Muslim extremists from Sudan were arrested in January in connection with the burning of a church building in South Sudan.
Members of the Sudanese Church of Christ (SCOC) in the refugee settlement of Yida awoke on the morning of 16 January to find their worship building in flames. Tens of thousands of refugees from Sudan’s South Kordofan state have set up homes in Yida, about seven miles from the Sudanese border.
Charred remains
The following week, the congregation of nearly 200 people held their worship service in the open air in the remains of the charred church building. Most church members are ethnic Nuba who have fled the bombing of civilians in South Kordofan in Sudan’s fight with rebels.
The fire burned both the exterior and interior of the structure, destroying all chairs, a pulpit and some copies of Arabic Bibles. Authorities arrested a Muslim suspect, identified only as Tia, who revealed the names of three other Muslim suspects, also captured by police. One of the arrested men said they were sent from Sudan to attack churches and aid workers helping Nuba Christians from Sudan.
Over the past year, three church buildings were reportedly burned in Yida.
