Escalating violence against civilians in Sudan’s disputed South Kordofan State is leading to major humanitarian catastrophe, say Sudanese churches.

As independence for South Sudan approaches on 9 July, churches are coordinating efforts to bring lasting peace to a region exhausted by civil war.

Some churches, parishes and schools in northern Sudan are closing due to a large movement of people to the south after the independence referendum.

Leaders of the World Council of Churches and World Evangelical Alliance say their members are speaking with a common voice on the 2011 referendum in Sudan.