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{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2012}}
{{About|the country|the geographical region|Sudan (region)|other uses|Sudan (disambiguation)}}
{{pp-move-indef}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Republic of the Sudan<br>جمهورية السودان<br>''Jumhūrīyat as-Sūdān''
| common_name = Sudan As-Sudan
| demonym = [[Sudanese Arabs|Sudanese]]|Sudani]]
| image_flag = Flag of Sudan.svg
| image_coat = Coat of arms of Sudan.gif
| image_map = Location Sudan-N AU Africa.svg
| map_caption = {{map caption|countryprefix=|location_color=dark blue|region=[[Africa]]|region_color=dark grey|subregion=the [[African Union]]|subregion_color=light blue}}
| symbol_type = Emblem
| national_motto = النصر لنا <br /> ''"Victory is ours"''
| national_anthem = نحن جند الله جند الوطن <br /> ''"[[Nahnu Jund Allah Jund Al-watan]]"''
| official_languages = [[Arabic language|Arabic]]<br>[[English language|English]]
|ethnic_groups = Arabs, Nubians,Beja,Fur,Nuba and Other Black African Tribes In The Western and Southern Regions Of Sudan
|ethnic_groups_year =
| capital = [[Khartoum]]
| latd = 15 |latm=38 |latNS=N |longd=032 |longm=32 |longEW=E
| largest_city = [[Omdurman]]<ref>{{cite web |publisher=United Nations |title=Population of capital cities and cities of 100 000 or more inhabitants: latest available year, 1990–2009| work=Demographic Yearbook 2009 – 2010 |url=https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/2000_round.htm |pages=288–289 |year=2011 |accessdate=12 May 2012}} ([https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/dyb2009-2010/Table08.pdf Table 8])</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Sudan: States, Major Cities, Towns & Agglomeration – Statistics & Maps on City Population |work=City Population |url=http://www.citypopulation.de/Sudan.html |year=2011 | accessdate=12 May 2012}}</ref>
| government_type = [[Federal republic|Federal]] [[presidential system|presidential]] [[republic]]
| leader_title1 = [[List of Presidents of Sudan|President]]
| leader_name1 = [[Omar al-Bashir]] ([[National Congress (Sudan)|NCP]])
| leader_title2 = [[List of Vice Presidents of Sudan|Vice President]]
| leader_name2 = [[Ali Osman Taha]] ([[National Congress (Sudan)|NCP]]) <br> Adam Yousef ([[National Congress (Sudan)|NCP]])
| legislature = [[National Legislature of Sudan|National Legislature]]
| upper_house = [[Council of States of Sudan|Council of States]]
| lower_house = [[National Assembly of Sudan|National Assembly]]
| sovereignty_type = [[History of Sudan|Establishment]]
| established_event1 = [[Nubia|Nubian kingdoms]]
| established_date1 = 3500 BC
| established_event2 = [[Sennar (sultanate)|Sennar dynasty]]
| established_date2 = 1504<ref>{{cite book |last=Rayah |first=Mubarak B. |title=Sudan civilization |publisher=Democratic Republic of the Sudan, Ministry of Culture and Information |year=1978 |page=64}}</ref>
| established_event3 = [[History of Sudan (1821–1885)|Unified with Egypt]]
| established_date3 = 1821
| established_event4 = [[Anglo-Egyptian Sudan]]
| established_date4 = 1899
| established_event5 = Independence
| established_date5 = 1 January 1956
| established_event6 = [[Comprehensive Peace Agreement|Current constitution]]
| established_date6 = 9 January 2005
|GDP_PPP_year = 2011
|GDP_PPP = $89.048 billion<ref name=imf2>{{cite web|url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2012/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=62&pr.y=8&sy=2009&ey=2012&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=732&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CLP&grp=0&a=|title=Sudan|publisher=International Monetary Fund|accessdate=21 April 2012}}</ref>
|GDP_PPP_rank =
|GDP_real_growth =
|GDP_PPP_per_capita = $2,495.902<ref name=imf2/>
|GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank =
| GDP_nominal = $53.267 billion<ref name=imf2/>
| GDP_nominal_rank =
| GDP_nominal_year = 2012
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = $2,496<ref name=imf2/>
| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank =
| area_km2 = 1886068
| area_sq_mi = 728215
| area_rank = 16th
| area_magnitude =
| percent_water =
| population_census_year = 2008
| population_census = 30,894,000 ''(disputed)''<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.news24.com/World/News/Discontent-over-Sudan-census-20090521|agency=News24|date=21 May 2009|accessdate=8 July 2011|title=Discontent over Sudan census}}</ref>
| population_census_rank = 40th
| population_density_km2 = 16.4
| population_density_sq_mi = 42.4
| population_density_rank =
| FSI = 113.7 {{increase}} 1.4
| FSI_year = 2007
| FSI_rank = 1st
| FSI_category = <span style="color:#f00;">Alert</span>
| HDI_year = 2011
| HDI = {{increase}} 0.408<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2011_EN_Table1.pdf|title=Human Development Report 2011|publisher=United Nations|accessdate=2 November 2011}}</ref>
| HDI_rank = 169th
| HDI_category = <span style="color:#e0584e;">low</span>
| currency = [[Sudanese pound]]
| currency_code = SDG
| time_zone = [[East Africa Time]]
| utc_offset = +3
| time_zone_DST = Not observed
| utc_offset_DST = +3
| date_format = dd/mm/yyyy<!-- numeric dates (dd-mm-yyyy, yyyy.mm.dd, etc.) plus era (AD, AH, etc.) -->
| drives_on = right
| cctld = [[.sd]]
| calling_code = 249
}}'''Sudan''' ({{IPAc-en|audio=En-us-Sudan.ogg|s|uː|ˈ|d|æ|n}} or {{IPAc-en|s|uː|ˈ|d|ɑː|n}};<ref name=OED>{{cite web|url=http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/193455|title=Sudan|work=[[Oxford English Dictionary]]|year=1989|accessdate=9 July 2011}}</ref> {{lang-ar|السودان}}, ''as-Sūdān''), officially the '''Republic of the Sudan'''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/su.html|work=[[CIA World Factbook]]|title=Sudan|accessdate=6 January 2011|year=2011}}</ref> <!-- this is the constitutional long-form name, including "the" - please DO NOT change this --> ({{lang-ar|جمهورية السودان}}, ''Jumhūrīyat as-Sūdān''), sometimes called '''North Sudan''',<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.albawaba.com/north-sudan-launches-new-currency-economically-troubled-waters-384581|agency=Al Bawaba|title=
North Sudan launches new currency into economically troubled waters|date=25 July 2011|accessdate=6 January 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/sudan/article_116757.html|agency=Compass Direct|title=Church Building in North Sudan in Ruins as Hostilities Grow|date=23 August 2011|accessdate=6 January 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cmi.no/sudan/?id=50&North-Sudan|title=North Sudan|agency=Chr. Michelsen Institute|accessdate=6 January 2012}}</ref> is an [[Arab world|Arab state]] in [[North Africa]] (It is also considered to be part of the [[Middle East]]).<ref name>{{cite journal |author=Davison, Roderic H. |title=Where is the Middle East? |journal=Foreign Affairs |volume=38 |pages=665–675 |year=1960 |doi=10.2307/20029452 |issue=4}}</ref> It is bordered by [[Egypt]] to the north, the [[Red Sea]] to the northeast, [[Eritrea]] and [[Ethiopia]] to the east, [[South Sudan]] to the south, the [[Central African Republic]] to the southwest, [[Chad]] to the west, and [[Libya]] to the northwest. The population of Sudan is a combination of indigenous inhabitants of [[Nile Valley]], and descendants of migrants from the [[Arabian Peninsula]]. Due to the process of [[Arabisation]] common throughout the rest of the [[Arab World]], today Arab culture predominates in Sudan. The majority of the population of Sudan adheres to Islam. The [[Nile]] divides the country between east and west sides.<ref>Collins, Robert O (2008). ''A History of Modern Sudan''. [[Cambridge University Press]] ([[Cambridge]], [[United Kingdom]]; [[New York City]]). ISBN 978-0-521-85820-5.</ref>

The people of Sudan have a long history extending from [[antiquity]] which is intertwined with the [[history of Egypt]]. Sudan suffered seventeen years of [[civil war]] during the [[First Sudanese Civil War]] (1955–1972) followed by [[ethnicity|ethnic]], [[religion|religious]] and [[economy|economic]] conflicts between the Muslim Arabs of Sudan or Northern Sudan and the mostly [[Animism|animist]] and [[Christian]] [[Nilotes]] of [[Southern Sudan]].<ref name="Shami">Shami, Seteney Khalid; Herrera, Linda (1999). ''Between Field and Text'', "Ethical Dilemmas of Research Among Sudanese in Egypt: Producing Knowledge about the Public and the Private" by Anita Hausermann Fabos. [[American University in Cairo Press]] ([[Cairo]]). p. 100. ISBN 978-977-424-548-0.</ref><ref name="UNEP">[[United Nations Environment Programme]] (2007). ''Sudan — Post-Conflict Environmental Assessment''. [[United Nations Environment Programme]] ([[Nairobi]]). p. 35. ISBN 978-92-807-2702-9.</ref> This led to the [[Second Sudanese Civil War]] in 1983. Because of continuing political and military struggles, Sudan was seized in a bloodless [[coup d'état]] by colonel [[Omar al-Bashir]] in 1989, who thereafter proclaimed himself [[List of Presidents of Sudan|President of Sudan]].<ref name=reuters-factbox>{{Cite news|author=Staff writer|url = http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUKL1435274220080714 |title = Factbox — Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir |work= [[Reuters]] |accessdate =8 January 2011 |date = 14 July 2008}}</ref> The civil war ended with the signing of a [[Comprehensive Peace Agreement]] which granted [[Autonomous Government of Southern Sudan|autonomy]] to what was then the southern region of the country. Following a [[Southern Sudan independence referendum, 2011|referendum]] held in January 2011, [[South Sudan]] seceded on 9 July 2011 with the consent of Sudan's President al-Bashir.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/02/07/uk-sudan-referendum-idUKTRE7161MW20110207 |author=McDoom, Opheera |title=South Sudan votes for independence by landslide |publisher=''[[Reuters]]''.uk.reuters.com |date=7 February 2011|accessdate=7 February 2011}}</ref><ref name="south sudan">{{cite news|last=Fick|first=Maggie|title=A new flag raised: South Sudan celebrates birth|url=http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/a-new-flag-raised-1004971.html|accessdate=9 July 2011|newspaper=Atlanta Journal-Constitution|date=9 July 2011}}</ref>

A member of the [[United Nations]], Sudan also maintains membership with the [[African Union]], the [[Arab League]], the [[Organisation of Islamic Cooperation]], and the [[Non-Aligned Movement]], as well as serving as an observer in the [[World Trade Organization]].<ref name="cia">{{cite web | url = https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/su.html | title = The World Factbook: Sudan | author = [[Central Intelligence Agency|U.S. Central Intelligence Agency]] | issn = 1553-8133 | accessdate =10 July 2011}}</ref> Its capital is [[Khartoum]], which serves as the political, cultural and commercial centre of the nation. Officially a [[Federal republic|federal]] [[presidential system|presidential]] [[representative democracy|representative democratic]] [[republic]], the [[politics of Sudan]] are widely considered by the international community to take place within an [[authoritarianism|authoritarian]] system due to the control of the National Congress Party ([[NCP]]) of the [[judiciary]], [[executive (government)|executive]] and [[legislative]] branches of government.<ref name="New York Times 1996, p.4">''[[The New York Times]]''. 16 March 1996. p. 4.</ref>

==History==
{{Main|History of Sudan}}
{{History of Sudan}}
===Kingdom of Kush===
The [[Kingdom of Kush]] was an ancient [[Nubian people|Nubian]] state centered on the confluences of the [[Blue Nile]], [[White Nile]] and River Atbara. It was established after the [[Bronze Age]] collapse and the disintegration of the [[New Kingdom]] of Egypt, centered at Napata in its early phase. After King Kashta ("the Kushite") invaded Egypt in the 8th century BC, the Kushite kings ruled as Pharaohs of the Twenty-fifth dynasty of [[Egypt]] for a century before being defeated and driven out by the [[Assyrians]]. At the height of their glory, the Kushite conquered an empire that stretched from what is now known as South Kordofan all the way to The Sinai. King [[Piye]] attempted to expand the empire into the Near East, but was thwarted by the Assyrian king [[Sargon II]]. The Kingdom of Kush is mentioned in the Bible as having saved the Israelites from the wrath of the Assyrians, although disease among the beseigers was the main reason for failing to take the city<ref>Georges Roux - Ancient Iraq</ref>. The war that took place between King [[Taharqa]] and the [[Assyrian]] King [[Sennacherib]] was a decisive event in western history, with the Nubians being defeated in their attempts to gain a foothold in the [[Near East]] by Assyria. Sennacherib's successor [[Esarhaddon]] went further, and invaded [[Egypt]] itself, deposing [[Taharqa]] and driving the Nubians from Egypt entirely. Tahrqa fled back to his homeland where he died two years later. Egypt became an Assyrian colony, however king [[Tantamani]], after succeeding Taharqa, made a final determined attempt to regain Egypt. Esarhaddon died whilst preparing to leave the Assyrian capital of [[Nineveh]] in order to eject him. However his successor [[Ashurbanipal]] sent a large army into southern Egypt and routed Tantamani, ending all hopes of a revival of the Nubian Empire. During Classical Antiquity, the Nubian capital was at [[Meroë]]. In early [[Greece|Greek]] geography, the Meroitic kingdom was known as [[Ethiopia]] (a term also used earlier by the Assyrians when encountering the Nubians). The civilization of Kush was among the first in the world to use iron smelting technology. The Nubian kingdom at Meroe persisted until the 4th century AD. After the collapse of the Kushite empire several states emerged in its former territories, among them Nubia.

