CSW has learned that a church in Doka Town, Gedaref State in east Sudan was razed to the ground on 16 December.
The Church belonged to the Sudan Church of Christ (SCOC) denomination and had been a place of worship since 1991. The SCOC is a predominantly Nuba denomination which has experienced both religious and ethnic discrimination.
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The attack was reportedly perpetrated by a soldier who has been locally identified as Yasin Ahmed Haroun, and who had threatened to burn down the property a week earlier.
On 16 December, at around midday, locals realised that the church was on fire. Eyewitnesses report that they saw Yasin Ahmed Haroun running from the church to the military camp where the army is based. A group of locals, including church leaders, went to the military camp to report the attack and asked for the assailant to be surrendered to the police; however, military officials ordered them to disperse from the site immediately.
Church leaders filed a criminal case naming the perpetrator, which has been taken up by the local prosecutor who requested that the military surrender Yasin Ahmed Haroun for their investigations. However, military officials state they do not have anyone by that name in their ranks.
