Sudan again terrorizing its own people

Sudan's militant Islamic regime again is terrorizing its own people based on religion and ethnicity, driving about 280,000 people from their homes and producing another humanitarian crisis, according to a United States watchdog for religious liberty.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) reported military and paramilitary forces controlled by the Khartoum government have targeted Sudanese in two southern states based on their religious belief, political affiliation and ethnicity. [Khartoum is the capital.] The result has been the internal displacement of about 230,000 people in Southern Kordofan, with many living in mountain caves, and the flight of another 50,000 from the two states to other countries.

USCIRF and members of Congress called on the Obama administration to lead an international effort to put an end to the attacks and to provide humanitarian assistance.

The only way to halt the Sudanese government's actions is by strong international pressure, USCIRF Chairman Leonard Leo said at a news conference on Capitol Hill. "Unfortunately, the world has been silent, and that silence must end."

USCIRF released an eight-page report in mid-December on the crisis in Sudan based on interviews staff members conducted in October with more than 80 refugees, including many at a refugee camp in the newly constituted Republic of South Sudan.

The Khartoum-backed attacks -- which followed the intra-country pattern of the past in the south and in the Darfur region of the west -- began in June in Southern Kordofan and in September in Blue Nile. They have included bombings as well as executions of Sudanese on a "blacklist," USCIRF reported.

The targets in house-to-house searches typically were Christian leaders and perceived supporters of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, which opposed Khartoum during a 22-year civil war that ended in 2005. Others -- such as residents of the Nuba Mountains, including moderate Muslims -- were targeted because of their ethnicity, according to USCIRF. The military also destroyed church buildings and mosques.

Many pastors fled their homes for South Sudan after they learned troops were searching for them by name. As a result of the lack of pastors and the military attacks, the worship services of many churches have been disrupted in the Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states.To read more, click here.