Plagued by civil war since its independence in 1956, Sudan is the largest and one of the most culturally diverse countries in Africa. Its conflicts cut across religious, ethnic, tribal and cultural lines. It is believed that close to 2 million people lost their lives, and approximately 5 million people were displaced by the North/South conflict which raged between the early 1980’s and 2005. The Government of Sudan and the opposition in the South have been accused of abuses. The Government of Sudan is accused of using tactics such as the indiscriminate use of violence against civilian populations based on ethnicity and religion, and forcing the displacement of civilian populations. It is believed that famine was also employed as a tactic of war by the government during the 1980’s drought.

Although the fragile Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005 brought an end to that conflict by providing for a unity government between the North and the South allowed a high-level of autonomy for the South, armed rebellions against the Government of Sudan continue to rage in other parts of the country.

In early 2003, the government of Sudan launched an offensive against rebel groups in Darfur. Darfurians accuse the government of decades of discrimination and political, economic and social marginalization. Since 2003, it is estimated that almost 200,000 people have lost their lives and 2.5 million people displaced by the conflict in Darfur. Here again, the government of Sudan is accused of perpetrating atrocities against civilians based on ethnicity. The Government of Sudan and its proxy Janjaweed forces commit indiscriminate violence against civilians, use rape as a tactic of war, and carry out scorched earth policies in the area. In spite of the Darfur Peace Agreement reached in 2006 between the Government of Sudan and one of the Darfur rebel groups (the Sudan Liberation Movement), insecurity persists and the conflict continues.

Sudan as a whole ranks third on Minority Rights Group’s Peoples Under Threat Index, largely due to ethnic cleansing of the Fur, Zaghawa, Massalit and other ethnic groups in Darfur, as well as the history of discrimination against the Dinka, Nuer, and other groups in the south, north and east of the country.

Although there are differring views on whether genocide is occurring in Darfur, the international community does not deny that mass atrocities have been committed there. In March of 2005, following the UN Security Council’s referral of Sudan to the International Criminal Court (ICC) through resolution 1593, the prosecutor of the ICC opened an investigation on Darfur. In May of 2007, the ICC published arrest warrants for Ahmad Harun, former state minister of Sudan, and Ali Kushayb, a militia leader. The charges are crimes against humanity and war crimes. In July 2008 the prosecutor also sought an arrest warrant for President al-Bashir of Sudan on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

*Map Credit: UN DPKO

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