Sudan is Africa’s largest country. Apart from an 11-year period of peace, it has been torn by civil war since its independence in 1956. The strife is mainly between the mostly Muslim north and the animist and Christian south. Sudan’s size, great ethnic and religious diversity make building a sense of national unity difficult. The current regime rules through massive repression and genocide.

Current president, Omar Bashir was re-elected in 2001 for 5 years, but the elections were boycotted by the main opposition parties. The Machakos Protocol of July 2002, signed by both the government and the two largest southern rebel groups, provides for a referendum on self-determination in the south after a 6-year interval. Despite signing, the Muslim-led Sudanese government has continued to attack southern Christian groups. There is evidence of widespread enslavement of blacks in the south. The Sudanese government has practiced one of the largest cases of genocide since Rwanda with thousands killed in 2004. A peace agreement was signed on January 9, 2005.

With international commitment and support, there is hope for a lasting peace. However continued civil war is likely unless the international community compels the government to cease the enslavement of its people, grant self-determination in the south and cease trying to impose an Islamic state on its religiously mixed population.

 Sudan’s government is in transition and it first gained independence from Egypt and the United Kingdom on January 1, 1956
President Omar Hasan Ahmad al-Bashir is both head of state and government, 4 major political parties, Universal suffrage at 17