Christian areas have been hit by mortar and rocket fire, and snipers are active there. On 13 April (Palm Sunday), two Armenian Christians were killed and four injured by mortars. On 17 April (Maundy Thursday), church services were cancelled and roads lay empty as the siege intensified. The following day (Good Friday), Barnabas Fund received a report that 48 civilians had been killed and 245 injured.

No safe haven for immigrants.

More than 200,000 Nuba People had sought refuge in the Republic of South Sudan only to find themselves in another war torn area. “Many got confused and traumatized and some ran back to the war zone areas in the Nuba Mountains preferring to die in their home land,” reported Bishop Andudu.

The Bishop and his team decided to follow their displaced flock into neighbouring countries including Uganda, the Republic of South Sudan, Kenya and Ethiopia.

The Christians most commonly prosecuted appear to be converts from Muslim backgrounds or those that proselytize or minister to Iranian Muslims. Iranian authorities at the highest levels have designated house churches and evangelical Christians as threats to national security.

The authenticity of the document, displaying the stamp of al-Qaeda, could not be independently verified. The signatures of 20 Christian leaders at the bottom of the document said to have been party to the agreement were blotted out, ostensibly at their own request.

According to classic Islamic law, Christians and Jews living under Muslim sovereignty must pay a tax known as jizya in return for the Muslim ruler's protection, known as dhimma.