Sudan, Africa’s largest country, has spent more than 30 years at war since its independence from Great Britain in 1956. With political power centralized in the north around its capital Khartoum and natural resources concentrated in the south, Sudan is further divided by religion, ethnicity, tribal differences, and economic disparities. Torn apart by two civil wars between the north and south, Sudan has also seen separate conflicts rage in its eastern and western regions. Since 2003, the heaviest fighting has occurred in Sudan’s western region of Darfur, where the violence against civilians amounted to genocide.
From 1983-2005, civil war in the south killed at least 2 million people and displaced more than 4 million others. In 2003, spurred by decades of political and economic marginalization and a history of ethnic discrimination, rebel groups in Darfur took up arms against government forces. In response, the Sudanese government and its proxy militias targeted civilian populations in Darfur, killing at least 200,000 civilians, displacing more than 2.5 million people, destroying thousands of villages, and raping thousands of women.
Although rebel groups in both Southern Sudan and Darfur have enflamed the conflicts at various times, the Sudanese government bears primary responsibility for atrocities against civilians. A pattern of government sponsored actions include:
Targeting civilians;
Committing massive human rights abuses, such as: murder, rape, and persecution based on race, ethnicity, and religion;
Pitting ethnic groups against each other;
Impeding international humanitarian access and aid.
In the south, the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) sustains a fragile peace. In Darfur, fighting continues. As a whole, Sudan remains at risk for genocide and related crimes against humanity.