===Christianity and Islam (543–1821)===
{{unreferenced section|date=January 2011}}
By the 6th century, fifty states had emerged as the political and cultural heirs of the Meroitic Kingdom. Nobatia in the north, also known as Ballanah, had its capital at Faras, in what is now Egypt; the central kingdom, Muqurra (Makuria), was centred at Dunqulah, about {{convert|13|km|mi|abbr=off|sigfig=0}} south of modern Dunqulah; and Alawa ([[Alodia]]), in the heartland of old Meroe, which had its capital at Sawba (now a suburb of modern-day Khartoum). In all three kingdoms, warrior aristocracies ruled Meroitic populations from royal courts where functionaries bore Greek titles in emulation of the [[Byzantine]] court. A missionary sent by Byzantine empress [[Theodora (wife of Justinian I)|Theodora]] arrived in Nobatia and started preaching [[Christianity]] about 540&nbsp;AD. The [[Nubia]]n kings became [[Monophysite]] Christians. However, [[Makuria]] was of the [[Melkite]] Christian faith, unlike [[Nobatia]] and [[Alodia]].

After many attempts at military conquest failed, the Arab commander in Egypt concluded the first in a series of regularly renewed treaties known as ''Albaqut al-sharim'' (pactum) with the Nubians that governed relations between the two peoples for more than 678 years. Islam progressed in the area over a long period of time through intermarriage and contacts with Arab merchants and settlers, particularly the Sufi nobles of Arabia. Additionally, exemption from taxation in regions under Muslim rule were also a powerful incentive for conversion.<ref>{{cite book|last=Metz|first=Helen C.|title=Sudan: a Country Study|year=1991|publisher=GPO for the Library of Congress|location=Washington|pages="The Coming of Islam"|url=http://countrystudies.us/sudan/6.htm}}</ref> In 1093, a Muslim prince of Nubian royal blood ascended the throne of Dunqulah as king. The two most important Arab tribes to emerge in Nubia were the [[Ja'Alin|Jaali]] and the Juhayna. Today's northern Sudanese culture combines Nubian and Arabic elements.

During the 16th century, a people called the [[Funj]], under a leader named [[Amara Dunqus]], appeared in southern Nubia and supplanted the remnants of the old Christian kingdom of [[Alwa]], establishing As-Saltana az-Zarqa (the Blue Sultanate), also called the [[Sennar (sultanate)|Sultanate of Sennar]]. The Blue Sultanate eventually became the keystone of the Funj Empire. By the mid-16th century, Sennar controlled Al Jazirah and commanded the allegiance of vassal states and tribal districts north to the Third Cataract and south to the rainforests. The government was substantially weakened by a series of succession arguments and coups within the royal family. In 1820, [[Muhammad Ali of Egypt]] sent 4,000 troops to invade Sudan. His forces accepted Sennar's surrender from the last Funj [[sultan]], [[Badi VII]].

===Egyptian Turks Period (1821–1885)===
{{Main|History of Sudan under Muhammad Ali and his successors|Mahdist War}}
[[File:Ismail Pacha.JPG|thumb|upright|Ismail Pacha Sultan of Egypt & Sudan ]]
In 1821, the Albanian-Ottoman ruler of Egypt, Amber Eck, had invaded and conquered northern Sudan. Although technically the [[Wāli]] of Egypt under the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Sultan]], Muhammad Ali styled himself as [[Khedive]] of a virtually independent Egypt. Seeking to add Sudan to his domains, he sent his third son Ismail (not to be confused with [[Ismail Pasha|Ismail the Magnificent]] mentioned later) to conquer the country, and subsequently incorporate it into Egypt. This policy was expanded and intensified by [[Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt|Ibrahim]]'s son, [[Ismail Pasha|Ismail I]], under whose reign most of the remainder of modern-day Sudan was conquered. The Egyptian authorities made significant improvements to the Sudanese infrastructure (mainly in the north), especially with regard to irrigation and cotton production. In 1879, the [[Great Powers]] forced the removal of Ismail and established his son [[Tewfik Pasha|Tewfik I]] in his place. Tewfik's corruption and mismanagement resulted in the [[Orabi Revolt]], which threatened the Khedive's survival. Tewfik appealed for help to the [[United Kingdom|British]], who subsequently occupied Egypt in 1882. Sudan was left in the hands of the Khedivial government, and the mismanagement and corruption of its officials.<ref>Churchill, W.S. (1899). ''The River War''. Chapter 1. ''See also'', [[Rudolf Carl von Slatin|von Slatin, Rudolf Carl (Slatin Pasha)]] (1898). ''Fire and Sword in the Sudan''.</ref> During the 1870s, European initiatives against the [[slave trade]] caused an economic crisis in northern Sudan, precipitating the rise of [[Mahdist]] forces.<ref>{{cite web|author=Domke, D. Michelle|url=http://www.american.edu/ted/ice/sudan.htm |title=ICE Case Studies; Case Number: 3; Case Identifier: Sudan; Case Name: Civil War in the Sudan: Resources or Religion?
| publisher = [[Inventory of Conflict and Environment]] (via the [[School of International Service]] at the [[American University]]) |date= November 1997|accessdate=8 January 2011}}</ref>

Eventually, a revolt broke out in Sudan, led by [[Muhammad Ahmad|Muhammad Ahmad ibn Abd Allah]], the ''[[Mahdi]]'' (Guided One), who sought to end foreign presence in Sudan. Mahdi revolution succeed in January 1885. Later that year, the Mahdi's forces attacked and entered [[Khartoum]]{{Clarify|date=January 2011|reason=what is a "winter of khartoum"? a particular event? or should it be "during the winter (what year?) in khartoum?" or is the phrase attempting to describe the "Siege of Khartoum" (for which there is a wiki article)?}}, which had been defended by the British [[Governor-General]], [[Charles George Gordon]] (also known as Gordon of Khartoum), who was killed. Egypt and Britain subsequently withdrew forces from Sudan leaving the Mahdi and his successor to form a 14 year rule of Sudan.

===The Mahdist rule (1885–1899)===
{{Main|History of Mahdist Sudan}}
[[File:Muhammad Ahmad al-Mahdi.jpg|thumb|left|[[Muhammad Ahmad|Muhammad Ahmad al-Mahdi]] ruler of Sudan.]]
Al Mahdi who set out from Aba Island with a few followers armed with sticks and spears ended by making himself master of almost all the territory formerly occupied by the Egyptian government. His main aim was to conquer Egypt and to follow his conquests by attacking Europe.

The Muslim religion was engrained in him. He offered to the ansars (his followers) and those who surrendered to him a choice between adopting Islam or be killed. The following proclamation was published by the Mahdi: Let all show penitence before God, and abandon all bad and forbidden habits, such as the use of wine and tobacco, lying, degrading acts of the flesh etc. All those who do not pay attention to these principles disobey God and his Prophet and they shall be punished in accordance with the law. These precepts were ferociously enforced. Flogging to death and the cutting off of the hands were the penalties for the most trivial offences.

During the month of Ramadan when absolute austerity was enforced upon his followers, huge crowds awaited the master’s appearance at prayers but they had little notion on what was going on inside the Mahdi’s house. There were several different accounts of his death. Some say that he was poisoned while others assert that typhus or small pox were the cause of his death. He died on 22 June 1885 exactly 5 months after the killing of Gordon.

After a power struggle amongst his deputies, [[Abdallahi ibn Muhammad]], with the help primarily of the [[Baqqara]] Arabs of western Sudan, overcame the opposition of the others and emerged as unchallenged leader of the Mahdiyah. After consolidating his power, Abdallahi ibn Muhammad assumed the title of [[Khalif]]a (successor) of the Mahdi, instituted an administration, and appointed [[Ansar (Sudan)|Ansar]] (who were usually Baqqara) as emirs over each of the several provinces.

Regional relations remained tense throughout much of the Mahdiyah period, largely because of the Khalifa's brutal methods to extend his rule throughout the country. In 1887, a 60,000-man Ansar army invaded [[Ethiopia]], penetrating as far as [[Gondar]]. In March 1889, king [[Yohannes IV of Ethiopia]], marched on [[Metemma]]; however, after Yohannes fell in battle, the Ethiopian forces withdrew. [[Abd ar Rahman an Nujumi]], the Khalifa's general, attempted an invasion of Egypt in 1889, but British-led Egyptian troops defeated the Ansar at Tushkah. The failure of the Egyptian invasion broke the spell of the Ansar's invincibility. The [[Belgium|Belgians]] prevented the Mahdi's men from conquering [[Equatoria]], and in 1893, the [[Italy|Italians]] repelled an Ansar attack at [[Akordat]] (in [[Eritrea]]) and forced the Ansar to withdraw from Ethiopia.

===Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (1899–1956)===
{{Unreferenced|section|date=May 2012}}
{{Main|Anglo-Egyptian Sudan}}
[[File:Kingfarouk1948.jpg|thumb|upright|Farouk I of Egypt & Sudan]]

In the 1890s, the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]] sought to re-establish their control over Sudan, once more officially in the name of the Egyptian Khedive, but in actuality treating the country as a British colony. By the early 1890s, British, [[France|French]] and [[Belgium|Belgian]] claims had converged at the [[Nile]] headwaters. Britain feared that the other powers would take advantage of Sudan's instability to acquire territory previously annexed to Egypt. Apart from these political considerations, Britain wanted to establish control over the Nile to safeguard a planned irrigation dam at [[Aswan]].

[[Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|Lord Kitchener]] led military campaigns against the [[Mahdists]] from 1896 to 1898. Kitchener's campaigns culminated in a decisive victory in the [[Battle of Omdurman]] on 2 September 1898. Following this, in 1899, Britain and Egypt reached an agreement under which Sudan was run by a governor-general appointed by Egypt with British consent. In reality, much to the revulsion of Egyptian and Sudanese [[nationalists]]{{fact|date=May 2012}}, Sudan was effectively administered as a [[British colony]]. The British were keen to reverse the process, started under [[Muhammad Ali of Egypt|Muhammad Ali Pasha]], of uniting the [[Nile Valley]] under Egyptian leadership, and sought to frustrate all efforts aimed at further uniting the two countries. During [[World War II]], Sudan was directly involved militarily in the [[East African Campaign (World War II)|East African Campaign]]. Formed in 1925, the [[Sudan Defence Force]] (SDF) played an active part in responding to the early incursions (occupation by Italian troops of [[Kassala]] and other border areas) into the Sudan from [[Italian East Africa]] during 1940. In 1942, the SDF also played a part in the invasion of the Italian colony by British and Commonwealth forces. From 1924 until independence in 1956, the British had a policy of running Sudan as two essentially separate territories, the north (Muslim) and south (Christian). The last British [[Governor-General]] was [[Robert George Howe|Sir Robert Howe]].

===Independence and National Rule (1956–1989)===
{{Unreferenced|section|date=May 2012}}
{{Main|History of Sudan (1956–1969)}}
The continued British occupation of Sudan fueled an increasingly strident nationalist backlash in Egypt, with Egyptian nationalist leaders determined to force Britain to recognise a single independent union of Egypt and Sudan. With the formal end of Ottoman rule in 1914, [[Hussein Kamel of Egypt|Hussein Kamel]] was declared [[Sultan of Egypt|Sultan of Egypt and Sudan]], as was his brother and successor [[Fuad I]]. They continued their insistence of a single Egyptian-Sudanese state even when the [[Sultanate of Egypt|Sultanate]] was retitled as the [[Kingdom of Egypt|Kingdom of Egypt and Sudan]], but the British continued to frustrate such reaches for independence.

The [[Egyptian Revolution of 1952]] finally heralded the beginning of the march towards Sudanese independence. Having abolished the monarchy in 1953, Egypt's new leaders, [[Muhammad Naguib]], whose mother was Sudanese, and later [[Gamal Abdel-Nasser]], believed the only way to end British domination in Sudan was for Egypt to officially abandon its claims of sovereignty over Sudan.

The British on the other hand continued their political and financial support for the Mahdi successor [[Sayyid Abdel Rahman]] who, they believed, could resist the Egyptian pressures for Sudanese independence. Rahman was able to resist the pressures, but his regime was plagued with political ineptitude, which garnered him a loss of support in northern and central Sudan. Egypt and Britain both sensed a great political instability forming, and opted to allow the Sudanese in the north and south to have a free vote on independence to see whether they wished for a British withdrawal.
[[File:Sudan independence.png|thumb|Sudan's flag raised at independence ceremony on 1 January 1956 by the Prime Minister Ismail al-Azhari and in presence of opposition leader Mohamed Ahmed Almahjoub]]

In 1954, the governments of Egypt and Britain signed a treaty guaranteeing Sudanese [[independence]]{{citation needed|date=November 2011}}. Afterwards, a polling process was carried out resulting in composition of a democratic parliament and [[Ismail al-Azhari]] was elected first Prime Minister and led the first modern Sudanese government.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20081120035130/http://sudan-embassy.co.uk/en/content/blogcategory/28/37 Brief Histoy of the Sudan]. Sudan Embassy in London</ref> On 1 January 1956, in a special ceremony held at the People's Palace, the Egyptian and British flags were lowered and the new Sudanese flag, composed of green, blue and white stripes, was raised in their place by the prime minister Ismail al-Azhari.

