The conflict in Sudan, which reached its three-year anniversary this week, has been described as the war the world forgot. Not because it ended. Not because it eased. But because other conflicts have dominated global headlines: Ukraine, Gaza, and now the crisis across the Middle East. The war in Sudan began on 15 April, 2023, as a sudden eruption of […]
“Please pray for us and for the war in Sudan to end” – Fatima, SAT-7 viewer. After two years of civil war in Sudan, SAT-7 is continuing to stand with viewers there, offering prayer, support, and a special programme made by Sudanese Christians in the run-up to Easter. The situation in Sudan has been described as the “world’s largest humanitarian crisis.” […]
Barriers to education in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are multiple. From restrictive social policies that limit girls’ access to learning to devastating wars that destroy school buildings and displace families, millions of children in the region are out of school. Iraq’s parliament this week passed amendments to the country’s personal status law that could allow some girls […]
Of the ten countries where Christians are most severely persecuted, five are from the MENA, according to this year’s World Watch List. Christians in Yemen, Libya, Sudan, Iran, and Afghanistan face great dangers and are subject to some of the world’s harshest restrictions on their faith. SAT-7’s satellite programmes and social media content are available in all five of these […]
As a new year dawns, there is cause for cautious hope in the Middle East: a new ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas; a holding ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon; and a new Syrian leadership which promises to respect the rights of minorities. But while there is cause for optimism, many people in the region begin another year amidst war […]
As tensions continue to rise across the Middle East, a powerful episode of SAT-7’s Voice of the Church has offered comfort and hope to viewers in Lebanon and beyond. During the episode, entitled “Lord, Have Mercy on Us”, church leaders and other believers lifted up heartfelt prayers for Lebanon and the wider region, calling on God for peace and help. […]
“We urgently need to find our way back to peace in line with the UN Charter [of Human Rights] and international law.” This was the impassioned message that Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, sent to the 56th session of the UN Human Rights Council last month. Prominent among the examples he gave were Gaza, Sudan, Syria […]
SUDAN BRIEFING: Church perseveres in faith and love amid conflict Nicknamed “the forgotten war”, the conflict that erupted in Sudan last April has taken a devastating toll on its people. The fighting has displaced over 8 million people and left around 25 million in need of humanitarian aid. Almost 15,000 deaths have been reported, but the true figure is likely […]
Freedom and security seem ever more elusive in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). This month, we bring you various reports on religious freedom, women’s rights and press freedom, as well as more hopeful news from Syria. Freedom of religion and of belief is “being challenged more and more” around the world, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom […]
While conflict in the Holy Land and the fresh involvement of Iran dominates headlines, a war between generals continues to ravage Sudan, and Türkiye expresses an appetite for change in political leadership. The Middle East found itself on a knife-edge last weekend after Iran launched 300 missiles and drones at Israel – the Islamic Republic’s first direct assault on Israel […]