Chapter 17 The Disintegration of Sudan Global Issue 6

Imperialist Influence in Africa The Europeans colonized Africa in the nineteenth century – Superior technology allowed for easy takeover, one example is General Kitchener against Sudanese fighters at Omdurman in 1898 Many of these colonized countries have emulated the violent ways of the imperialists – Sudan is one such example of an African country set in a way of war and violence

Violence in Sudan Civil wars in all but ten years since the countries independence in 1956 Sparked by the Muslim-led government’s imposition of Islamic law in the late 1980’s rebels in the south have fought government forces for nearly twenty years – War ended in 2005 with near 2 million casualties In 2010, the south voted to leave Sudan, forming South Sudan, and becoming the 193 rd member of the UN in 2011

Geography of Sudan Before the split to Sudan and South Sudan in 2011, Sudan had the largest land area in Africa and was one of the most ethnically diverse countries in Africa 70% of the country was Arab and Sunni Muslm The north end of Sudan is mostly desert while the south is mostly plain

Sudanese Economics Sudan produces 325,000 barrels of crude oil a day and is 41 st in the world in oil exports 60% of the Sudanese government’s revenue comes from oil, yet the country is still very poor – In 2010, per capita income of $2,300 – About 70-80% of oil is in the south 80% of Sudanese still engaged in agriculture 40% live below the poverty line Literacy rate of 61.1% Life expectancy of 55.4 years

Conflict in Darfur Darfur is a western province of Sudan By the time Sudan gained independence in 1956, Darfur was one of the poorest and least-developed areas of the country The government continued the negligence of Darfur after gaining independence – About 200,000 people died in a famine in 1984 – Unrest grew in the reason due to poor conditions Local militias, or the janjaweed, backed by the Sudanese government, killed many members of the Masaliti tribe – Brutal war tactics by the militias, rape was not uncommon before murder

A Call For Peace In 2007, a peacekeeping force named the African Union (AU) was sent to Darfur but could not control the situation The Sudanese government was pressured to control the situation since they allowed the janjaweed free reign to fix the original conflict The United Nations and United States have started to get involved in peacekeeping efforts but to no avail yet