===Military Coup d'état (1989–present)===
{{Main|War in Darfur|Civil war in Chad (2005–2010)|Eastern Front (Sudan)}}

On 30 June 1989, colonel [[Omar al-Bashir]] led a group of army officers in ousting the unstable coalition government of Prime Minister [[Sadiq al-Mahdi]] in a bloodless [[coup d'état|military coup]].<ref name="reuters-factbox" /> Under al-Bashir's leadership, the new military government suspended political parties and introduced an Islamic legal code on the national level.<ref name="Bekele">{{Cite news|last=Bekele|first=Yilma|title=Chickens Are Coming Home To Roost!|url=http://www.ethiopianreview.com/content/2929|work=[[Ethiopian Review]]|date=12 July 2008|accessdate=13 January 2011}}</ref> He then became Chairman of the [[Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation]] (a newly established body with legislative and executive powers for what was described as a transitional period), and assumed the posts of [[chief of state]], [[prime minister]], chief of the armed forces, and [[minister of defense]].<ref name="Cowell">{{Cite news|author=Cowell, Alan|title=Military Coup in Sudan Ousts Civilian Regime |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE4DA103DF932A35754C0A96F948260|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=30 June 1989|accessdate=13 January 2011|authorlink=Alan S. Cowell}}</ref> Subsequent to al-Bashir's promotion to the Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation, he allied himself with [[Hassan al-Turabi]], the leader of the [[National Islamic Front]] (NIF), who along with al-Bashir began institutionalizing [[Sharia|Sharia law]] in the northern part of Sudan. Further on, al-Bashir issued purges and executions in the upper ranks of the army, the banning of associations, political parties, and independent newspapers and the imprisonment of leading political figures and journalists.<ref name="Kepel, Jihad 2002, p.181">Kepel. ''Jihad'' (2002). p. 181.</ref>

On 16 October 1993, al-Bashir's powers increased when he appointed himself [[List of Presidents of Sudan|President]] of the country, after which he disbanded the [[Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation]] and all other rival political parties. The executive and legislative powers of the council were later given to al-Bashir completely.<ref>{{Cite news| url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/14/sudan.warcrimes3 | work=[[The Guardian]]| title=Profile: Omar al-Bashir | first=Peter | last=Walker | date=14 July 2008 | accessdate=13 January 2011 | location=London}}</ref> In the 1996 national election, where he was the only candidate by law to run for election,<ref name="New York Times 1996, p.4" /> al-Bashir transformed Sudan into a [[single-party state]] and created the [[National Congress (Sudan)|National Congress Party]] (NCP) with a new parliament and government obtained solely by members of the NCP.<ref>{{cite web|author=Staff writer|url=http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=aa86 |title=History of the Sudan |publisher=HistoryWorld |date=undated |accessdate=13 January 2011}}</ref> During the 1990s, [[Hassan al-Turabi]], then Speaker of the National Assembly, reached out to [[Islamic fundamentalism|Islamic fundamentalist]] groups, as well as allowing them to operate out of Sudan, even personally inviting [[Osama bin Laden]] to the country.<ref name="Shahzad"/>
The [[United States]] subsequently listed Sudan as a [[State Sponsors of Terrorism|state sponsor of terrorism]]<ref name="foxnews"/> The U.S [[Cruise missile strikes on Afghanistan and Sudan (August 1998)|bombed Sudan in 1998]] and U.S. firms were barred from doing business in Sudan. Further on, al-Turabi's influence and that of his party's "'internationalist' and ideological wing" waned "in favor of the 'nationalist' or more pragmatic leaders who focus on trying to recover from Sudan's disastrous [[international isolation]] and economic damage that resulted from ideological adventurism."<ref>Graham E. Fuller ''The Future of Political Islam'' (2004). Palgrave Macmillan, ISBN 1-4039-6556-0, p. 111.</ref> At the same time Sudan worked to appease the United States and other international critics by expelling members of the [[Egyptian Islamic Jihad]] and encouraging bin Laden to leave.<ref>Lawrence Wright ''The Looming Tower'' (2006). pp. 221–223. ISBN 1-60514-079-1</ref> Prior to the [[Elections in Sudan|2000 presidential election]], al-Turabi introduced a bill to reduce the President's powers, prompting al-Bashir to dissolve parliament and declare a [[state of emergency]]. After al-Turabi urged a boycott of the President's re-election campaign and signed an agreement with [[Sudan People's Liberation Army]], Omar al-Bashir suspected they were plotting to overthrow him and the government,<ref name="BBC profile" /> thus jailing Hassan al-Turabi that same year.<ref name=Denies>Ali, Wasil (12 May 2008). [http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article27123 "Sudanese Islamist Opposition Leader Denies Link with Darfur Rebels"]. ''[[Sudan Tribune]]''. Retrieved 13 January 2011.</ref> Because of significant cultural, social, political, ethnic and economic changes in short amounts of time, conflicts were evolved in western and eastern provinces of Sudan in addition to an escalating conflict in [[Southern Sudan]]. Since the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), several violent struggles between the [[Janjaweed]] militia and rebel groups such as the [[Sudan People's Liberation Army]] (SPLA), the [[Sudan Liberation Movement/Army|Sudanese Liberation Army]] (SLA) and the [[Justice and Equality Movement]] (JEM) in the form of [[guerilla warfare]] in the [[Darfur]], [[Red Sea, Sudan|Red Sea]] and [[Equatoria]] regions have occurred. These conflicts have resulted in death tolls between 200,000<ref name="conflict1">{{Cite news|author=Staff writer| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3496731.stm | work=BBC News | title=Q&A: Sudan's Darfur Conflict | date=23 February 2010 | accessdate=13 January 2011 }}</ref> and 400,000,<ref name=cia/><ref name="peopledaily1">{{cite web|author=Staff writer|url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200511/28/eng20051128_224254.html |title=Darfur Peace Talks To Resume in Abuja on Tuesday: AU |publisher =''[[Xinhua News Agency]]'' (via ''[[People's Daily]]'') |date=28 November 2005 |accessdate=14 January 2011}}</ref><ref name="washingtonpost.com">{{Cite news|author=Staff writer| url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/10/AR2007041001775.html | publisher=''[[Associated Press]]'' (via ''[[The Washington Post]]'') | title=Hundreds Killed in Attacks in Eastern Chad — U.N. Agency Says Sudanese Militia Destroyed Villages | date=11 April 2007 | accessdate=14 January 2011}}</ref> over 2.5 million [[Displaced person|people being displaced]]<ref>{{Cite news|url= http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/15/AR2006101500655.html |title=AUF Ineffective, Complain Refugees in Darfur |accessdate=4 March 2009 |work=[[The Washington Post]] | date=16 October 2006 | first=Alfred | last=de Montesquiou}}</ref> and [[Chad–Sudan relations|diplomatic relations]] between Sudan and [[Chad]] being put under very great strain.<ref>{{Cite news| author=Staff writer|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7394422.stm | work=BBC News | title=Sudan Cuts Chad Ties over Attack | date=11 May 2008 | accessdate=14 January 2011}}</ref>

The Sudanese government has supported the use of recruited Arab militias in [[guerrilla warfare]], such as in the ongoing [[War in Darfur|conflict in Darfur]].<ref name="conflict1" /><ref name="savedarfur1">{{cite web|author=[[Staff writer]]|url=http://www.savedarfur.org/pages/background |title=The Genocide in Darfur — Briefing Paper |publisher=[[Save Darfur Coalition]]|date=June 2008 |accessdate=8 January 2011}}</ref> Since then thousands of people have been displaced and killed, and the need for humanitarian care in Darfur has attracted worldwide attention. The conflict has since been described as a [[genocide]],<ref>[[Press release]] (14 July 2008). [http://www.icc-cpi.int/menus/icc/press%20and%20media/press%20releases/press%20releases%20(2008)/a "ICC Prosecutor Presents Case Against Sudanese President, Hassan Ahmad al Bashir, for Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes in Darfur"]. [[International Criminal Court#Office of the Prosecutor|Office of the Prosecutor]], [[International Criminal Court]]. Retrieved 14 January 2011.</ref> and the [[International Criminal Court]] (ICC) has issued two [[arrest warrant]]s for al-Bashir, the current President of Sudan.<ref name=BBC1>[[Staff writer]] (4 March 2009). [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7923102.stm Warrant issued for Sudan's Bashir"]. ''BBC News''. Retrieved 14 January 2011.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://pulitzercenter.org/articles/international-criminal-court-charges-sudans-omar-hassan-al-bashir-genocide |author=Lynch, Colum; Hamilton, Rebecca |title=International Criminal Court Charges Sudan's Omar Hassan al-Bashir with Genocide |publisher=''[[The Washington Post]]'' (via the [[Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting]]) |date=13 July 2010|accessdate=14 January 2011}}</ref>

Sudan has also been the subject of severe sanctions due to alleged ties with [[Egyptian Islamic Jihad]] and [[al-Qaeda]].<ref name="Shahzad">{{Cite news
| last = Shahzad
| first = Syed Saleem
| title = Bin Laden Uses Iraq To Plot New Attacks
| work = [[Asia Times Online]]
| accessdate =14 January 2011
| date = 23 February 2002
| url = http://www.atimes.com/c-asia/DB23Ag02.html
}}</ref><ref name=foxnews>[[Staff writer]] (13 March 2007). [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,258413,00.html "Families of USS ''Cole'' Victims Sue Sudan for $105 Million"]. ''[[Associated Press]]'' (via ''[[Fox News]]''). Retrieved 14 January 2011.</ref> Sudan has scored medium in [[Human Development Index|human development]] in the last few years,<ref>[http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2009_EN_Complete.pdf Human Development Report 2009. Overcoming barriers: Human mobility and development]. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Palgrave Macmillan. New York. ISBN 978-0-230-23904-3</ref> ranking number 150 in 2009, between [[Haiti]] and [[Tanzania]]. Statistics indicate that about seventeen percent of the population live on less than US $1.25 per day.<ref>[http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDI_2008_EN_Tables.pdf Acronyms and abbreviations]. undp.org. 2008</ref> Among Sudan's population of 30 million people, [[Sunni Islam]] is the largest religion,<ref>[[Staff writer]] (27 December 2010). [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/su.html "Sudan"]. ''[[The World Factbook]]''. [[Central Intelligence Agency|U.S. Central Intelligence Agency]]. Retrieved 8 January 2011. {{ISSN|1553-8133}}. "Religions: Sunni Muslim 70% (in north), Christian 5% (mostly in the south and Khartoum), indigenous beliefs 25%."</ref> while [[Arabic language|Arabic]] and [[English language|English]] are the official languages.<ref>{{cite web|author=[[Staff writer]]|url=http://www.ethnologue.org/show_language.asp?code=apd |title=Arabic, Sudanese Spoken — A Language of Sudan|work=[[Ethnologue]]|date=undated |accessdate=14 January 2011}}</ref>

Sudan has achieved great [[economic growth]] by implementing [[macroeconomics|macroeconomic]] reforms. Rich in natural resources such as [[petroleum]], Sudan's economy is amongst the fastest growing in the world.<ref>{{Registration required|date=January 2011}} [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/24/world/africa/24sudan.html?_r=1 "War in Sudan? Not Where the Oil Wealth Flows"]. ''[[The New York Times]]''. 24 October 2006.</ref> The [[People's Republic of China]] and [[Japan]] are the main export partners of Sudan.<ref>{{cite web|author=[[Staff writer]]|url=http://www.afribiz.info/?p=2924 |title=Import and Export Snapshot for Sudan |publisher=Afribiz.info |date=10 February 2010 |accessdate=8 January 2011}}</ref>

===Civil War and Secession of South Sudan===
{{Main|First Sudanese Civil War|Second Sudanese Civil War|South Sudan}}
In 1955, the year before independence, a [[First Sudanese Civil War|civil war]] began between Northern and [[Southern Sudan]]. The southerners, anticipating independence, feared the new nation would be dominated by the north. Historically, the north of Sudan had closer ties with Egypt and was predominantly Arab or Arabized and [[Muslim]] while the south was predominantly non-Arabized and animist or Christian. These divisions had been further emphasized by the British policy of ruling the north and south under separate administrations. From 1924, it was illegal for people living north of the [[10th parallel north|10th parallel]] to go further south and for people south of the [[8th parallel north|8th parallel]] to go further north. The law was ostensibly enacted to prevent the spread of [[malaria]] and other [[tropical diseases]] that had ravaged British troops, as well as to facilitate spreading Christianity among the predominantly animist population while stopping the Arabic and Islamic influence from advancing south. The result was increased isolation between the already distinct north and south and arguably laid the seeds of conflict in the years to come.

The resulting conflict lasted from 1955 to 1972. The 1955 war began when Southern army officers mutinied and then formed the Anya-Nya guerilla movement. A few years later the first Sudanese military regime took power under Major-General Abboud. Military regimes continued into 1969 when General [[Gaafar Nimeiry]] led a successful coup.<ref>Mitchell, Christopher R. (August 1989) [http://www.gmu.edu/departments/icar/wp_3_mitchell.pdf ''Conflict Resolution and Civil War: Reflections on the Sudanese Settlement of 1972'']. (PDF). Center for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, [[George Mason University]].</ref>

In 1972, a cessation of the north-south conflict was agreed upon under the terms of the [[Addis Ababa Agreement (1972)|Addis Ababa Agreement]], following talks which were sponsored by the [[World Council of Churches]]. This led to a ten-year hiatus in the national conflict with the south enjoying self-government through the formation of the [[Southern Sudan Autonomous Region]].

In 1983, the civil war was reignited following President [[Gaafar Nimeiry]]'s decision to circumvent the Addis Ababa Agreement{{citation needed|date=November 2011}}. Nimeiry attempted to create a federated Sudan including states in southern Sudan, which violated the Addis Ababa Agreement that had granted the south considerable autonomy. He appointed a committee to undertake "a substantial review of the Addis Ababa Agreement, especially in the areas of security arrangements, border trade, language, culture and religion".<ref>Alier, Abel (1990). ''Southern Sudan: Too Many Agreements Dishonored''. [[Ithaca Press]] ([[Exeter]]). pg. 213. ISBN 978-0-86372-120-5.</ref> Mansour Khalid, a former foreign minister, wrote: “Nimeiri had never been genuinely committed to the principles of the Addis Ababa Agreement".<ref>Khalid, Mansour (1985). ''Nimeiri and the Revolution of Dis-May''. [[Routledge and Paul Regan]] ([[London]]). pp. 234, 239.</ref> When asked about revisions he stated "The Addis Ababa agreement is myself and Joseph Lagu and we want it that way... I am 300 percent the constitution. I do not know of any plebiscite because I am mandated by the people as the President".<ref>Ali, Taiser; Matthews, Robert O.; Spears, Ian S. (2004). ''Durable Peace: Challenges for Peacebuilding in Africa''. [[University of Toronto Press]] ([[Toronto]]). pg. 293. ISBN 978-0-8020-3614-8.</ref> Southern troops rebelled against the northern political offensive, and launched attacks in June 1983.

In September 1983, the situation was exacerbated when Nimeiry's{{Clarify|date=January 2011|reason=seems a word is missing}} culminated the 1977 revisions by imposing new Islamic laws on all of Sudan, including the non-Muslim south.

