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‘God have mercy on us’: Sudan’s Christians struggle to survive under siege
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FIRST ON FOX: Sudan’s two million Christians are among the hardest hit by the country’s two-year civil war, with Fox News Digital being told some are having to eat animal feed and even grass to survive.
Sudan is the fifth-worst country in the world for Christian persecution, according to Open Doors’ World Watch List. Open Doors is a faith-based nonprofit aiming to raise awareness of global persecution.
It is the world’s largest displacement — between 13 million and 15 million have been forced from their homes, and an estimated 150,000 have been killed since the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese government’s Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) started fighting in April 2023. The civil war’s roots lie in tensions following the 2019 ousting of President Omar al-Bashir.
Christians, an estimated 4% of Sudan’s population, suffer from a double whammy of desperation. Like the rest of Sudan’s people, they face chronic food shortages and the horror of war. But Christians are also allegedly singled out for discrimination and persecution by both sides in the conflict.
‘NO MEANS OF ESCAPE’: SUDANESE REBELS CREATE KILL ZONES AROUND BESIEGED CITY
A Sudanese man walks in the courtyard of a church in the Um Gulja former refugee camp in Sudan’s eastern Gedaref state on December 15, 2023. Many refugees and asylum seekers fleeing the current war in Khartoum and other areas across Sudan have been seeking refuge in Um Gulja, a refugee camp that was closed down some 20 years ago but with the latest war that broke up in Spring 2023 started receiving displaced people again. (Photo by EBRAHIM HAMID/AFP via Getty Images) (Ebrahim Hamid/AFP via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital reached a senior Sudanese church leader working with colleagues on the ground in the country and the region. Talking from an unidentified location and withholding his identity for his safety, he told Fox News Digital, «Christians are seen as an enemy for both warring parties, and even the political parties. Sudan is considered as a land of one religion and one race.»
He continued, «When even NGOs want to distribute food, the category of people who will receive this relief is controlled by government. So, government in these places doesn’t give it to minorities. Often Christians here have been told, ‘Unless you leave your Christianity, no food for you.’»
«Since Sudan’s civil war erupted more than two years ago, Christians have faced relentless persecution at the hands of both warring parties,« Mariam Wahba, research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital. «More than 165 churches have been forced to close. In 2023, RSF fighters stormed Khartoum’s Anglican cathedral, assaulting civilians and converting it into a military base, while SAF airstrikes leveled the Al Ezba Baptist Church in Khartoum North. Both sides have also carried out arbitrary detentions, with SAF interrogating and beating dozens of Christians in 2024 and 2025.»
The Pentecostal church in Bahri was demolished by the government for re-zoning even though it was built 30 years ago.
«The RSF has been especially violent in Wad Madani (central Sudan), Wahba continued. «In December 2024, its fighters set fire to the Evangelical Church of Wad Madani, and later that month attacked the Sudanese Church of Christ in Al Jazirah State during a prayer service, wounding 14 worshippers. One militant reportedly vowed to ‘eliminate all Christians.’»
POPE LEO XIV CONDEMNS BRUTAL MACHETE ATTACK THAT KILLED 49 CHRISTIANS DURING PRAYER IN CONGO
«RSF militants have allegedly forced Christians to convert to Islam in exchange for aid and protection. It’s important to remember that the RSF is the latest incarnation of the Janjaweed militias, infamous for their campaign of ethnic cleansing in Darfur two decades ago. That legacy of terror is now being carried out again.»
«Together, these abuses have left Christians among the war’s most vulnerable victims,» Wahba concluded.
The Evangelical church in Omdurman after being bombed even though it was not in a combat zone or used by any warring forces. (Open Doors)
The Sudanese church leader Fox News Digital talked to this week believes the situation is especially bad for Christians in El Fasher, a city under siege by the RSF. «For a long time now they’re eating animal feed and grass. No wheat, no rice, nothing can get in. And unfortunately now, no medicine — if you have just the flu it can kill you. We don’t know what to do. We are just always asking God [to] have mercy on us.»
