Story number 1 for 31 Jul 2003

(Sudan)–Topping the news, marathon talks are at a stalemate between Sudan’s rebels and the Khartoum government. After two decades of civil war, Voice of the Martyrs’ Gary Lane says there’s more at stake than the politicization of peace. On a recent South Sudan visit, he saw fresh evidence of the Christian persecution. “It just shows the jihad that is continuing against Christians and animists in the south who refuse to yield to Khartoum’s brand of Islam, and to Sharia law. They’ve been fighting it for 20 years, two million people have been killed, and they say they will continue to fight until they have a just peace.” Lane urges fellow Christians to remember the persecuted church of the Sudan in prayer. “Moses negotiated with Pharaoh. He repeatedly went to Pharaoh and urged him to let the people go. Finally, he did. So, pray that God will change the heart of Omar al-Bashir, the dictator of Sudan, and pray that there will be peace there, a just peace for the people.”