In 1995, former [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[Jimmy Carter]] negotiated the longest [[ceasefire]] in the history of the war to allow humanitarian aid to enter Southern Sudan, which had been inaccessible owing to violence.<ref name="CCSud">{{cite web| author= Staff writer|date=undated| title=Sudan|url=http://www.cartercenter.org/countries/sudan.html|publisher=[[Carter Center|The Carter Center]]|accessdate=13 January 2011}}</ref> This ceasefire, which lasted almost six months, has since been called the "[[Dracunculiasis|Guinea Worm]] Ceasefire."<ref name="CCSud" /> Since 1983, a combination of civil war and [[famine]] has taken the lives of nearly 2 million people in Sudan.<ref>[[Staff writer]] (April 2001). [http://web.archive.org/web/20041210024759/http://www.refugees.org/news/crisis/sudan.htm "Sudan: Nearly 2 Million Dead as a Result of the World's Longest Running Civil War"]. [[U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants|U.S. Committee for Refugees]]. Archived 10 December 2004 on the [[Internet Archive]]. Retrieved 13 January 2011.</ref>
The war continued even after Nimeiry was ousted and a democratic government was elected with [[Sadiq al-Mahdi|Al Sadiq Al Mahdi's]] [[Umma Party (Sudan)|Umma Party]] having the majority in the parliament. The leader of the SPLA [[John Garang]] refused to recognize the government and to negotiate with it as representative of Sudan but agreed to negotiate with government officials as representative of their political parties.{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}}
The Sudanese Army successfully advanced in the south, reaching the southern borders with neighbouring [[Kenya]] and [[Uganda]]. The campaign started in 1989 and ended in 1994. During the fight the situation worsened in the tribal south causing casualties among the Christian and animist minority.<ref>Dange, Ted (August 2002). ''Sudan: Humanitarian Crisis, Peace Talks, Terrorism, and U.S. Policy''. Issue Brief for the [[United States Congress|U.S. Congress]]. [[Defense Technical Information Center]] ([[Fort Belvoir]]). {{OCLC|318680796}}.</ref> Rebel leader [[Riek Machar]] subsequently signed a peace agreement with the Sudanese government and became Vice President of Sudan. His troops took part in the fight against the SPLA during the government offensive in the 1990s. After the Sudanese army took control of the entire south with the help of Machar, the situation improved. In time, however, the SPLA sought support in the West by using the northern Sudanese government's religious propaganda to portray the war as a campaign by the Arab Islamic government to impose [[Islam]] and the [[Arabic language]] on the animist and [[Christian]] south.

The war went on for more than twenty years, including the use of [[Russia]]n-made combat [[Mil Mi-24|helicopters]] and military [[Antonov An-26|cargo planes]] that were used as bombers to devastating effect on villages and tribal rebels alike. "Sudan's independent history has been dominated by chronic, exceptionally cruel warfare that has starkly divided the country on ethnic,racial, religious, and regional grounds; displaced an estimated four million people (of a total estimated population of thirty-two million); and killed an estimated two million people."<ref>Morrison, J. Stephen; de Waal, Alex. "Can Sudan Escape Its Intractability?". ''Grasping the Nettle: Analyzing Cases of Intractable Conflict''. Eds.: Crocker, Chester A.; Hampson, Fen Osler; Aall, Pamel (2005). [[United States Institute of Peace]] (Washington, D.C.). p. 162.</ref> It damaged Sudan's economy and led to food shortages, resulting in starvation and malnutrition. The lack of investment during this time, particularly in the south, meant a generation lost access to basic health services, education and jobs.

Peace talks between the southern rebels and the government made substantial progress in 2003 and early 2004. The peace was consolidated with the official signing by both sides of the [[Naivasha Agreement|Nairobi Comprehensive Peace Agreement]] on 9 January 2005, granting [[Southern Sudan]] autonomy for six years, to be followed by a [[Southern Sudanese independence referendum, 2011|referendum]] about independence. It created a co-vice president position and allowed the north and south to split oil deposits equally, but also left both the north's and south's armies in place. [[John Garang]], the south's peace agreement appointed co-vice president, died in a helicopter crash on 1 August 2005, three weeks after being sworn in. This resulted in riots, but peace was eventually restored. The [[United Nations Mission in Sudan]] (UNMIS) was established under the [[UN Security Council Resolution 1590]] of 24 March 2005. Its [[Mandate (international law)|mandate]] is to support implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, and to perform functions relating to [[humanitarian]] assistance, and protection and promotion of [[human rights]]. In October 2007 the former southern rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) withdrew from government in protest over slow implementation of a landmark 2005 peace deal which ended the civil war.

The referendum was negotiated under the auspices of Intergovernmental Organization Authority for Development [[IGAD]], the regional organization of which Sudan is a member. Despite its role in finalizing the peace process, the debate around it increasingly became argumentative. According to a [[Wikileaks]] cable, the Khartoum Government along with the [[Egyptian government]] had been trying to delay or indefinitely adjourn the referendum. However, the southern leadership, the United Nations, and the whole region remained determined to hold vote as scheduled. As such, the vote continued. On 9 January 2011, the referendum was held worldwide; the South Sudanese diaspora who voted included those from the U.S., the U.K., Australia, Europe and East Africa. The result showed 98.9% in favour of secession.

The southern region became independent on 9 July 2011, with the name of [[South Sudan]]. Despite this result, many crucial issues are yet unresolved. The threats to people of South Sudan after referendum are numerous, with security topping the list. Other threats include disputes over the region of [[Abyei]], control over oil fields, the borders, and the issue of citizenship.

As of April 23, 2012, Omar al-Bashir, President of Sudan, has declared he is unwilling to negotiate with officials in South Sudan. After South Sudan took control of the territorially contested [[Heglig]] for 10 days, Sudan forces pushed them out of the oil town, to the south. Even after South Sudan's withdrawal from Heglig, Sudanese MiG 29 fighter planes dropped three bombs in South Sudan. With Sudanese attacks as far as 10km into South Sudan, South Sudanese officials cited this as both a "violation of the territory" and "clear provocation."<ref name="bare_url">http://allafrica.com/stories/201204240427.html</ref> Hostility is inflating as both nations scramble to bulk up their military forces. President Bashir stated: "We will not negotiate with the South's government, because they don't understand anything but the language of the gun and ammunition...Our talks with them were with guns and bullets."<ref name="bare_url" />

===Abyei situation===
The issue of Abyei is a grave matter in terms of bringing lasting peace to the country. According to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the region of Abyei must hold its own referendum, and decide whether to go with the south, or remain with Sudan. As such, the CPA set forth two [[referenda]] in Sudan, the [[South Sudan]] referendum as to whether to split from Sudan and the [[Abyei]] referendum as to whether to join [[South Sudan]] in its secession. Nevertheless, the voting in Abyei didn’t happen as stipulated largely because of the dispute over who has the right to vote in the region. Until now the referendum on [[Abyei]] is yet to be rescheduled, and the tension is rising in the region. The Government of Sudan is calling for all the residents of Abyei to take part in the referendum while the SPLA/M wants to exclude non-Dinka residents. Recently, the standing Abyei Committee has formed a new committee called the [[Joint Technical Committee]] to look at the case again, as well as the case of Kadugli.

Many humanitarian aid and relief services, such as the [[World Food Program]], [[World Vision]], [[Oxfam]], [[Cordaid]] and [[Care International]], have a large{{ambiguous|date=November 2011}} presence in the area. Secession from Sudan will not necessarily solve the economic problems for Abyei. Further, the situation in Abyei is worsening in terms of security and dispute over land now that [[South Sudan]] has become independent.

=== Darfur conflict ===
{{Main|War in Darfur}}
[[File:Map of Darfur 2011.png|thumb|225px|Map highlighting the [[Darfur]] region of Sudan]]
Just as the long north-south [[civil war]] was reaching a resolution, some clashes occurred in the Muslim western region of [[Darfur]] in the early 1970s between the [[pastoralism|pastoral]] tribes. The rebels accused the central government of neglecting the Darfur region economically. Both the government and the rebels have been accused of atrocities in this war, although most of the blame has fallen on Arabic speaking nomads militias known as the [[Janjaweed]], which are armed men appointed by the [[Sadiq al-Mahdi|Al Saddiq Al Mahdi]] administration to stop the longstanding chaotic disputes between Darfur tribes. According to declarations by the U.S. government, these militias have been engaging in [[genocide]], the [[UN]] and [[African Union]] does not agree with the genocide label; the fighting has displaced hundreds of thousands of people, many of them seeking refuge in neighbouring [[Chad]]. The government claimed victory over the rebels after capturing a town on the border with Chad in early 1994. However, the fighting resumed in 2003.

On 9 September 2004, [[United States Secretary of State|U.S. Secretary of State]] [[Colin Powell]] termed the Darfur conflict a genocide, claiming it as the worst [[Humanitarianism|humanitarian]] [[crisis]] of the 21st century.<ref>{{Cite news| url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-09-09-sudan-powell_x.htm | work=[[USA Today]] | title=Powell Accuses Sudan of Genocide | first1=Barbara | last1=Slavin | date=9 September 2004 | accessdate=13 January 2011}}</ref> There have been reports that the Janjaweed has been launching raids, bombings, and attacks on villages, killing civilians based on ethnicity, raping women, stealing land, goods, and herds of livestock. So far, over 2.5 million civilians have been displaced and the death toll is variously estimated from 200,000<ref name="conflict1" /> to 400,000 killed.<ref name="savedarfur1">{{cite web|author=Staff writer|url=http://www.savedarfur.org/pages/background |title=The Genocide in Darfur — Briefing Paper |publisher=[[Save Darfur Coalition]]|date=June 2008 |accessdate=8 January 2011}}</ref> These figures have remained stagnant since initial [[UN]] reports of the conflict hinted at genocide in 2003/2004. Genocide has been considered a criminal offense under international humanitarian law since the 1948 [[Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide]].<ref>[[Staff writer]] (April 2008). [http://ihl.ihlresearch.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.viewpage&pageid=1638 "IHL Primer #2 — Genocide"]. International Humanitarian Law Research Initiative of the [[Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research]] at [[Harvard University]]. Retrieved 13 January 2011.</ref>

On 5 May 2006, the Sudanese government and Darfur's largest rebel group, the SLM (Sudanese Liberation Movement), signed the [[Darfur Peace Agreement]], which aimed at ending the three-year-long conflict.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20060802105035/http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2006/65972.htm Darfur Peace Agreement]. US Department of State. 8 May 2006</ref> The agreement specified the disarmament of the Janjaweed and the disbandment of the rebel forces, and aimed at establishing a temporal government in which the rebels could take part.<ref name=bbc4978668>{{Cite news|author=Staff writer| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4978668.stm | work=BBC News | title=Main Parties Sign Darfur Accord | date=5 May 2006 | accessdate=13 January 2011 }}</ref> The agreement, which was brokered by the [[African Union]], however, was not signed by all of the rebel groups.<ref name=bbc4978668 /> Only one rebel group, the SLA, led by Minni Arko Minnawi, signed the agreement.<ref>"Darfur Peace Agreement" – Fact Sheet. Office of the Spokesman. U.S. [[Department of State]]. May 2006.</ref>

Since the agreement was signed, however, there have been reports of widespread violence throughout the region. A new rebel group has emerged called the National Redemption Front, which is made up of the four main rebel groups that refused to sign the May peace agreement.<ref name=guardian1893427>{{Cite news| url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/sudan/story/0,,1893427,00.html | work=[[The Guardian]] | title=Khartoum Struggles To Defeat New Alliance — Sudanese Troops Have Suffered Heavy Casualties in Intense Fighting with Their New Enemy, the National Redemption Front, Reports Jonathan Steele from El Fasher | author=Steele, Jonathan | date=11 October 2006 | accessdate=13 January 2011 | authorlink=Jonathan Steele | location=London}}</ref> Recently,{{when|date=January 2011|reason="recently" has no meaning in an encyclopedia}} both the Sudanese government and government-sponsored militias have launched large offensives against the rebel groups, resulting in more deaths and more displacements. Clashes among the rebel groups have also contributed to the violence.<ref name=guardian1893427 /> Recent{{when|date=January 2011|reason="recently" has no meaning in an encyclopedia}} fighting along the Chad border has left hundreds of soldiers and rebel forces dead and nearly a quarter of a million refugees cut off from aid.<ref>{{cite web
| author = Staff writer|url=http://www.strategypage.com/qnd/sudan/articles/20061011.aspx
| title = Heavy Fighting Breaks Out
| date = 11 October 2006
| publisher = strategypage.com
| accessdate =14 January 2011
}}</ref> In addition, villages have been bombed and more civilians have been killed. [[UNICEF]] recently{{when|date=January 2011|reason="recently" has no meaning in an encyclopedia}} reported that around eighty infants die each day in Darfur as a result of [[malnutrition]]. The hunger in the Darfur region is still concerning many developed countries in the world.

The people in Darfur are predominantly non-Arabized members of the [[Darfur]] tribe who adhere to Islam. While the [[Janjaweed]]/[[Baggara]] [[militia]] is made up of [[Arabization|Arabized]] Black Africans and few Arab [[Bedouin]]; the majority of other Arab groups in Darfur remain uninvolved in the conflict.<ref>{{Cite news|author= de Waal, Alex |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2004/jul/25/internationalaidanddevelopment.voluntarysector |title=Darfur's Deep Grievances Defy All Hopes for An Easy Solution — The World Is Waking to the Human Disaster in Sudan. But, Argues Writer and World Authority on the Country, Alex de Waal, the Crisis Is Far More Complex Than Some Claim – and Cannot Be Resolved by a Quick Fix |work=[[The Observer]] |date= 25 July 2004|accessdate=13 January 2011 |authorlink= Alex de Waal |location=London}}</ref>

The [[International Criminal Court]] (ICC) has indicted State Minister for Humanitarian Affairs [[Ahmed Haroun]] and alleged Muslim Janjaweed militia leader Ali Mohammed Ali, also known as Ali Kosheib, in relation to the atrocities in the region. Ahmed Haroun belongs to the Bargou tribe, one of the non-Arab tribes of Darfur, and is alleged to have incited attacks on specific non-Arab ethnic groups. Ali Kosheib is a former soldier and a leader of the popular defense forces, and is alleged to be one of the key leaders responsible for attacks on villages in west Darfur.

The [[International Criminal Court]]'s chief prosecutor on Darfur, [[Luis Moreno Ocampo]], announced on 14 July 2008, ten criminal charges against Bashir, accusing him of sponsoring [[war crimes]] and [[crimes against humanity]].<ref name="autogenerated2">{{Cite news| url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/14/sudan.warcrimes1?gusrc=rss&feed=worldnews | work=[[The Guardian]]| title=Darfur Genocide Charges for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir | author=Walker, Peter; Sturcke, James | date=14 July 2008 | accessdate=14 January 2011 | location=London}}</ref> The ICC's prosecutors have claimed that al-Bashir "masterminded and implemented a plan to destroy in substantial part" three tribal groups in Darfur because of their ethnicity
The [[Arab League]], [[African Union]], and [[France]] support Sudan's efforts to suspend the ICC investigation.<ref>Charbonneau, Louis (18 September 2008). [http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/9/18/worldupdates/2008-09-18T032922Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-355307-1&sec=Worldupdates "France Might Be Open To Deal on Sudan's Bashir"]. ''[[Reuters]]''. 18 September 2006</ref> They are willing to consider Article 16 of the [[Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court|ICC's Rome Statute]], which states ICC investigations can be suspended for one year if the investigation endangers the peace process.

