On June 18th officials from the Ministry of Planning and Housing sent bulldozers that destroyed a church-building belonging to the St John Episcopal Church of Sudan, in the Haj Yousif area. A Catholic church-building in the area was also demolished the same day. This happened days after they confiscated three Catholic schools. ‘The government wants to remove all churches from Khartoum,’ a source said.’Tell all churches to stand in prayer for the church in Sudan.' Clergymen said persecution was intensifying following the secession of South Sudan in July 2011, with officials targeting churches they claim to be associated with now unwelcome, largely Christian, South Sudanese in the Islamic-ruled country.  A Full Gospel Church was destroyed in the same area two months ago, on the pretext that it belonged to South Sudanese and since they had presumably left, the buildings were no longer needed.