Port Authorities in Sudan Detain Bible Shipment without Explanation

Authorities in Sudan have detained a container of Bibles in Port Sudan without explanation for more than two years, a source said.

 

A Bible Society in Sudan representative told Morning Star News the container was one of two containing Arabic Bibles detained more than two years ago. The other container was released shortly after appeals to port authorities.

 

The detained shipments were destined for Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, said the source, who asked to remain unnamed for security reasons. At present the Bible Society in Sudan does not have a single copy of an Arabic Bible available in Khartoum, he said.

 

Other shipments of Bibles at Port Sudan, on the Red Sea, have also been detained over the past two years, he added.

 

A church leader said availability of Bibles and Christian literature in the country is increasingly limited.

 

“There is difficulty in getting Bibles in the country,” he said.

 

The Bible Society in Sudan representative said a port official in the past week has been more willing to consider releasing the shipment. Sudan links Christianity with the West, and Christian leaders speculated that Sudan may be opening to releasing the shipment as the U.S. administration lifted sanctions on Oct. 12. The sanctions had been in place since 1997 for Sudan’s terrorist ties and human rights violations.

 

Port officials were…