=== Chad-Sudan conflict ===
{{Main|Civil war in Chad (2005–2010)}}
The Chad-Sudan Conflict (2005–2007) officially started on 23 December 2005, when the [[Politics of Chad|government of Chad]] declared a [[war|state of war]] with Sudan and called for the citizens of [[Chad]] to mobilize themselves against the "common enemy"<ref name="BBC News 2005">{{Cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4556576.stm | work=BBC News | title=Chad in 'State of War' with Sudan | date=23 December 2005 | accessdate=13 January 2011 | first=Stephanie | last=Hancock}}</ref>—the [[United Front for Democratic Change]], a coalition of rebel factions dedicated to overthrowing Chadian President [[Idriss Déby]] (and who the Chadians believe are backed by the Sudanese government), and Sudanese janjawid, who have been raiding refugee camps and certain tribes in eastern Chad. Déby accuses Sudanese President [[Omar Hasan Ahmad al-Bashir]] of trying to "destabilize our country, to drive our people into misery, to create disorder and export the war from Darfur to Chad."

The problem prompting the declaration of war was an attack on the Chadian town of [[Adré]] near the Sudanese border that led to the deaths of either one hundred rebels (as most news sources reported) or three hundred rebels. The Sudanese government was blamed for the attack, which was the second in the region in three days,<ref>{{Cite news|author=Staff writer| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4544352.stm | work=BBC News | title=Chad Fightback 'Kills 300 Rebels' | date=20 December 2005 | accessdate=13 January 2011 }}</ref> but Sudanese foreign ministry spokesman [[Jamal Mohammed Ibrahim]] denied any Sudanese involvement, "We are not for any escalation with Chad. We technically deny involvement in Chadian internal affairs." The [[Battle of Adré]] led to the declaration of war by Chad and the alleged deployment of the Chadian air force into Sudanese airspace, which the Chadian government denies.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/AB24F0A9-8145-4E1E-96C7-3D8FC9641CC6.htm
| archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20080312113422/http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/AB24F0A9-8145-4E1E-96C7-3D8FC9641CC6.htm
| archivedate = 12 March 2008
| author = Staff writer | title = Restraint Plea to Sudan and Chad
| date = 27 December 2005 | accessdate =13 January 2011
| publisher = [[Agence France-Presse]] (via ''[[Al Jazeera English]]'')
}}</ref>

The leaders of Sudan and Chad signed an agreement in [[Saudi Arabia]] on 3 May 2007 to stop fighting from the [[Darfur conflict]] along their countries' {{convert|1000|km|mi|-2|sing=on}} border.<ref>[http://www.sudaneseonline.com/en2/publish/Latest_News_1/Sudan_Chad_agree_to_stop_fighting.shtml "Sudan, Chad Agree To Stop Fighting"]. ''[[Associated Press]]'' (via ''[[Yahoo! News]]'').</ref>

=== Eastern Front ===
[[File:Bedscha.jpg|thumb|left|[[Beja people|Beja]] nomads]]
[[File:Rashaida family.png|thumb|[[Rashaida]] in the east]]
{{Main|Eastern Front (Sudan)}}
The [[Eastern Front (Sudan)|Eastern Front]], whose chairman is the current presidential adviser Mr. [[Musa Mohamed Ahmed]], was a coalition of rebel groups operating in eastern Sudan along the border with [[Eritrea]], particularly the [[States of Sudan|states]] of [[Red Sea, Sudan|Red Sea]] and [[Kassala (state)|Kassala]]. While the [[Sudan People's Liberation Army]] (SPLA) was the primary member of the Eastern Front, the SPLA was obliged to leave by the January 2005 agreement that ended the [[Second Sudanese Civil War]]. Their place was taken in February 2004 after the merger of the larger [[Hausa]] and [[Beja Congress]] with the smaller [[Rashaida Free Lions]], two tribal-based groups of the Arabized [[Beja people|Beja]] and the Arab [[Rashaida people]], respectively.<ref>[http://www.unmis.org/English/documents/mmr/MMR2006/MMR-jan04.pdf "UNMIS Media Monitoring Report], 19 January 2006 (By Public Information Office)". [[United Nations Mission in Sudan]].</ref>

Both the Free Lions and the Beja Congress stated that government inequity in the distribution of oil profits, and for the [[Beja (Portugal)|Beja]] the often uncompromising Arabization campaign of the central government, was the cause of their rebellion. They demanded to have a greater say in the composition of the national government, which has been seen as a destabilizing influence on the agreement ending the conflict in [[Southern Sudan]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}}

The Eritrean government in mid-2006 dramatically changed its position on the conflict. From being the main supporter of the Eastern Front, it decided that bringing the Sudanese government around the negotiating table for a possible agreement with the rebels would be in its best interests.{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}}

It was successful in its attempts and on 19 June 2006, the two sides signed an agreement on declaration of principles.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shabait.com/staging/publish/article_005181.html|author=Staff writer|title=Sudanese Government and East Sudan Front Sign Document on Action Program Regarding the Signing of Security and Military Agreement|publisher =Eritrean Ministry of Information|date=3 July 2006|accessdate=13 January 2011| archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20060719151254/http://www.shabait.com/staging/publish/article_005181.html| archivedate = 19 July 2006}}</ref> This was the start of four months of Eritrean-mediated negotiations for a comprehensive peace agreement between the Sudanese government and the Eastern Front, which culminated in signing of a peace agreement on 14 October 2006, in Asmara. The agreement covers security issues, power sharing at a federal and regional level, and wealth sharing in regards to the three Eastern states [[Kassala (state)|Kassala]], [[Red Sea, Sudan|Red Sea]] and [[Al Qadarif]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}} One of the agreements made between the [[Khartoum]] government and the Eastern Front was that [[Khartoum]] would push for [[international arbitration]] to solve the situation in the disputed [[Hala'ib Triangle]] which has been under [[Egypt]]ian military annexation since 1995.

In July 2007, many areas in the western and southern parts of the country were devastated by [[2007 Sudan floods|flooding]], prompting an immediate humanitarian response by the [[United Nations]] and partners, under the leadership of acting [[United Nations]] [[Resident Coordinator]]s [[David Gressly]] and [[Oluseyi Bajulaiye]].<ref>{{Dead link|date=January 2011}} {{cite web|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/06/africa/AF-GEN-Sudan-Floods.php |title=United Nations Concerned That Floods Emergency May Worsen|date=6 August 2007|work=[[International Herald Tribune]]}}</ref> Over 400,000 people were directly affected, with over 3.5 million at risk of epidemics.<ref>{{cite web|author=Press release|url=http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/LSGZ-75TGFJ?OpenDocument |title=Sudan Floods: At Least 365,000 Directly Affected, Response Ongoing|date=6 August 2007|accessdate=13 January 2011|publisher=[[Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs|United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs]] (via [[Relief Web]])}}</ref> The United Nations allocated US$ 13.5 million for the response from its pooled funds, and launched an appeal to the international community to cover the gap.<ref>{{cite web|author=Press release|url=http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/EVOD-766JV2?OpenDocument |title=United Nations To Launch Appeal for Sudan Floods|date=16 August 2007|accessdate=13 January 2011|publisher=[[Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs]] (via [[Relief Web]]) }}</ref> The humanitarian crisis is in danger of worsening. Following attacks in Darfur, the [[World Food Programme|U.N. World Food Programme]] announced it could stop food aid to some parts of Darfur.<ref>Heavens, Andrew (7 September 2008). [http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL7321636._CH_.2400 "UN Threatens To Halt Darfur Food Aid over Attacks"]. ''[[Reuters]]''. Retrieved 13 January 2011.</ref> Banditry against truck convoys is one of the biggest problems, as it impedes the delivery of food assistance to war-stricken areas and forces a cut in monthly rations.

==Government and politics==
{{Main|Politics of Sudan|List of Presidents of Sudan|List of Presidents of the Government of Southern Sudan|National Legislature of Sudan|List of Vice Presidents of Sudan|List of political parties in Sudan}}

[[File:L-Omar al-Bashir-Alfashir.jpg|thumb|[[List of heads of state of Sudan|Sudan President]] [[Omar al-Bashir]] (January 2009)]]
Officially, the [[politics of Sudan]] takes place in the framework of a [[Federal republic|federal]] [[presidential system|presidential]] [[representative democracy|representative democratic]] [[republic]], where the [[List of heads of state of Sudan|President of Sudan]] is [[head of state]], [[head of government]] and [[commander-in-chief]] of the [[Sudan People's Armed Forces]] in a [[multi-party system]]. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the [[Bicameralism|bicameral]] [[parliament]] — the [[National Legislature of Sudan|National Legislature]], with its [[National Assembly of Sudan|National Assembly]] (lower chamber) and the [[Council of States of Sudan|Council of States]] (upper chamber). The [[judiciary]] is independent and obtained by the [[Constitutional Court]].<ref name=cia/>

However, following the [[Second Sudanese Civil War]] (1983–2005) and the now-low-scale [[war in Darfur]], Sudan is widely recognized as an [[authoritarianism|authoritarian]] state where all effective political power is obtained by President [[Omar al-Bashir]] and the ruling [[National Congress (Sudan)|National Congress Party]] (NCP). The political system of the Republic of Sudan was restructured following a military coup on 30 June 1989, when al-Bashir, then a [[colonel]] in the [[Sudan People's Armed Forces|Sudanese Army]], led a group of officers and ousted the government of Prime Minister [[Sadiq al-Mahdi]]. Under al-Bashir's leadership, the new military government suspended political parties and introduced an Islamic legal code on the national level.<ref name="Bekele" />

He then became Chairman of the [[Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation]] (a newly established body with legislative and executive powers for what was described as a transitional period), and assumed the posts of [[head of state|chief of state]], [[prime minister]], [[Commander-in-chief|chief of the armed forces]] and [[Defence minister|minister of defense]].<ref name="Cowell" /> Further on, after institutionalizing [[Sharia|Sharia law]] in the northern part of the country along with [[Hassan al-Turabi]], al-Bashir issued purges and executions in the upper ranks of the army, the banning of associations, political parties, and independent newspapers and the imprisonment of leading political figures and journalists.<ref name="Kepel, Jihad 2002, p.181" />

In 1993, Sudan was transformed into an [[Islamic]] [[authoritarianism|authoritarian]] [[single-party state]] as al-Bashir abolished the Revolutionary Command Council and created the [[National Islamic Front]] (NIF) with a new parliament and government obtained solely by members of the NIF. At the same time, the structure of regional administration was replaced by the creation of twenty-six states, each headed by a [[governor]], thus making Sudan a [[federal republic]]. As a result, the Second Sudanese Civil War with the [[Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement|Sudan People's Liberation Army]] (SPLA) would only escalate in the following years.<ref name="BBC profile">{{Cite news|author=Staff writer|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3273569.stm |title=Profile: Sudan's President Bashir |work=BBC News|date=25 November 2003 |accessdate=8 January 2011}}</ref><ref name="Denies" />

Following the signing of the [[Comprehensive Peace Agreement|2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement]] (CPA) between the government of al-Bashir and the SPLA, a [[government of national unity]] was installed in Sudan in accordance with the Interim Constitution whereby a co-[[List of Vice Presidents of Sudan|Sudan Vice President]] position representing the south was created in addition to the northern [[List of Vice Presidents of Sudan|Sudanese Vice President]]. This allowed the north and south to split [[oil]] deposits equally,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mohammadmufti.com/2011/01/some-reflection-on-upcoming-division-of.html |title=Some Reflection on Upcoming Division of Sudan |publisher=Mohammad Mufti |date=17 January 2011 |accessdate=19 January 2011}}</ref> but also left both the north's and south's armies in place. Following the [[Darfur Peace Agreement]] in 2006, the office of senior presidential advisor was allocated to [[Minni Minnawi]], a [[Zaghawa people|Zaghawa]] of the [[Sudan Liberation Movement/Army|Sudanese Liberation Army]] (SLA), and, thus, became the fourth-highest constitutional post.

Executive posts are divided between the NCP, the SPLA, the [[Eastern Front (Sudan)|Sudanese Eastern Front]] and factions of the [[Umma Party (Sudan)|Umma Party]] and [[Democratic Unionist Party (Sudan)|Democratic Unionist Party]] (DUP). This peace agreement with the rebel group SPLA granted [[Southern Sudan]] autonomy for six years, to be followed by a referendum about independence in 2011.

