By Deng Ghai Deng
Monday, July 7, 2025 – A Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) church was set ablaze and at least eleven worshippers were hospitalized on Saturday after a violent attack during a worship service in Turalei Payam, Twic County.
According to Pastor William Wol Adewun Paduol, Director of Information and Communication for the Greater Bahr El Ghazal Field of the SDA Church, a mob mobilized by a local chief assaulted congregants, beat worshippers, and then set the church building on fire.
“A group of people were mobilized by a local chief and attacked members of a church operating under a tree,” Pastor Wol stated. “The attackers claim the church disrupts traditional shrine practices and offends their gods.”
During the assault, the attackers reportedly destroyed sound system equipment, mobile phones, chairs, and even burned members’ shoes. Some individuals allegedly broke into members’ homes and looted livestock, including three goats.
This incident is the latest in a series of attacks on churches in Warrap State in recent months.
Just last Sunday, an Adventist evangelist was ambushed and killed, and a pastor injured, by unidentified gunmen as they returned from a wedding in Tonj North County.
In 2022, an Adventist church in Gogrial East, Warrap State, was also burned down in an act believed to be driven by religious hostility. This earlier event was linked to former Interior Minister and Member of Parliament, Salva Mathok Gengdit, who had publicly condemned the church’s activities in viral social media footage before his death in March 2023.
As of this report, officials from Warrap State have not commented on the incident. Efforts to reach Warrap State information minister William Wol and Twic County Commissioner John Mabior for comment were unsuccessful.
Pastor Wol has appealed to local and national authorities to intervene, uphold constitutional guarantees of religious freedom, and prosecute those responsible for these acts. He also urged human rights organizations and civil society to defend freedom of worship.
“We appeal to the government and all peace-loving citizens,” he said. “It’s unfair for someone to worship freely in a shrine, then deny their neighbor the right to worship in a church.”
Ter Manyang Gatwech, Executive Director of the Juba-based Center for Peace and Advocacy (CPA), also condemned the recent attacks, including the fatal ambush on the evangelist. He emphasized that targeting religious leaders poses a significant threat to peacebuilding efforts across the country.