Police and security personnel have arrested the leaders of a Sudanese Christian church that refused to surrender their property and possessions to the government.

Authorities stormed the compound of the Khartoum Bahri Evangelical Church on Sunday and arrested church leaders who were leading a prayer vigil on the remains of a home destroyed the previous week by the government.

Rev. Daud Fadul, elder Fathi Hakim, elder Nouh Manzoul, deacon Iman Hamid and Tilal Mafishi were taken to the Khartoum North Police Station after they refused to stop praying and worshipping on the site.

The members of the church have been maintaining a round the clock vigil to keep the government from destroying the rest of the church’s property.

A Muslim businessman went to the government and told them that he owned the land, so the government has sided with him to remove the Christians from the land and demolish the church.

The government has forcibly removed Christians from their homes and land after the formation of the mostly Christian South Sudan in July 2011.   They claim that any Christian land was owned by people who are now in South Sudan.