According to the new 2005 constitution, the bicameral National Legislature is the official Sudanese parliament and is divided between two chambers — the National Assembly, a lower house with 450 seats, and the Council of States, an upper house with 50 seats. Thus the parliament consists of 500 appointed members altogether, where all are indirectly elected by state legislatures to serve six-year terms.<ref name=cia/>

Despite his international arrest warrant, al-Bashir was a candidate in the [[Sudanese general election, 2010|2010 Sudanese presidential election]], the first [[democracy|democratic]] election with multiple political parties participating in twenty-four years.<ref name="BBC26April2010" /> In the build-up to the vote, Sudanese pro-democracy activists say they faced intimidation by the government<ref>{{cite web|author=Hamilton, Rebecca|url=http://pulitzercenter.org/articles/challenge-sudanese-ruling-party-student-activists-rally-democracy |title=In Challenge to Sudanese Ruling Party, Student Activists Rally for Democracy |publisher=''[[The Washington Post]]'' (via the [[Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting]]) |date=13 August 2010 |accessdate=8 January 2010}}</ref> and the [[International Crisis Group]] reported that the ruling party had [[gerrymandered]] electoral districts.<ref>{{cite web|author=Mazen, Maram|url=http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-31/sudan-s-ruling-party-rigged-upcoming-vote-crisis-group-says.html |title=Sudan's Ruling Party Rigged Upcoming Vote, Crisis Group Says| work=[[Bloomberg Businessweek]] |date=31 March 2010|accessdate=8 January 2011}}</ref> A few days before the vote, the main opposition candidate, Yasir Arman from the SPLM, withdrew from the race.<ref>{{cite web|author=Butty, James|url=http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/Butty-Sudan-Elections-01march10-89668017.html |title=Yasir Arman's Sudan Expert Says Yasir Arman's Withdrawal from Election Significant — Fouad Hikmat of the International Crisis Group Says Arman Was Seen as One of the Candidates Who Would Compete with President Bashir|work=[[Voice of America]] |date=1 April 2010|accessdate=8 January 2011}}</ref> The U.S.-based [[Carter Center]], which helped monitor the elections, described the vote tabulation process as "highly chaotic, non-transparent and vulnerable to electoral manipulation."<ref>{{Dead link|date=January 2011|reason=in addition to article not being at URL cited, the site is "alertnet" (a section of the "thomson reuters foundation") and not "reuters" news agency itself. care should be taken in precise attribution if URL is recovered}}{{cite web|url=http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/MCD043135.htm |title=Chaotic Sudan Count Open to Manipulation — Observers |work=[[Reuters]] |date=10 May 2010|accessdate=}}</ref> Al-Bashir was declared the winner of the election with sixty-eight percent of the vote.<ref name="BBC26April2010">{{cite news|author=Staff writer|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8643602.stm |title=President Omar al-Bashir Declared Winner of Sudan Poll |work=BBC News |date=26 April 2010|accessdate=8 January 2011}}</ref> There was considerable concern amongst the international community of a return to violence in the run-up to the [[Southern Sudanese independence referendum, 2011|January 2011 southern Sudan referendum]], with post-referendum issues such as oil-revenue sharing and border demarcation not yet resolved.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pulitzercenter.org/articles/Sudan-Referendum-Threatened-Oil-Borders |first=Rebecca | last=Hamilton |title=South Sudan Independence Vote at Risk |publisher=''[[The Washington Post]]'' (via the [[Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting]]) |date=13 September 2010|accessdate=8 January 2011}}</ref>

==Foreign relations==
{{Main|Foreign relations of Sudan}}
[[File:Arab League monitors in Syria.jpg|thumb|[[Mohammed Ahmed Mustafa al-Dabi]] head of Arab League monitors in Syria (January 2012)]]
Sudan has had a troubled relationship with many of its neighbours and much of the international community, owing to what is viewed as its radical Islamic stance. For much of the 1990s, [[Uganda]], [[Kenya]] and [[Ethiopia]] formed an ad-hoc alliance called the "Front Line States" with support from the [[United States]] to check the influence of the [[National Islamic Front]] government. The Sudanese Government supported anti-Ugandan rebel groups such as the [[Lord's Resistance Army]] (LRA).
But in the early 1980s, at the time of President [[Gaafar Nimeiry]], who took power on 25 May 1969, Sudan had a good relationship with the West. In early 1983, South Sudanese revolted against the government and formed the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) movement. Like many other African nationalist movements, [[Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement|SPLA]] was initially tied with Cuba, Russia, and other communist states. For this reason, the Khartoum government used the links effectively to woo Western states for support in its war against the SPLA. Nevertheless, the relationship was short-lived. In 1998, the Khartoum government was sanctioned for collaborating with terrorist organizations.
From the mid-1990s, Sudan gradually began to moderate its positions as a result of increased U.S. pressure following the [[1998 United States embassy bombings|1998 U.S. embassy bombings]], in [[Tanzania]] and [[Kenya]], and the new development of oil fields previously in rebel hands. Sudan also has a territorial dispute with Egypt over the [[Hala'ib Triangle]]. Since 2003, the foreign relations of Sudan have centred on the support for ending the [[Second Sudanese Civil War]] and condemnation of government support for militias in the [[war in Darfur]].

Shortly after the Islamic Conservatists seized power in a coup in 1989, Sudan increasingly became a fundamentalist Islamic state. In addition, the [[National Islamic Front]] engaged in both regional and international terrorism. For example the NIF was accused of supporting Egyptian Jihad against former Egyptian president [[Hosni Mubarak]]. The assassination attempt against the Egyptian president was largely blamed on the Khartoum government. Sudan's relation with its eastern neighbour Eritrea was very rocky for the same reason. In December 1995, Eritrea accused Khartoum of supporting its Islamic rebels. As a result, Eritrea severed ties with the Khartoum government. Other neighboring countries such as Uganda and Chad have taken the same course. Hence, the National Islamic Front ultimately stands alone in the region. In 1990s, Al Qaeda leader bin-Laden joined the regime and Sudan became a safehaven for terrorism.
As the National Islamic Front regime in Khartoum gradually emerged as a real threat to the region and the world, the U.S. began to list Sudan on its list of [[State Sponsors of Terrorism]]. Before that, the Clinton administration bombed a Khartoum suspected site in 1998, known as [[Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory]]. The U.S. thought that the place was used for chemical weapons and thought it was connected with the Al Qaeda network. According to Bob Edward, the Secretary of State [[Warren Christopher]] has added Sudan to the list of countries that sponsor terrorist in the State Department. After the US listed Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism, the [[NIF]] decided to develop relations with [[Iraq]], and later [[Iran]], the two most controversial countries and Islamists states in the region: they were also in old with America. Accusations against the National Islam Front of Khartoum range from state sponsor terrorism to its affiliation with radical group such as Palestinian and Iranian regimes.

Sudan has extensive economic relations with China. China obtains ten percent of its oil from Sudan. According to a former Sudanese government minister, China is Sudan’s largest supplier of arms.<ref>[[Peter S. Goodman|Goodman, Peter S.]] (23 December 2004). [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21143-2004Dec22.html "China Invests Heavily In Sudan's Oil Industry — Beijing Supplies Arms Used on Villagers"]. ''[[The Washington Post]]''. Retrieved 8 January 2011.</ref>

On 23 December 2005, Sudan's neighbour to the west, [[Chad]], declared war on Sudan and accused the country of being the "common enemy of the nation ''[Chad]''." This happened after the 18 December attack on [[Adré]], which left about one hundred people dead. A statement issued by Chadian government on 23 December accused Sudanese militias of making daily raids into Chad, thereby stealing cattle, killing people and burning villages on the Chadian border. The statement went on to call for Chadians to form a patriotic front against Sudan.<ref name="BBC News 2005" />

The [[Organisation of Islamic Cooperation]] (OIC, formerly the Organisation of the Islamic Conference) has called on Sudan and Chad to exercise self-restraint to defuse growing tensions between the two countries.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Staff writer| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4559254.stm | work=BBC News | title=Call To Ease Sudan-Chad Tension | date=25 December 2005 | accessdate=8 January 2011}}</ref> On 11 May 2008, Sudan announced it was cutting diplomatic relations with Chad, claiming that it was helping rebels in [[Darfur]] to attack the Sudanese capital [[Khartoum]].<ref>{{Cite news|author=Staff writer|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7394422.stm |title=Sudan Cuts Chad Ties over Attack |work=BBC News |date=11 May 2008 |accessdate=8 January 2011}}</ref>

On 27 December 2005, Sudan became one of the few [[Sovereign state|state]]s to recognize Moroccan sovereignty over [[Western Sahara]].<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20060226210429/http://www.moroccotimes.com/paper/article.asp?idr=2&id=11765 Sahara issue. Sudan supports Moroccan sovereignty over Southern Provinces]. ''[[Morocco Times]]''. 26 December 2005</ref>

On 20 June 2006, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir told reporters that he would not allow any UN [[peacekeeping]] force into Sudan. He denounced any such mission as "colonial forces."<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20060623035739/http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/06/20/sudan.darfur.ap/ Sudan won't allow U.N. force in Darfur]. ''[[CNN]]''. 20 June 2006</ref> On 17 November 2006, UN Secretary-General [[Kofi Annan]] announced that "Sudan has agreed in principle to allow the establishment of a joint [[African Union]] and UN peacekeeping force in an effort to solve the crisis in Darfur" — but had stopped short of setting the number of troops involved. Annan speculated that this force could number 17,000.<ref>Glendinning, Lee (17 November 2006). [http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1950386,00.html "Sudan Agrees To Allow UN Troops in Darfur"]. ''[[The Guardian]]''. Retrieved 8 January 2011.</ref>

Despite this claim, no additional troops had been deployed as of late December 2006. On 31 July 2007, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1769, authorizing the deployment of UN forces.<ref>[http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N07/445/52/PDF/N0744552.pdf?OpenElement UN Security Council: Resolution 1769], 31 July 2007.</ref> Violence continued in the region and on 15 December 2006, prosecutors at the [[International Criminal Court]] (ICC) stated they would be proceeding with cases of human-rights violations against members of the Sudanese government.<ref>Tran, Mark (15 December 2006). [http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1972971,00.html "Prosecutors Move Closer to Darfur Trial"]. ''[[The Guardian]]''. Retrieved 8 January 2011.</ref> A Sudanese legislator was quoted as saying that Khartoum may permit UN peacekeepers to patrol Darfur in exchange for immunity from prosecution for officials charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.

==Armed forces==
{{Main|Sudan People's Armed Forces}}

The Sudan People's Armed Forces is the regular forces of the Republic of Sudan and is divided into five branches; the Sudanese Army, Sudanese Navy (including the Marine Corps), [[Sudanese Air Force]], Border Patrol and the Internal Affairs Defense Force, totalling about 200,000 troops. The military of Sudan has become a well-equipped fighting force, thanks to increasing local production of heavy and advanced arms. These forces are under the command of the National Assembly and its strategic principles include defending Sudan's external borders and preserve internal security.

However, since the [[War in Darfur|Darfur crisis]] in 2004, safe-keeping the central government from the armed resistance and rebellion of paramilitary rebel groups such as the [[Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement|Sudan People's Liberation Army]] (SPLA), the [[Sudan Liberation Army|Sudanese Liberation Army]] (SLA) and the [[Justice and Equality Movement]] (JEM) have been important priorities. While not official, the Sudanese military also uses nomad militias, the most prominent being the [[Janjaweed]], in executing a counter-insurgency war.<ref>{{cite web|author=Staff writer|url=http://www.mongabay.com/reference/new_profiles/2007.html |title=Sudan: National Security |publisher=[[Mongabay]] |date=undated|accessdate=14 January 2011}}</ref> Somewhere between 200,000<ref name="conflict1" /> and 400,000<ref name=cia/><ref name="peopledaily1" /><ref name="washingtonpost.com" /> people have died in the violent struggles.

==International organizations in Sudan==
Most of the NGOs operating in Sudan are UN agents such as the World Food Program ([[WFP]]); the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation ([[FAO]]); the United Nations Development Program ([[UNDP]]); the United Nations Industrial Development Organizations ([[UNIDO]]); the United Nations Children Fund ([[UNICEF]]); the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees ([[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|UNHCR]]); the United Nations Mine Service (UNMAS); the International Organization for Migration ([[IOM]]);<ref>[http://www.iom.int/jahia/Jahia/activities/africa-and-middle-east/east-africa/sudan/cache/offonce/ IOM – Sudan]. Iom.int. Retrieved on 4 October 2011.</ref> and the United Nations office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).<ref>[http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/acdi-cida/ACDI-CIDA.nsf/Eng/JUD-217124359-NT2 The Sudans – CIDA]. Acdi-cida.gc.ca (2011-08-16). Retrieved on 4 October 2011.</ref>

Since Sudan has experienced civil war for many years, many NGOs (Nongovernmental Organizations) are involved in humanitarian efforts to help internally displaced people. Among the NGOs involved are [[CIDA]], the Red Cross, The [[World Bank]], and United Nations agents. The NGOs are working in every corner of Sudan especially in the southern part of the country. During the civil war, international nongovernmental organizations such as the Red Cross were operating mostly in the south, but based in the capital Khartoum.<ref>[http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/sudan_darfuroverview.html Sudan – Darfur – overview]. UNICEF. Retrieved on 4 October 2011.</ref> The attention of NGOs shifted shortly after the war broke out in the western part of the Sudan known as Darfur. Nevertheless, the majority of [[NGOs]] are in southern Sudan. The most visible organization is Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS).<ref>[http://www.wfp.org/photos/south-sudan-nuba-mountains-may-2003-wfp-delivered-food-aid-road-convoy-0 South Sudan, Nuba Mountains, May 2003 – WFP delivered food aid via road convoy | WFP | United Nations World Food Programme – Fighting Hunger Worldwide]. WFP (2003-04-01). Retrieved on 4 October 2011.</ref>

Even though most of the international organizations are substantially concentrated in both South Sudan and [[Darfur]] region, some of them are working in northern part as well. For example the [[United Nations Industrial Development Organization]] is successfully operating in [[Khartoum]], the capital. It is mainly funded by the European Union and recently opened more vocational training. There are about twelve different international nongovernmental organizations operating in Sudan. The Canadian International Development Agency CIDA is also operation largely in the northern Sudan.<ref>[http://www.unido.org/index.php?id=7881&tx_ttnews&#91;tt_news&#93;=856&cHash=4d5d9625fa4afa5b2c88f891c65ac27b EU, UNIDO set up Centre in Sudan to develop industrial skills, entrepreneurship for job creation]. UNIDO. 8 February 2011</ref>

==Legal system==
The legal system in Sudan is based on [[English common law]] and Islamic [[sharia]]. Islamic law was implemented in all of the north as of September 1983, by Jafar An-Numeri, the Second Sudanese Military Dictator; this applied to all residents of the Sudan regardless of their religion. The 2005 [[Naivasha Agreement]], ending the civil war between north and south Sudan, established some protections for non-Muslims in Khartoum. [[International Court of Justice]] jurisdiction is accepted, though with reservations. Under the terms of the Naivasha Agreement, Islamic law did not apply in the south.<ref>{{cite web|author=Staff writer|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2100.html |title=Field Listing — Legal System |work=[[The World Factbook|CIA World Factbook]]|publisher=US [[Central Intelligence Agency]]|date=undated |accessdate=14 January 2011}}</ref> Since the secession of [[South Sudan]] there is some uncertainty as to whether Sharia law will now apply to the non-Muslim minorities present in Sudan, especially because of contradictory statements by al-Bashir on the matter.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12033185 BBC News – Sharia law to be tightened if Sudan splits – president]. Bbc.co.uk (2010-12-19). Retrieved on 4 October 2011.</ref>

The [[judicial branch]] of the Sudanese government consists of a Constitutional Court of nine justices, the National Supreme Court and National Courts of Appeal, and other national courts; the National Judicial Service Commission provides overall management for the judiciary.

