A new rebellion in the western province of Darfur began in early 2003. Both the government and the rebels have been accused of atrocities in this war.

---

Situated in northeast Africa, Sudan is the largest country on the continent. The capital is Khartoum. It borders Egypt to the north, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, Kenya and Uganda to the southeast, Congo and the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, and Libya to the northwest

History

Religious leader Muhammad ibn Abdalla, the self-proclaimed Mahdi (Messiah), attempted to unify the tribes of western and central Sudan against the British Empire. He led a nationalist revolt culminating in the fall of Khartoum in 1885, in which the British General Charles George Gordon was killed. The Mahdist state survived until overwhelmed by an Anglo-Egyptian force under Lord Horatio Kitchener in 1898. Independence was achieved in 1956, but the Arab-led Khartoum government reneged on promises to southerners to create a federal system, which led to a mutiny by southern army officers that sparked 17 years of civil war from 1955 to 1972.

Elections were held in April 1965 but Sudan had a series of governments that proved unable either to agree on a permanent constitution or to cope with problems of factionalism, economic stagnation, and ethnic dissidence.

Dissatisfaction culminated in a second military coup on 25 May 1969. The coup leader, Col. Gaafar Muhammad Nimeiri, became prime minister, and the new regime abolished parliament and outlawed all political parties. Disputes between Marxist and non-Marxist elements within the ruling military coalition resulted in a briefly successful coup in July 1971, led by the Sudanese Communist Party. Several days later, anti-communist military elements restored Nimeiri to power.

In 1972, the Addis Ababa Agreement led to a cessation of the north-south civil war and a degree of self-rule. This led to a period of ten years of hiatus in the civil war. In September 1983 President Nimeiri announced his decision to extend Islamic Shari’a punishments into the penal code.

After shortages of fuel and bread, a growing insurgency in the south, drought and famine, in 1984-5 another military coup led by Gen. Suwar al-Dahab restored a civilian government. However the civil war intensified in lethality and the economy continued to deteriorate. In 1989 General Umar al-Bashir became president and chief of state, prime minister and chief of the armed forces. The Criminal Act of 1991 instituted harsh punishments nationwide, including amputations and stoning. Although the non-Islamic southern states are officially exempt from these Islamic prohibitions and penalties, the Act nonetheless provides for a possible future application of Islamic law in the south.

The ongoing civil war has displaced more than 4 million southerners. Some fled into southern cities, such as Juba; others trekked as far north as Khartoum and even into Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Egypt, and other neighboring countries. These people were unable to grow food or earn money to feed themselves, and malnutrition and starvation became widespread. The lack of investment in the south resulted as well in what international humanitarian organizations call a “lost generation” who lack educational opportunities, access to basic health care services, and little prospects for productive employment in the small and weak economies of the south or the north.

Peace talks between the southern rebels and the government made substantial progress in 2003 and early 2004, although skirmishes in parts of the south have reportedly continued.

A new rebellion in the western province of Darfur began in early 2003. Both the government and the rebels have been accused of atrocities in this war. In February 2004, the government declared victory over the rebellion but the rebels say they remain in control of rural areas and reports indicate that widespread fighting continues.