A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, «Since the April 2023 outbreak of conflict in Sudan, we have witnessed significant backsliding in Sudan’s overall respect for fundamental freedoms, including religious freedom. This backsliding especially impacts Sudan’s marginalized ethnic and religious populations, including Christians.»
The spokesperson continued, «Sudan was a Country of Particular Concern under the former Bashir regime, and the United States is focused on preventing the return of Bashir-era loyalists and other violent extremists who might reimpose particularly severe violations of religious freedom.»
A predominantly Christian camp in north Sudan. (Open Doors)
«In order to safeguard U.S. interests, to include the protection of religious freedom in Sudan, U.S. efforts seek to limit negative Islamist influence in Sudan’s government and curtail Iran’s regional activities that have contributed to regional destabilization, conflict and civilian suffering.»
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Today in Sudan, there is desperation. The Sudanese church leader added, «For Christians, it’s forbidden even to pray in your home as a group in many places now. Logically there is no hope because it [Sudan] will become more radical. But I believe in God who can turn the curse to blessing. And we pray that the church continues to be like a light and salt in our country.»
christianity religion,africa,conflicts
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‘You can cry about it’: Tempers flare in Senate as DHS shutdown debate erupts, stalemate digs deeper
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The Senate floor erupted Wednesday as Republicans and Democrats sparred over funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), with one point becoming clear: neither side was close to reaching a deal.
While senators met behind closed doors just steps from the chamber, party leaders accused each other of refusing to negotiate over reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the key sticking point in the standoff.
«You can cry about it. You can whine about it. You lost an election over it,» Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., said. «The White House has dealt with you in good faith. You want to prolong this until you get another incident, while your activists are on the street confronting ICE agents in sanctuary jurisdictions, hoping they get some viral moment.»
So far, Senate Republicans have delegated final say over any agreement to the White House, though the back and forth between both sides has slowed to a grinding halt.
KATIE BRITT BLASTS DEMOCRATS FOR PLAYING ‘POLITICAL GAMES’ WITH SHUTDOWN AMID AIRPORT CHAOS
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, left, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, right, are seen as Senate Republicans and Democrats are at odds on how to reopen the Department of Homeland Security. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Republicans want DHS reopened in the short term, while negotiations over reforms to ICE continue. Democrats, meanwhile, have offered a funding proposal that would carve out immigration enforcement but reopen other key functions, including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
At the center of the dispute is whether either side will agree to formal negotiations. Republicans say Democrats are ignoring their offers to meet, while Democrats contend they have not received an invitation.
KRISTI NOEM’S FIRING FAILS TO SWAY DEMOCRATS AS DHS SHUTDOWN DRAGS ON
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., tried to force a vote on Democrats’ DHS funding bill that would carve out funding for ICE and CBP. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
«We are here today, and we are trying to close a deal that would enable us to fund all the agencies that the Democrats say they want funded with reforms to ICE,» Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said. «And I’ve seen the offer sheet from the White House, and they have gone a lot farther, a lot farther than any Democrat I thought was even possible.»
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said their demands for reform are straightforward, though Republicans have drawn red lines against proposals that would require ICE agents to obtain judicial warrants and unmask their identities, citing concerns about doxxing.
«But the bottom line is they refused, probably because the right wing doesn’t like it,» Schumer said. «So then let’s fund everything else but ICE and Border Patrol.»
SCHUMER WEAPONIZES MULLIN NOMINATION TO DEMAND DHS OVERHAUL, SAYS ‘ROT’ GOES BEYOND NOEM
Sen. Katie Britt, a Republican from Alabama, attends a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Border Security and Immigration hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The floor fight was ignited by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, and her attempt to force a vote on a DHS spending bill that stripped out funding for ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
But both ICE and CBP are flush with billions in funding for the next handful of years thanks to Republicans’ «big, beautiful bill.»
