GLANCE – A look at Sudan, its history and conflicts

April 30, 2006 — Here are some facts and figures about Sudan, its history, politics and conflicts.

THE COUNTRY:

– The largest African country, slightly more than a fourth the size of the U.S.

– Borders the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya and Uganda.

– Population: 41 million.

– The people: About 50 percent black African, 40 percent Arab and 10 percent other ethnic groups.

– Religion: About 70 percent Sunni Muslim (in north), 25 percent animist and other indigenous religions and 5 percent Christian (mostly in south and Khartoum)

HISTORY:

– Sudan gained independence from Britain in 1956.

– A north-south civil war broke out in the 1950s and ended in a fragile peace in 1973.

– War erupted again in 1983, when the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum tried to impose Islamic law on the mainly Christian and animist south.

– More than 2.5 million people died, mainly from war-induced famine and disease, and at least twice as many fled their homes.

– Peace talks gained momentum between 2002 and 2004 with the signing of several accords.

– A final peace treaty signed in January 2005 granted southern rebels autonomy for six years, after which there will be a referendum on independence. It calls for sharing power and wealth with southerners but has been criticized for not including other marginalized peoples, including those in the western Darfur region.

– Since 2003, a separate conflict in the western Darfur region has resulted in some 180,000 people dead and 2 million displaced.

– Sudan also has faced a large refugee influx, particularly from Ethiopia and Chad. Armed conflict, poor transportation and lack of government support have stymied humanitarian assistance.

DARFUR:

– Decades of low-level tribal clashes over land and water in Darfur erupted into large-scale violence in early 2003 when some ethnic groups took up arms, accusing the Arab-dominated central government of neglect.

– The central government is accused of responding by unleashing Arab tribal militias known as Janjaweed to murder and rape civilians and lay waste to villages. Sudan denies backing the Janjaweed.

– The United Nations says Darfur fighting has caused one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters, and chaos has now spread to neighboring Chad, where hundreds of thousands of Darfur refugees are sheltering.

– The African Union has deployed peacekeepers to Darfur and sponsored two years of peace talks that resulted in a cease-fire.

– Sunday was the deadline for the end of peace talks aimed at ending the fighting.

– The African Union circulated a draft peace deal last week.

DRAFT PEACE DEAL:

– Addresses complaints from Darfur rebel groups that they had been neglected by the national government.

– Calls for the president to include a Darfur expert, initially nominated by the rebels, among his top advisers.
– Calls for the creation of a rehabilitation fund for international donors.

– Outlines a national anti-poverty plan that includes suspending school fees at all levels for students from Darfur for five years.

– Proposes that the people of Darfur vote by 2010 on whether to create a single geographical entity out of the three current Darfur states, which would presumably have more political weight.

– Calls for disarming the Janjaweed, tribal militias accused of murdering and raping civilians and laying waste to villages.

– Calls for integrating some rebels into the national army and security forces.

(ST/AP)