Sudan

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Sudan

A concise synopsis is essential to grasp an understanding of the existing conflict in Darfur . Sudan , the largest nation in Africa , gained independence from British colonial rule in mid-1956 after rigorous fighting . Yet , the protracted civil conflict between Muslim government forces in the North and rebels in the South continued at full strength until the signing of the Addis Ababa Agreement in mid-1972 . A full-scale civil conflict resumed in the end of 1983 when the Northern-dominated government introduced Islamic laws (sharia

) and proceeded to divide the South into three regions

In 1989 , as the serving government wished to enter into consultation with the Sudan and People 's Liberation Movement /Army , the National Islamic Front instigated a military coup and took power . Eventually an agreement was reached between the Sudanese government and the Sudan and People 's Liberation Movement / Army , and the Machakos Protocol was signed in Kenya in July 2002 . Afterward the Framework Agreement on Security Arrangements was signed in Kenya in September 2003 . Eventually , in May 2004 , after intense dialogue , the Naivasha Agreement , which officially ended the conflict , was signed

In reality , the civil conflict which began in 1983 was no longer a South versus North conflict , but a Sudan-wide conflict which engulfed the East , the West and the South . In fact Sudan is a clear case where from its very inception , the State was incapable of asserting control over all its sovereign territory because it lacked the resources and political ingenuity to look beyond the immediate interests of the dominant Northern Sudanese elite vis-a-vis the rest of the country

The on-going clash that is rampant in Darfur started with the beginning of 2003 in the Western part of the region when two rebel groups , the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice Equality Movement , took up arms against the government . At that time , the North and the South had managed to agree on certain points and , the civil war seemed about to come to an end . Yet "[p]reoccupied with the war in the South , the regime in Khartoum has allowed a decades-old communal conflict in the far West to ripen into a regional insLiberation Army

Indeed , as the Sudanese government gave autonomy and oil proceeds to southern Sudanese , the leaders of other neglected regions , who had been excluded from the peace talks , grew angry and made a demand for political reform and economic support too . They accused the government of being in favor of Arabs and discriminating against black Africans (the Fur , Zaghawa , and Massaleit . After the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice Equality Movement attacked a number of government installations (an airport amongst them , the government launched air attacks against civilian populations which , in its opinion , were thought to be hiding the rebels . Another range of attacks followed , this time led by militias , the Janjaweed , recruited amongst the Arab population At this time there were already hints that these groups were linked and even supported by the government . In September 2003...