Still, she argued that Democrats would not be «blackmailed» into funding immigration operations after the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good, who were shot and killed by ICE agents in Minnesota.
«I am willing to talk to people, but I’m not willing to sit in a room, have coffee, give away a few things, and have Stephen Miller override whatever we all agreed to in a room,» Murray said.
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There has been little movement in the stalemate over DHS. The White House made its last offer nearly two weeks ago, and Democrats rejected it.
Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., who was tapped by Thune to lead DHS negotiations for Senate Republicans, contended that Murray and Senate Democrats’ latest offer «would effectively defund our law enforcement.»
«Look, we’re not going back to the era of ‘defund the police,’» Britt said. «We’re not doing it.»
politics,senate,government shutdown,homeland security,john thune,chuck schumer
INTERNACIONAL
El relato de una médica argentina que atiende en Israel: «Acá no se habla de religión, hay que ayudar al otro»
Desde su formación en la Universidad de Buenos a su desembarco en el Hospital Hadassah en Jerusalén, la doctora Malena Cohen tiene un único propósito: salvar la vida de sus pacientes sin distinguir origen, religión ni ideas políticas. En diálogo con TN reveló cómo es atender en medio de una guerra.
En una entrevista exclusiva junto a Nelson Castro, la médica argentina, que se desempeña como jefa del servicio de neumonología pediátrica del hospital, dio detalles sobre los protocolos de emergencia, el miedo que atraviesan sus pacientes y las condiciones a las que se tuvieron que adaptar desde el comienzo de la guerra entre Israel e Irán.
Leé también: Pese a la advertencia de Trump, Irán atacó barcos comerciales en el estrecho de Ormuz y crece la tensión
Según contó Cohen, actualmente se encuentran atendiendo a los pacientes en una unidad que se abrió poco después de los ataques del 7 de octubre de 2023, donde se recibe a adultos y menores.
“Cuando suenan las sirenas tenemos aproximadamente un minuto y medio para correr a resguardarnos. Aunque en el caso de internación, es un área sumamente protegida, que en caso de emergencia no se debe trasladar a los pacientes y se sigue todo normal”, indicó.
El hospital está equipado para atender casos de alta complejidad y allí conviven pacientes musulmanes con israelíes.
Por el momento no hubo necesidad de atender muchos casos de heridos de guerra: “Por suerte en esta parte de Jerusalén no hubo tanta necesidad de recibir heridos por misiles, los que hubo fueron atendidos y se internaron”, destacó. El Hospital Hadassah es reconocido por su prestigio a nivel internacional. (Foto: captura TN)
El principal problema que atraviesan es la dificultad de trasladado que tienen los pacientes habituales para continuar sus tratamientos: “Muchos tienen miedo de venir a los controles porque tienen miedo de trasladarse de una ciudad a otra, pasar por la ruta, tener que manejar y demás”, contó Cohen.
“Muchos pacientes deciden no venir, lo que crea un inconveniente porque son enfermedades que si no tienen el seguimiento normal se pueden llegar a deteriorar, pero tratamos de ser flexibles, verlos en otros horarios o hacer consultas virtuales, porque entendemos la situación”, explicó.
Si bien el hospital es considerado un lugar seguro porque está en una zona protegida, lo complejo son los traslados y no solo para los pacientes sino también pata los trabajadores del centro de salud.
Malena Cohen tuvo que resguardarse tres veces desde el comienzo de la guerra en el trayecto de su casa al hospital, porque según explicó, si suenan las sirenas cuando van en el auto tienen que cumplir con un protocolo que es bajarse del coche, tirarse al suelo y cubrirse la cabeza. Nelson Castro con la dra. Malena Cohen en Jerusalén. (Foto: captura TN)
Sin embargo, la situación de riesgo nunca la hizo poner en duda el desarrollo de sus funciones: “En mi rol de médica ni siquiera me cuestiono el venir a trabajar o no”.
