Africa

This is a fantastic piece written by Jason R. Waller three years ago for the Small Wars Journal. It covers Sudan’s entire history dealing with terrorism. Beginning from when it gained its independence from Britain and Egypt in 1956, the country was basically birthed into constant civil war and inner conflict. The wars lasted for 16 years, but tensions still remained, as did the violence. Waller points out that the discovery of oil fields in 1978 seemed to be a blessing and a curse, as it led to inner conflict fighting over control of the product. Sudan was soon declared an Islamic state shortly after, piling on to the number of conflicts within the country. For the next 22 years, nearly 2 million Sudanese would die from all of the violence caused by civil wars.

The Darfur conflict is also covered by Waller in this piece. Darfur is a region of the Sudan plagued by arbitrary national boundaries across ethnic lines. Tensions between the Arab and non-Arabs in this region has led estimates of 200,000-400,000 Darfur citizens.

Waller also notes Sudan’s housing of what the United States considers to be terrorists, although notes present day Sudan has significantly reduced terrorist presence inside its borders.

The final significant piece of info covered here is the secession of South Sudan. The southern portion of Sudan seceded nearly three years ago, becoming its own country.

This is a great resource to get more details on all the major events in Sudan’s history:

http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/the-terrorist-climate-of-sudan