A Catholic aid group denied it has been distributing bibles or any Christian materials in Darfur.
Catholic Relief Services (CRS)-Khartoum sent a statement via e-mail to SCR News denying they were distributing religious material after the authorities claimed to have closed down CRS’ operations in Western Darfur.Mohamed Awad, who heads the Humanitarian Aid Commission in Darfur, told Reuters that the work of CRS was suspended in West Darfur after there was an accusation that they were distributing bibles.
The CRS statement said the organization worked for decades in many Muslim countries offering assistance regardless of religion or ethnicity and never attempted to convert Muslims to Christianity.
CRS added that it closed down its operations in West Darfur on January 20, after receiving a message from the National Intelligence and Security Services in Al Geneina to close operations in Darfur due to problems of safety.
The American Catholic charity added that it hopes to reopen its West Darfur operations in the very near future as it continues to assess the security situation in the region.