship. A total of 9 people were killed including 1 child. This and countless other villages are attacked & destroyed and never get reported in any media. The Sudanese still suffer in silence. No one hears them.

On Feb. 12, 2002 the GOS attacked the village of Boaw. Representatives from the World Food Program were on the ground and received a message via radio from the GOS to evacuate the area within 1 hour. The World Food Program (WFP) team was able to divert a flight while it was en-route to another area of Sudan. Thirty minutes after the WFP team evacuated, the GOS dropped 12 bombs on this small village, killing six.

The attacks in the Upper Nile region are being deployed to drive the people off the land. This scorched earth campaign has left hundreds of thousands homeless. Hundreds of people die as a direct result of the attacks.

The team met with several different military commanders while spending four days on the ground. We were informed the GOS is attacking a group of villages which are in areas they are trying to clear for oil exploration.

Click here for more information on Sudan.)

Continue to Page 4... 

POSTED:  July 1, 2002

June 2002

Articles in this issue:  Southern Sudan, Page 1 | Sudan, Page 2 | Sudan, Page 3 | Sudan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Haiti, Page 4