También contó que desde el hospital ofrecen un acompañamiento para los profesionales que trabajan allí: “Tenemos apoyo psicológico, el hospital nos brinda grupos de reflexión y apoyo de todo tipo”.
Cohen reveló que si bien hasta ahora no fue necesario, el hospital tiene un plan de atención para asistir a posibles heridos de la guerra: “Estamos preparados para esos casos, hay un equipo grande de médicos que se dedican a trauma, terapia intensiva y demás. Es un equipo que está preparado y vive en las cercanías del hospital”.
El hospital como lugar seguro, sin distinción de origen ni religión
Malena Cohen contó que le tocó atender a un nene de Gaza mientras dos de sus hijos estaban en la zona del conflicto como soldados de guerra.
“Acá en el Hadassah somos muy solidarios. Para mi si el paciente viene de Gaza o es ultra ortodoxo o es judío o cristiano o musulmán o de donde venga, para mí es un paciente y voy a dar todo por él”, destacó.
“Acá no se habla de política ni de religión, se cruza la puerta del hospital y compartimos todos lo mismo, más allá de sus formas de pensar. Acá es ayudar al otro”, agregó. En el hospital el único propósito es salvar la vida de los pacientes sin distinguir origen, religión ni ideas políticas. (Foto: captura TN)
Cohen reconoció que tener a sus hijos en la guerra fue duro para ella: “Me costaba tener a una parte de mi, que son mis hijos, al frente. No poder ayudarlos, saber que están adentro de Gaza y no poder saber nada de ellos… y la impotencia como madre de no poder resguardarlos, eso fue muy difícil”.
Por último, cerró con un mensaje hacia todos los argentinos: “Les quiero decir que estamos haciendo lo que podemos, que estamos sobrellevando la situación lo mejor posible, si bien no es fácil y hay momentos de angustia y de miedo, vamos a seguir adelante porque somos un pueblo fuerte, un país compuesto por gente maravillosa, de todo tipo de religión, de color y de ideas políticas. Vamos a seguir adelante, dando lo mejor posible, para que esto tenga un fin”, concluyó.
hospital, guerra, Israel
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While California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom blames President Donald Trump’s actions in Iran for the price of gas, critics are calling him out for «insane» climate policies as the state’s prices at the pump soar significantly above the national average.
On Tuesday, Newsom, who is widely considered a top contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, took to X to slam «Trump’s war with Iran» over gas prices.
Newsom wrote that «Americans will pay $1.5 BILLION MORE at the gas pump just this week because of Donald Trump’s war with Iran.» He added that California «will continue using the tools we’ve spent years developing to help fight price spikes and lessen the blow from Trump’s recklessness.»
In response, Steve Hilton, a Republican candidate for California governor, slammed Newsom, saying, «California has the highest gas taxes and fees in America.»
CALIFORNIA VOTER ID INITIATIVE CLEARS SIGNATURE THRESHOLD, SETTING UP NOVEMBER SHOWDOWN WITH NEWSOM
California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is taking criticism for the state’s soaring gas prices after blaming «Trump’s war with Iran» for the spike. (Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images; iStock)
«Gavin Newsom is trying to shift blame,» said Hilton, «and he’s blaming these insane gas prices in California, $5.49, $5.69, heading to $6, on the war in Iran. It’s not the war in Iran, because in the rest of the country, they don’t have $5.49, they have $3 gas.»
«It’s entirely because of Gavin Newsom’s insane climate dogma that we have the highest gas taxes in the country,» he continued.
Hilton called on Newsom to end his national book tour and to immediately «suspend the gas tax.»
At approximately $5.33 per gallon, California has by far the highest average gas prices in the U.S., according to AAA. California gas prices significantly exceed those in the next two highest-priced states, Washington and Hawaii, which have average prices of $4.72 and $4.69 per gallon, respectively. Meanwhile, the national average in the U.S. is $3.57 per gallon.