==Human rights==
{{Main|Human rights in Sudan|Slavery in Sudan}}

===Southern Sudan===
{{see also|Human rights in South Sudan}}
As early as 1995, international rights organizations such as [[Human Rights Watch]] and [[CASMAS]] have reported that slavery in Sudan is a common fate of captives in the Second Sudanese Civil War and rebels fighting in the [[Sudan People's Liberation Army]] in connections to the [[war in Darfur]], while the [http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/11951.pdf 2002 report] issued by the International Eminent Persons Group, acting with the encouragement of the [[United States Department of State|U.S. State Department]], found the SPLA and pro-government militias guilty of abduction of civilians as well.<ref>{{cite web
| author = Press release
| url = http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=70&release=107
| title = Factfinding Report Confirms Sudan Slavery
| publisher = [[Freedom House]]
| date = 22 May 2002 | accessdate =8 January 2011
}}</ref>

While the Sudanese government denies these allegations, [[Rift Valley Institute]]'s [http://www.riftvalley.net/?view=abductee Sudan Abductee Database] claim over 11,000 people were abducted in twenty years of slave-raiding in the southern regions,<ref>{{Cite news|author=Staff writer| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2942964.stm | work=BBC News | title=Thousands of Slaves in Sudan | date=28 May 2003 | accessdate=8 January 2011}}</ref> while SudanActivism.com mentions that hundreds of thousands have been abducted into [[slavery]], fled or are otherwise unaccounted for in a second genocide in southern Sudan.<ref name="sudanactivism">{{cite web
| author = Staff writer
| date = undated
| url = http://www.sudanactivism.com/overview/index.html
| archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20061118072856/http://www.sudanactivism.com/overview/index.html
| archivedate = 18 November 2006
| title = The Sudan Genocide: An Overview
| accessdate =13 January 2011
| publisher = SudanActivism.com (part of [[American Anti-Slavery Group]])
}}</ref>

Although [[South Sudan]] proper became independent in July 2011, allegations of human rights abuses continue to dog the Sudanese government amidst its efforts to [[South Kordofan conflict|pacify rebellion]] in the southern state of [[South Kordofan]].
[[File:Darfur refugee camp in Chad.jpg|right|thumb|Darfur refugee camp in [[Chad]], 2005]]
According to the Annual Report 2011 of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint program [http://www.fidh.org/-Africa- FIDH] (International Federation for Human Rights) and [http://www.omct.org/ OMCT] (World Organisation Against Torture), in 2010–2011, in the run up to the referendum on Southern Sudan independence, repression intensified against all dissenting voices, largely conducted by the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS). As in previous years, crackdown on human rights activists aimed at preventing any independent reporting on the human rights situation in Darfur continued, and humanitarian workers working in that region were subjected to further attacks and restrictions on freedom of movement. Journalists reporting on human rights violations also faced censorship and harassment. Human rights defenders promoting fair, transparent and free electoral processes and a number of women’s rights defenders were also targeted.<ref>http://www.fidh.org/-Sudan,211-?id_mot=813</ref>

===Darfur===
A letter dated 14 August 2006, from the executive director of [[Human Rights Watch]] found that the Sudanese government is both incapable of protecting its own citizens in [[Darfur]] and unwilling to do so, and that its [[militia]]s are guilty of [[crimes against humanity]]. The letter added that these human-rights abuses have existed since 2004.<ref>{{Dead link|date=January 2011}} {{cite web|url=http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/08/14/sudan13973.htm|date=14 August 2006 |title=Human Rights Watch Letter |publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]] |accessdate=26 June 2010}}</ref> Some reports attribute part of the violations to the rebels as well as the government and the [[Janjaweed]]. The U.S. State Department's human-rights report issued in March 2007 claims that "''[a]''ll parties to the conflagration committed serious abuses, including widespread killing of civilians, rape as a tool of war, systematic torture, robbery and recruitment of child soldiers."<ref>{{Cite news|author=Staff writer| url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-03-06-human-rights_N.htm | publisher=''[[Associated Press]]'' (via ''[[USA Today]]'') | title=Darfur Tops U.S. List of Worst Human Rights Abuses | date=6 March 2007 | accessdate=8 January 2011 }}</ref>

Both government forces and militias allied with the government are known to attack not only civilians in Darfur, but also humanitarian workers. Sympathizers of rebel groups are arbitrarily detained, as are foreign journalists, [[human rights defender|human-rights defender]]s, student activists and displaced people in and around Khartoum, some of whom face torture. The rebel groups have also been accused in a report issued by the U.S. government of attacking humanitarian workers and of killing innocent civilians.<ref>{{Dead link|date=December 2010}} {{cite web|url=http://web.amnesty.org/report2006/sdn-summary-eng |title=Amnesty International &#124; Working to Protect Human Rights |publisher=[[Amnesty International]]|date=22 June 2010 |accessdate=26 June 2010}}</ref>

==States and regions==

[[File:Map of Sudan (New).jpg|thumb|Political map of Sudan. [[Hala'ib Triangle]] has been under Egyptian administration since 2000.]]

{{Main|States of Sudan|List of The Sudan’s state governors|Districts of Sudan}}
Sudan is divided into [[States of Sudan|seventeen states]] (''[[wilaya]]t'', [[Grammatical number|sing.]] ''[[wilayah]]''). They are further divided into 133 [[Districts of Sudan|districts]].

{{columns | width=12em
| col1 =
* [[Al Jazirah, Sudan|Al Jazirah]]
* [[Al Qadarif (state)|Al Qadarif]]
* [[Blue Nile, Sudan|Blue Nile]]
* [[Central Darfur]]
* [[East Darfur]]
* [[Kassala (state)|Kassala]]
| col2 =
* [[Khartoum (state)|Khartoum]]
* [[North Darfur]]
* [[North Kurdufan]]
* [[Northern, Sudan|Northern]]
* [[Red Sea, Sudan|Red Sea]]
* [[River Nile, Sudan|River Nile]]
| col3 =
* [[Sennar (state)|Sennar]]
* [[South Darfur]]
* [[South Kurdufan]]
* [[West Darfur]]
* [[White Nile, Sudan|White Nile]]
}}

===Regional bodies and areas of conflict===
In addition to the states, there also exist regional administrative bodies established by peace agreements between the central government and rebel groups.

[[File:Political Regions of Sudan, July 2010.svg|thumb|225px|
{{legend|#f7931d|Central and northern states}}
{{legend|#8cc63f|[[Darfur]]}}
{{legend|#800080|[[Eastern Front (Sudan)|Eastern Front]]}}
{{legend|#FFFF00|[[Abyei|Abyei area]]}}
{{legend|#fb6282|[[South Kurdufan]] and [[Blue Nile (state)|Blue Nile]] states}}]]

====Regional administrative bodies====
* The [[Darfur Regional Authority]] was established by the [[Darfur Peace Agreement]] to act as a co-ordinating body for the states that make up the region of [[Darfur]].
* The [[Eastern Sudan States Coordinating Council]] was established by the [[Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement]] between the Sudanese Government and the rebel [[Eastern Front (Sudan)|Eastern Front]] to act as a coordinating body for the three eastern states.
* The [[Abyei|Abyei Area]], located on the border between Southern Sudan and the Republic of Sudan, currently has a special administrative status and is governed by an [[Abyei Area Administration]]. It was due to hold a [[Abyei status referendum, 2011|referendum]] in 2011 on whether to join an independent [[South Sudan]] or remain part of the Republic of Sudan.

====Disputed areas and zones of conflict====
* The states of [[South Kurdufan]] and [[Blue Nile (state)|Blue Nile]] are to hold "popular consultations" to determine their constitutional future within the Republic of Sudan.
* The [[Hala'ib triangle]] is disputed region between Sudan and [[Egypt]]. It is currently under Egyptian administration.
* The [[Abyei Area]] is disputed region between Sudan and [[South Sudan]]. It is currently under Sudan rule.
* [[Bir Tawil]] is a [[terra nullius]] occurring on the border between Egypt and Sudan, claimed by neither state.
* [[Kafia Kingi]] and [[Radom National Park]] was a part of [[Bahr el Ghazal]] in 1956.<ref>[http://www.pca-cpa.org/upload/files/GoS%20Memorial.pdf Page xii – Sudan administrative map (January, 1st, 1956)]. (PDF) . Retrieved on 28 November 2011.</ref> The Republic of Sudan has recognized South Sudan independence according to the borders for January, 1st, 1956.<ref>[http://www.menasborders.com/menasborders/news/article/1956/South_Sudan_ready_to_declare_independence/ South Sudan ready to declare independence]. Menasborders.com (1956-01-01). Retrieved on 28 November 2011.</ref>

==Geography==
{{Main|Geography of Sudan}}
{{See also|List of cities in Sudan}}
[[File:Gebel Barkal.jpg|thumb|left|[[Jebel Barkal]] mountain in Nubia, a [[World Heritage Site|UNESCO World Heritage Site]].]]
[[File:Sudan sat.jpg|thumb|left|Satellite image of Sudan]]

Sudan is situated in northern Africa, with a {{convert|853|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} coastline bordering the [[Red Sea]].<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20110513112555/http://www.iss.co.za/AF/profiles/Sudan/Geog.html Sudan geography]. Institute for Security Studies</ref> With an area of {{convert|1886068|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}, it is the third largest country on the continent (after [[Algeria]] and [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|DR Congo]]) and the sixteenth largest in the world. Sudan lies mostly between latitudes [[8th parallel north|8°]] and [[22nd parallel north|22°N]] (the [[Wadi Halfa Salient]] and disputed [[Hala'ib triangle]] are north of 22°), and longitudes [[21st meridian east|21°]] and [[39th meridian east|39°E]].

The terrain is generally flat plains, broken by several mountain ranges; in the west the [[Deriba Caldera]] ({{convert|3042|m|ft|0|abbr=on|disp=/}}), located in the [[Marrah Mountains]], is the highest point in Sudan; in the east are the [[Red Sea Hills]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.country-studies.com/sudan/geography.html |title=Country Studies |publisher=Country Studies |accessdate=26 June 2010}}</ref>

The [[Blue Nile|Blue]] and [[White Nile]] rivers meet in [[Khartoum]] to form the [[River Nile]], which flows northwards through Egypt to the [[Mediterranean Sea]]. The Blue Nile's course through Sudan is nearly {{convert|800|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} long and is joined by the [[Dinder River|Dinder]] and [[Rahad River]]s between [[Sennar]] and [[Khartoum]]. The [[White Nile]] within Sudan has no significant tributaries.

The amount of rainfall increases towards the south. In the north there is the very dry [[Nubian Desert]]; in the south there are swamps and rainforest. Sudan’s rainy season lasts for about three months (July to September) in the north, and up to six months (June to November) in the south. The dry regions are plagued by [[Dust storm|sandstorms]], known as [[haboob]], which can completely block out the sun. In the northern and western semi-desert areas, people rely on the scant rainfall for basic agriculture and many are [[nomad]]ic, travelling with their herds of [[sheep]] and [[camel]]s. Nearer the River Nile, there are [[irrigation|well-irrigated]] farms growing [[cash crops]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Staff writer|url=http://www.oxfam.org.uk/coolplanet/kidsweb/world/sudan/sudgeog.htm |title=Sudan — Geography & Environment|publisher=[[Oxfam#Oxfam GB (Great Britain)|Oxfam GB]] |date=undated |accessdate=13 January 2011}}</ref>

There are several dams on the Blue and White Niles. Among them are the [[Sennar Dam|Sennar]] and [[Roseires Dam]]s on the Blue Nile, and the [[Jebel Aulia Dam]] on the White Nile. There is also [[Lake Nubia]] on the Sudanese-Egyptian border.

Rich mineral resources are available in Sudan including [[asbestos]], [[chromite]], [[cobalt]], [[copper]], [[gold]], [[granite]], [[gypsum]], [[iron]], [[kaolin]], [[lead]], [[manganese]], [[mica]], [[natural gas]], [[nickel]], [[petroleum]], [[silver]], [[tin]], [[uranium]] and [[zinc]].<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20050930235450/http://www.sudan-embassy.co.uk/infobook/geograph.php Geography of Sudan]. Sudan embassy website</ref>

[[Desertification]] is a serious problem in Sudan.<ref>[http://iddcs.uofk.edu/index.php?direction=ltr&lang=en Desertification & Desert Cultivation Studies Institute]. University of Khartoum]{{dead link|date=March 2012}}</ref> There is also concern over [[soil erosion]]. [[Agriculture|Agricultural]] expansion, both public and private, has proceeded without [[Conservation movement|conservation]] measures. The consequences have manifested themselves in the form of [[deforestation]], soil desiccation, and the lowering of [[soil fertility]] and the [[water table]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/80044e/80044E06.htm |title=Dept of Forestry, University of Khartoum |publisher=Unu.edu |accessdate=26 June 2010}}{{dead link|date=March 2012}}</ref>
[[File:Sudan Map Oelgas.png|thumb|Oil and Gas Concessions in Sudan and South Sudan – 2004]]
The nation's wildlife is threatened by hunting. As of 2001, twenty-one [[mammal]] species and nine bird species are endangered, as well as two species of plants. Endangered species include: the [[Northern Bald Ibis|waldrapp]], [[Northern White Rhinoceros]], [[Tora Hartebeest]], [[Rhim Gazelle|Slender-horned Gazelle]], and [[hawksbill turtle]]. The Sahara [[oryx]] has become extinct in the wild.<ref>{{Verify credibility|date=January 2011|reason=appear to be user-generated site; how are entries vetted?}} {{cite web|author=Staff writer|url=http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Sudan-ENVIRONMENT.html |title=Sudan — Environment|work=Encyclopedia of the Nations|date=undated |accessdate=13 January 2011}}</ref>
{{Main|Economy of Sudan}}
{{See also|Communications in Sudan|Transport in Sudan}}

In 2010, Sudan was considered the 17th-fastest-growing economy<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.goss-online.org/magnoliaPublic/en/about/economicalsummary.html | title=Economy | date=20 October 2009 | accessdate=20 February 2011}}</ref> in the world and the rapid development of the country largely from oil profits even when facing international sanctions was noted by the ''[[The New York Times]]'' in a 2006 article.<ref>{{Registration required|date=January 2011}} {{Cite news|author=Gettleman, Jeffrey| url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/24/world/africa/24sudan.html | work=[[The New York Times]] | title=War in Sudan? Not Where the Oil Wealth Flows | date=24 October 2006 | accessdate=24 May 2010 | authorlink=Jeffrey Gettleman}}</ref> Due to the secession of [[South Sudan]], which contained over 80 percent of Sudan's oilfields, the economic forecast for Sudan in 2011 and beyond is uncertain.
[[File:Strato en Ĥartumo (Sudano) 003.jpg|thumb|left| Development in Khartoum.]]

