Sudan: Background

Since Sudan's independence from Egypt and Great Britain in 1956, the country has been engaged in a civil war with periodic ceasefires. Violence first erupted when the Khartoum government broke its promise to southerners to create a federal system, leading to a civil war which lasted 17 years (1955-72). After the announcement of Islamic Shari'ah law into Sudan's penal code, violence again surfaced, lasting until present day. This civil war stems from multiple issues including race, religion, and resources.

Fighting has existed primarily between Arab Muslims in the North, who have held control the national government and most of the country's resources since independence, and the Christian and Animist Africans in the South. The southern based Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA), has fought against the Khartoum government demanding the establishment of a secular, democratic Sudan. Complicating matters further divisions within the SPLA and other southern rebel groups existed, some seeking full independence for southern Sudan.

The exporting of oil from Sudan in 1999 added a new element to the tensions between the Khartuom government and southerners. The Sudanese government displaced large numbers of the civilian population that surround the mostly international and foreign-owned oil fields. This was justified as a security measure. The government viewed much of the southern population as being sympathetic to southern rebels who were contesting the government for control of the south's natural resources.

On May 26th, 2004 the Sudanese government and the SPLA signed several major peace protocols. The goal was to end the twenty year civil war; however, the resurgence of violence in the Darfur region in 2003 has delayed peace efforts.

In 2003 violence erupted between in the Darfur region of Sudan with is located in northwestern part of the country. This conflict pits the Sudan Liberation Army/Movement (SLA/M) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) against the government of Sudan and their proxy militias, known as the "janjaweed."

Much of this conflict, which has increasingly gained serious racial and ethnic overtones, originated from land and agricultural disputes and the inattentiveness of Khartoum to regional needs . Two occupational groups, agriculturalists and pastoralists, comprise Darfur and historically have been in conflict. The agriculturalists, who are mostly of African decent, farm in the central zone of Darfur, while the pastoralists, who are mainly of Arab decent, live and keep their herds in the more arid zone of northern Darfur. During the dry season (November through April), pastoralists move into the South searching for water and grazing sources for their herds. Disputes with the agriculturalists arose when camels and cattle from the herds destroyed the local farmers' crops, leading to a series of retaliatory attacks between pastoralists and agriculturalists.

Political issues have also created cause for conflict in Darfur. Arab tribes, feeling underrepresented in local administration, formed the "Arab alliance" which sought to gain political control over Darfur.

During the late 1980s the Sudanese government also began arming militias known as "muraheleen," which had previously been used as a counterinsurgency force against the SPLA in southern Sudan. The muraheleeen carried out campaigns of raiding, looting, displacement, and enslavement against civilians in SLA/M areas.

In the recent 2003 outbreak of fighting, the government sponsored janjaweed have focused their attacks primarily on three ethnic groups in Darfur-the Fur, the Masalit and the Zaghawa. Reports of the attacks have indicated Janjaweed involvement in the destruction of villages, the killing and maiming of civilians, the blocking of international relief projects, and systematic rape campaigns.