California has the highest gas tax, at roughly 70 cents per gallon, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
In a 2025 opinion piece on Fox News Digital, Hilton wrote that «California’s sky-high gas prices» are the «direct result of 15 years of one-party Democratic rule.»
He added that «Gavin Newsom, former Vice President Kamala Harris and every other leading Democrat in the state have been cheerleaders for this ‘war on fossil fuels,’ endlessly bragging about ‘leading the world’ on climate change.»
SUPREME COURT BLOCKS CALIFORNIA BAN ON NOTIFYING STUDENTS’ PARENTS ABOUT GENDER TRANSITIONS
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum speaks alongside Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodriguez (out of frame), after their meeting at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas on March 4, 2026. (Federico PARRA / AFP via Getty Images)
Hilton is not the only one criticizing Newsom’s oil and gas policies.
Roxanne Hoge, chair of the Los Angeles County GOP, called Newsom’s take «a textbook case of projection, pointing fingers at others while his own record is riddled with mismanagement and failure.»
«Californians have seen the cost of gas be higher than the rest of the USA for reasons having nothing to do with President Trump. He has driven supply down by banishing producers while not fixing infrastructure with gas tax money as promised,» Hoge told Fox News Digital, adding, «We all know that Gavin Newsom has moved on to campaigning for president in spite of his atrocious record at home.»
On Wednesday, Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum posted on X that «California is KILLING their economy!»
The secretary wrote that while Newsom «continues to close refineries & drive up gas prices for California,» the department approved over 6,000 drilling permits «to advance [Trump’s] American Energy Dominance Agenda & lower gas prices nationwide.»
Chevron President Andy Walz also recently sounded the alarm, warning California Gov. Gavin Newsom and state regulators that newly proposed «cap-and-invest» amendments are a death knell for California’s remaining refineries.
‘UTTERLY UNAFFORDABLE’: STUDY REVEALS HOW DEEP BLUE CITY’S MINIMUM WAGE LAW IS RAVAGING KEY INDUSTRY
The California Air Resources Board is aiming to make companies cleaner by aggressively lowering the cap on how much total pollution is allowed in the state. Specifically, the board is proposing to pull 118.3 million allowances out of the state’s market between 2027 and 2030 and has more recently increased its carbon reduction target to 90% by 2045.
The energy giant warns the move will kill more than half a million jobs, threaten national security and spike gas prices by more than a dollar per gallon — all to fuel a state-run «shakedown» of the energy sector — in a letter addressed to Newsom and obtained by The California Globe.
«The proposed regulation will cripple the survivability of the state’s remaining refineries, which will result in California losing the entire industry to this misguided program,» Chevron President Andy Walz wrote.
«This regulation will increase transportation and aviation fuel prices for consumers. It will risk significant job losses, including many high-paying union jobs, while reducing funding for essential public services,» he continued, adding that «it will upend California’s fuels market and threaten critical energy and national security assets.»
In the same vein, Tim Stewart, a spokesperson for the U.S. Oil & Gas Association, told Fox News Digital that «California’s energy malaise is beginning to infect the other western states’ economies and unless there is a course change immediately, we will all feel the pain of decades of horribly bad California energy policy led by Governor Newsom.»
One expert predicted «we will all feel the pain of decades of horribly bad California energy policy led by Governor Newsom.» (Getty Images)
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«California’s gross mismanagement of its energy production and distribution economy is becoming a national security issue, and it now impacts all of us,» Stewart continued, adding that in addition to this, «agriculture, manufacturing, housing, the financial system is all impacted.»
«It doesn’t have to be this way, and Governor Newsom knows it,» said Stewart. «He also knows that no matter how hard he tries – he can’t pin this on Trump or our industry. The public isn’t buying it anymore.»
Fox Business’ Kristen Altus contributed to this report.
gavin newsom,energy,energy in america,california,democratic party,donald trump
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