Churchwomen wailed and young men shouted that they were prepared to die to prevent further demolition, as hundreds of Christians in North Khartoum blocked authorities’ attempts to destroy buildings on their compound on 17 and 18 November.
After a bulldozer accompanied by police knocked down a wall of the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church’s (SPEC) Khartoum Bahri Evangelical Church and some houses, the Christians formed a human barrier to face down further demolition attempts the following two days. One of the homes destroyed in the compound belonged to Nile Theological College; a Christian doctor had rented it and he lost all his belongings.
A court order demanded that church leaders surrender the premises to Muslim businessman Khalid Mustafa. Indications are that the Sudanese Government made a secret agreement with him to sell the church property as part of Sudan’s campaign to do away with Christianity in the country, church leaders said.
