Sudan (Northern States) > Country Background and Current Challenges
Sudan has suffered almost continuous warfare since independence from Britain in 1956. The so-called “North-South” civil war finally ended in 2005 with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). According to U.N. estimates, over two million people lost their lives during this period and four million were displaced from their homes.
South Kordofan state, on the front lines of this generation-long conflict, has been devastated by the cumulative effects of civil war. Like many areas outside the capital, South Kordofan has contended with recurrent famine, lack of investment and development, neglect, and general poor governance. Since independence, conflict, tribalism, and political favoritism have polarised the region.
In the western region of Darfur, ongoing grievances led to a rebellion in late 2002. With attempts at both political and military solutions failing, the conflict rapidly grew, resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths and millions of people being driven from their homes. The peace process has been completely stalled since 2006.
There has been a progressive deterioration in the security situation in Darfur over the past year which has been characterised by: increased banditry and criminality; attacks on humanitarian workers, including kidnapping for ransom; continued harassment and assault of certain ethnic groups and IDPs; continued attacks on villages and IDP camps; and cross-border raids between Sudan and Chad and more recently the Central African Republic (CAR).