Church Set Ablaze By Muslim Mob In Khartoum

A Catholic church was set ablaze Sunday by a several hundred Muslims in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, the Associated Press reported.

Local media said an angry mob advanced towards the church in Khartoum's Al-Jiraif district, hurling abuse at the churchgoers and eventually setting the building ablaze. Fire authorities had trouble extinguishing the fire. So far, there have been no reports of death or injury, the report said.

Regulary attended by Southern Sudanese and Ethiopian refugees, the church was said to be within a complex consisting of a school and dormitories. It is not known if the school was also affected by the fire.

The incident was said to be related to the dispute over control of an oil town on the border between Sudan and the new nation of South Sudan. The news service also added that South Sudanese forces took over Heglig town a week earlier, accusing the Khartoum government of opening a second front to launch attacks. Government forces reoccupied the area Friday, the BBC reported.

This isn't the first time the Christian population has been targeted in the northeastern African nation. There were several reports of aerial strikes aimed at churches and schools in the Nuba mountains, Christian News Today reported. So far 10 church properties and 17 mosque buildings have been destroyed by Sudanese forces since June 2011, the report said.