At least eight bombs were dropped in
the area Wednesday during the school’s first day of classes

SOUTH
KORDOFAN, SUDAN – (ANS)- Samaritan’s Purse has announced that a Bible school
that they support, was destroyed on Wednesday, February 1, 2012, in the latest
bombing raid to hit South Kordofan, an oil-rich Sudanese province that borders
the newly created independent country of South Sudan.

At least eight bombs were dropped in
the area of Heiban Bible College Wednesday during the school’s first day of
classes, according to a statement by Samaritan’s Purse, Franklin Graham’s
Christian humanitarian group, which supports the school.

Heiban Bible College operates out of
a compound in the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan, which borders the new
nation of South Sudan, and fortunately, no injuries were reported.

“We have been working for years
in Sudan,” Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham said on Wednesday.
“Today our Bible school in Heiban in the Nuba Mountains was bombed by the
Sudanese Air Force. No one was killed or hurt, but buildings were destroyed.
Please pray for the safety of believers, and that God would intervene.”

The son of evangelist Billy Graham
went on to say, “My staff and I are deeply concerned for the welfare and
lives of the people in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan who were terrorized by the
bombings of the Heiban Bible College. This attack was carried out by Sudanese
Air Force planes that dropped eight bombs on the school that Samaritan’s Purse,
the international Christian relief organization I lead, constructed and
dedicated in 2007 to train local pastors.

“It was the first day of class
for the new school year and the campus was full of students, teachers and
teachers’ families. It was a miracle that no one was injured or killed. The
bombs ignited grass in and around the campus and we still do not know the full
extent of the damage.

“We at Samaritan’s Purse
condemn the repeated attacks on the innocent people who are being terrorized in
the Nuba Mountains. Many have been forced to flee their homes and we are
committed to helping those in need. My prayer is that the world will not just sit
by and watch and hope for the best, but make it clear to the government of
Sudan that attacks like these will not be tolerated.”

Samaritan’s Purse has supported the
Heiban Bible College since it was founded in 2007. The organization constructed
classrooms, dormitories, kitchens, a dining room and housing for teachers and
in 2010, Franklin Graham attended and spoke at the ceremony for the first
graduating class of 36 students.

Samaritan’s Purse and Franklin
Graham have a long history in Sudan, having spent some $100 million to help the
Sudanese people. The organization has been working throughout Sudan since 1993,
providing hundreds of thousands of people with food, medical aid and vocational
training.

Graham, who has called on the
international community to take out Sudan’s air assets and establish a no-fly
zone in the region, said in a statement Thursday that he blamed Sudan’s air
force for the strike.

At least four churches have been
destroyed since August, the group said.

CNN is reporting, “More than
78,000 people have fled South Kordofan and Blue Nile states since August of
last year after an armed rebellion took root, the United Nations reported. The
Sudanese government is thought to have responded to the rebellion by conducting
sustained air raids with the use of Russian-made Antonov bombers, which have
raised concerns over civilian casualties.

“Decades of civil war between
the north and south, costing as many as 2 million lives, formally ended with a
U.S.-brokered peace treaty in 2005.
But before South Sudan gained independence in July of last year, human rights
monitors expressed concerns that longstanding grievances could again lead to
violence consuming the region.

“In November, there were
several days of bombings near an entry point for refugees at the border, the
United Nations reported. It did not specify who launched the bombs.”

Now, the United States has accused
Sudan of targeting civilians in recent airstrikes, including one that destroyed
the Bible school.

“The United States strongly
condemns the bombing by the Sudanese Armed Forces of civilian populations in
Southern Kordofan,” a White House statement said. “Aerial attacks on
civilian targets are unjustified and unacceptable. Such attacks are a violation
of international law and compound the ongoing crisis in these areas.”

CNN added, “The Sudanese
government could not be immediately reached for comment, but has said in the
past that it is targeting rebels in the area.”

Decades of civil war between the
north and south, costing as many as 2 million lives, formally ended with a
U.S.-brokered peace treaty in 2005.
But before South Sudan gained independence in July of last year, human rights
monitors expressed concerns that longstanding grievances could again lead to
violence consuming the region.

In November, there were several days
of bombings near an entry point for refugees at the border, the United Nations
reported. It did not specify who launched the bombs.

The White House statement, released
on Thursday, urged for officials to find others ways to settle the conflict.

“We believe that this conflict
can only be resolved by dialogue, not through violence, and we encourage all
parties to negotiate a peaceful settlement,” the statement said.

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About Dan Wooding

Dan Wooding is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for 46 years. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST
(Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service
(ANS).

Wooding was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC., and now hosts the weekly “Front Page Radio” show on KWVE in Southern California and which is also carried on the Calvary Radio Network throughout the United States. The program is also aired in Great Britain on Calvary Chapel Radio UK. Wooding also a regular contributor to The Weekend Stand on the Crawford Broadcasting Network, and a host for His Channel Live, which is carried via the Internet to some 192 countries. He is the author of some 43 books. Two of the latest include his autobiography, “From Tabloid to Truth”, which is published by Theatron Books.

To order a copy, press this link. Wooding, who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, also recently released “God’s Ambassadors in Japan” which is available at amazon.com.

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