AFRICA/SUDAN – Anglican pastor killed in the Nuba Mountains, where Father Youhanna Al-Amin was murdered in June

Khartoum – An Anglican pastor has been killed in the Nuba Mountains, in an area not far from where Catholic priest Father Youhanna Al-Amin, who had served for more than thirty years as parish priest of Kauda, was murdered last June .
On July 24, members of a splinter faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-North attacked the town of Dabbi in South Kordofan State. During the assault, Pastor Adel Idris Jongool of the Episcopal Church of Sudan was abducted and later killed. The militants also stormed the community near Korkel Theological College, the Anglican seminary serving both dioceses of the Nuba Mountains.
The attackers also abducted dozens of worshippers. Thirty-two hostages were released at different times, while others remain missing.
The deteriorating security situation in the Nuba Mountains forms part of Sudan’s wider conflict between the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces , backed by various local militias. At least two independent groups that emerged from successive splits within the original SPLA-N also operate in the region. These factions often act autonomously, although some have gradually aligned themselves with either the RSF or the SAF.
The SPLA-N was established in 2011 following South Sudan’s independence. The northern members of the historic Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army , which had fought in the Second Sudanese Civil War leading to the secession of South Sudan, remained in Sudan and continued their armed struggle against the central government in Khartoum.
In 2017, the movement split into two main factions: SPLM-N , led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, and SPLM-N , led by Malik Agar, who later aligned himself with the Sudanese government.
The al-Hilu faction is the larger of the two. It controls extensive areas of the Nuba Mountains, with Kauda serving as its main political and military headquarters, as well as parts of Blue Nile State. It is estimated to have around 20,000 fighters and administers the territories under its control through autonomous governing structures, including courts, identity document systems and schools.
Agar’s faction, has aligned itself with the SAF and the transitional government in Khartoum, fighting both the RSF and al-Hilu’s forces.
Earlier this year, the al-Hilu faction itself experienced a further split, triggered by local tribal dynamics following violent clashes over land between the Otoro and Shwai tribes. Around 1,500 fighters mutinied and withdrew into the mountainous areas, where they established checkpoints and launched raids on local villages.
According to local sources, the dissident group has been receiving weapons and support from Khartoum, which has long relied on tribal militias and paramilitary forces to weaken its opponents and maintain a state of permanent instability in disputed areas such as the Nuba Mountains.

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