5 Dead after RSF Bombs Churches in Sudan

7/14/2025 Sudan (International Christian Concern) — From June 9 to 11, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched coordinated airstrikes on three churches in El Fasher, North Darfur, Sudan.
The RSF targeted the Sudanese Episcopal Church, the African Inland Church, and the Roman Catholic Church, resulting in at least five deaths, including that of Father Luka Jumu. Dozens more were injured.
“The bombing of these churches is not only an attack on buildings but a brutal assault on the right to freedom of religion or belief,” said Mervyn Thomas, founder and president of Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW). “Three churches have been bombed in El Fasher… The RSF targets churches as part of a campaign to establish control, using these buildings as military bases and to conduct ethnically motivated violence against non‑Arab Christians.”
El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, has been a critical battleground throughout Sudan’s prolonged conflict. Unlike many other regions under RSF control, El Fasher remains fiercely disputed. Churches in the city have historically served not only as places of worship but also as sanctuaries for people fleeing violence. Many displaced Christians find refuge within these churches, which makes the attacks even more devastating.
Witnesses to the latest attacks recalled the violence with horror.
“We woke up to the sound of explosions and intense shelling shaking our neighborhoods,” a resident said.
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