Even with the oil profits before the secession of South Sudan, Sudan still faced formidable economic problems, and its growth was still a rise from a very low level of per capita output. In any case, the economy in the Sudan has been slowly growing over the last ten years, and according to a World Bank report the overall growth in GDP in 2010 was 5.2 percent compared to 2009 growth of 4.2 percent.<ref name="cia.gov">[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/su.html CIA – The World Factbook]. Cia.gov. Retrieved on 4 October 2011.</ref> This growth was sustained even during the [[war in Darfur|crisis]] in [[Darfur]] and [[Government of Southern Sudan (2005-2011)|period of southern autonomy]] preceding South Sudan's independence.<ref>{{cite news|title=South Sudan Gets Ready for Independence|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/video/africa/2011/06/2011621161012959115.html|accessdate=23 June 2011|newspaper=Al Jazeera}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=GETTLEMAN|first=JEFFREY|title=As Secession Nears, Sudan Steps Up Drive to Stop Rebels|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/21/world/africa/21sudan.html?ref=sudan|accessdate=23 June 2011|newspaper=New York Times|date=20 June 2011}}</ref>

While historically agriculture remains the main source of income and employment hiring of over 80 percent of Sudanese, and makes up a third of the economic sector, oil production drove most of Sudan's post-2000 growth. Currently, the International Monetary Fund IMF is working hand in hand with Khartoum government to implement sound macroeconomic policies. The program has been in place since early 90s, and also work-out exchange rate and reserve of foreign exchange.<ref name="cia.gov"/> Since 1997, Sudan has been implementing the [[macroeconomics|macroeconomic]] reforms recommended by the [[International Monetary Fund]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}}

In 1999, Sudan began exporting crude oil and in the last quarter of 1999, recorded its first [[balance of trade|trade surplus]]. Increased oil production (the current{{when|date=January 2011}} production is about {{convert|520000|oilbbl/d|m3/d}}) revived light industry, and expanded export processing zones helped sustain [[gross domestic product]] (GDP) growth at 6.1 percent in 2003. These gains, along with improvements to monetary policy, have stabilized the exchange rate. The [[People's Republic of China]] is Sudan's largest economic partner, with a 40 percent share in its oil.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.amnestyusa.org/Business_and_Human_Rights/The_Big_4/page.do?id=1081006&n1=3&n2=26 |title=The "Big 4" – How oil revenues are connected to Khartoum |accessdate=14 March 2009 |work=Amnesty International USA}}</ref> The country also sells Sudan small arms, which have been used in military operations such as the conflicts in Darfur and [[South Kordofan conflict|South Kordofan]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/mar2008/gb20080314_430126.htm?chan=globalbiz_asia+index+page_economics+%2Bamp%3B+policy |title=Oil for China, Guns for Darfur |accessdate=14 March 2009 |work=businessweek }}</ref>

Oil was Sudan's main export, with production increasing dramatically during the late 2000s, in the years before South Sudan gained independence in July 2011. With rising oil revenues, the Sudanese economy was booming, with a growth rate of about nine percent in 2007. Sustained growth was expected the next year in 2008 due to not only increasing oil production, but also to the boost of [[hydroelectricity]] (annual electricity yield of 5.5 TWh) provided by the [[Merowe Dam]]. The independence of oil-rich South Sudan, however, placed most major [[oilfield]]s out of the Sudanese government's direct control. In order to export oil, South Sudan must rely on a pipeline to [[Port Sudan]] on Sudan's [[Red Sea]] coast, as South Sudan itself is landlocked, as well as on Sudan's superior [[oil refinery|refinery]] infrastructure. The exact terms of a revenue-splitting agreement between [[Juba]] and [[Khartoum]] have yet to be established, but Sudan will likely receive a significant portion of the income from South Sudan's oil sales as a fee for the use of Sudanese pipelines, refineries, and port facilities, perhaps as much as 50 percent of the profits.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/southern-sudan-independence-2011-7|agency=Business Insider|title=Oil-Rich South Sudan Has Hours To Choose Between North Sudan, China And The U.S.|first=Vincent|last=Trivett|date=8 July 2011|accessdate=9 July 2011}}</ref>

Agriculture production remains Sudan's most-important sector, employing eighty percent of the workforce and contributing thirty-nine percent of GDP, but most farms remain rain-fed and susceptible to [[drought]]. Instability, adverse weather and weak world-agricultural prices ensures that much of the population will remain at or below the poverty line for years.

The [[Merowe Dam]], also known as Merowe Multi-Purpose Hydro Project or Hamdab Dam, is a large construction project in Northern Sudan, about {{convert|350|km}} north of the capital, Khartoum. It is situated on the River Nile, close to the [[Cataracts of the Nile|Fourth Cataract]] where the river divides into multiple smaller branches with large islands in between. [[Merowe, Sudan|Merowe]] is a city about {{convert|40|km}} downstream from the dam's construction site.

The main purpose of the dam will be the generation of electricity. Its dimensions make it the largest contemporary hydropower project in Africa. The construction of the dam was finished December 2008, supplying more than ninety percent of the population with electricity. Other gas-powered generating stations are operational in Khartoum State and other States.

==Demographics==
[[File:Egypt-Nubian wedding.jpg|thumb|180px|A [[Nubian people|Nubian]] wedding]]
[[File:Eisa shikawi.JPG|thumb|180px|[[Sudanese Arab]] of Al-[[manasir]]]]
[[File:Leila Aboulela (2010).jpg|thumb|150px|Sudanese writer]]
[[File:Sudan - smiling lady.jpg|thumb|122px|Student from [[Khartoum]]]]
[[File:Sudan camels.jpg|thumb||180px|[[Bedouin]] in North]]

{{Main|Demographics of Sudan}}
In Sudan's 2008 [[census]], the population of Northern, Western and Eastern Sudan was recorded to be over 30 million.<ref>[http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE54K0CR20090521?sp=true Heavens, Andrew (21 May 2009)]. Af.reuters.com (2009-05-21). Retrieved on 4 October 2011.</ref> This puts present estimates of the population of Sudan after the secession of [[South Sudan]] at a little over 30 million people. This is a significant increase over the past two decades as the 1983 census put the total population of Sudan, including present-day [[South Sudan]], at 21.6 million.<ref>"[http://countrystudies.us/sudan/34.htm Sudan – Population]". [[Library of Congress Country Studies]].</ref> The population of metropolitan Khartoum (including [[Khartoum]], [[Omdurman]], and [[Khartoum North]]) is growing rapidly and was recorded to be 5.2 million.

Despite being a refugee-generating country, Sudan also hosts a refugee population. According to the ''World Refugee Survey 2008'', published by the [[U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants]], 310,500 refugees and asylum seekers lived in Sudan in 2007. The majority of this population came from [[Eritrea]] (240,400 persons), [[Chad]] (45,000), [[Ethiopia]] (49,300) and the [[Central African Republic]] (2,500).<ref name="World Refugee Survey 2008">{{Cite news|title=World Refugee Survey 2008|publisher=[[U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants]]|date=19 June 2008|url=http://www.refugees.org/survey}}</ref> The Sudanese government [[UN High Commissioner for Refugees]] in 2007 forcibly deported at least 1,500 refugees and asylum seekers during the year. Sudan is a party to the 1951 [[Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees]].<ref name="World Refugee Survey 2008" />

===Ethnic groups===
Ethnic groups in Sudan are: [[Sudanese Arabs|Arabs]] 70%, others being Arabized ethnic groups of [[Nubian people|Nubian]]s, [[Copts]], and [[Beja people|Beja]].<ref>[http://www.sudanupdate.org/REPORTS/PEOPLES/COPTS.HTM Copts migration]</ref> Sudan has 597 tribes that speak over 400 different languages and dialects<ref>Bechtold, Peter R (1991). "More Turbulence in Sudan" in ''Sudan: State and Society in Crisis''. ed. John Voll ([[Westview Press]] (Boulder)) p. 1.</ref> [[Sudanese Arabs]] are by far the largest ethnic group in Sudan, they are almost entirely Muslims; while the majority speak [[Sudanese Arabic]]; some other Arab tribes speak different Arabic dialects like [[Awadia and Fadnia]] and [[Arakieen|Bani Arak]] tribes who speak [[Najdi Arabic]]; [[Bani Hassan]], [[Al-Ashraf]], [[Kinanah]] and [[Rashaida]] who speak [[Hejazi Arabic]]. In addition, Arabized Western province tribes like the [[Baggara]] and, most notably, the [[Darfur]]ians, both who speak [[Chadian Arabic]] and are mostly Arabized are rarely included due to cultural, linguistic and genealogical variations with other Arab and Arabized tribes.<ref>The Darfur Conflict: Geography Or Institutions? By Osman Suliman, Mohamed Osman Suliman,P:115</ref> Sudanese Arabs of Northern and Eastern parts descend primarily from migrants from the [[Arabian peninsula]] and some of the pre-existing indigenous populations of Sudan, most predominately the [[Nubia|Nubian people]] who also share a common history with [[Egypt]]. Additionally, a few pre-Islamic Arabian tribes existed in Sudan from earlier migrations into the region from Western Arabia, although most Arabs in Sudan are dated from migrations after the 12th century.<ref>http://www.almshaheer.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3339</ref>
The vast majority of Arab tribes in Sudan migrated into the Sudan in the 12th century, intermarried with the indigenous African populations and introduced Islam.<ref name="google16">{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ZSDBkKgNgx8C&pg=PA16&dq=jaalin#v=onepage&q&f=false|title=Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 17|author=Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, JSTOR (Organization)|year=1888|edition=|editor=|page=16|isbn=|accessdate=8 May 2011}}</ref>

In common with much of the rest of the [[Arab world]], the gradual process of [[Arabization]] in Sudan following these Arabian migrations after the 12th century led to the predominance of the [[Arabic language]] and aspects of [[Arab culture]],<ref>{{cite web|author=Hurtel, Elizabeth |url=http://www.south-images.com/photos-sudan.htm |title=Photos of Suakin, on the Red Sea, photolibrary South-Images |publisher=South-images.com |accessdate=26 June 2010}}</ref> leading to the shift among a majority of Sudanese today to an Arab [[ethnic identity]]. This process was furthered both by the spread of Islam and an emigration to Sudan of genealogical Arabs from the Arabian Peninsula, and their intermarriage with the Arabized indigenous peoples of the country.

Sudan consists of numerous other Arab tribes such as the [[Shaigya]], [[Ja'alin]], [[Shukria tribe|Shukria]], [[Bedouins]], [[Arakieen]] and many more, [[Johann Ludwig Burckhardt]] said that the true Ja'alin from the eastern desert of Sudan are exactly like the [[Bedouin]] of eastern [[Arabia]].<ref name="google16"/>

===Religion===
[[File:Minaret S.jpg|thumb||180px|[[Minaret]] in [[Port Sudan]]]]
[[File:Coptic cathedral (Khartoum) 001.jpg|thumb||180px|A [[Coptic Orthodox]] Cathedral in [[Khartoum]]]]
{{Main|Religion in Sudan}}
{{Further|Islam in Sudan|Christianity in Sudan}}
97 percent of the population adheres to Sunni [[Islam]] <ref name="Islam in Sudan1">{{cite web
|url=http://www.sd.undp.org/sudan%20overview.htm
|title=Number of Muslim in Sudan
|publisher=United Nation
|accessdate=2012-06-20}}</ref>
<ref name="Islam in Sudan2">{{cite web
|url=http://islamonline.net/en/322
|title=Number of Muslim in Sudan
|publisher=Islam Online
|accessdate=2012-06-20}}</ref>
<ref name="Islam in Sudan3">{{cite web
|url=http://www.qca.org.uk/libraryAssets/media/qca-05-1751-11320_sudan.pdf
|title=Number of Muslim in Sudan
|publisher=www.qca.org.uk
|accessdate=2012-06-20}}</ref> while the remainder of the population follows either [[animist]] and indigenous beliefs or Christianity.
Islam predominates in Sudan, though a few adherents to Christianity and traditional animist indigenous beliefs are present in Khartoum and in southern regions of the country bordering [[South Sudan]]. Almost all Muslims are Sunni, although there are significant distinctions between followers of different Sunni traditions. Two popular divisions, the Ansar and the Khatmia, are associated with the opposition Umma and Democratic Unionist Parties, respectively.

Christians in Sudan which are refugees or immigrants from the south belong to various churches including the [[Roman Catholic Church]], small [[Melkite Greek Catholic Church|Melkite]] and [[Maronite Church|Maronite]] communities in the north, as well as [[Anglicanism|Anglicans]] followers in the [[Episcopal Church of the Sudan|Episcopal Church of Sudan]] and the recently formed Reformed Episcopal Church. There are significant but long-established groups of [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Coptic Orthodox]] and [[Greek Orthodox Church|Greek Orthodox]] Christians in Khartoum and other northern cities.

There are also [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church|Ethiopian]] and [[Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church|Eritrean Orthodox]] communities in Khartoum and eastern Sudan, largely made up of refugees and migrants from the past few decades. Other Christian groups with smaller followings in the country include the Africa Inland Church, the [[Armenian Apostolic Church]], the Sudan Church of Christ, the Sudan Interior Church, [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], the Sudan Pentecostal Church, the Sudan Evangelical Presbyterian Church (in the North)

Religious identity plays a role in the country's political divisions. Northern and western Muslims have dominated the country's political and economic system since independence. The NCP draws much of its support from [[Islamists]], [[Salafis]]/[[Wahhabis]] and other conservative Arab Muslims in the north. The [[Ummah|Umma]] Party has traditionally attracted Arab followers of the Ansar sect of Sufism as well as non-Arab Muslims from Darfur and Kordofan.

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) includes both Arab and non-Arab Muslims in the north and east, especially those in the Khatmia [[Sufi]] sect

===Tribes of Sudan===
{{columns | width=12em
| col1 =
* [[Ababda people|Ababda]]
* Abddallab
* Arakeien
* [[Ashraf]]
* [[Baggara Arabs|Baggara]]
* [[Bataheen]]
* [[Beja people|Beja]]
* Bideiria Dahmshiia
* [[Danagla]]
* [[Fulbe]], historical migrants from Nigeria
* [[Fur people|Fur]]
* [[Ga'alin]]
| col2 =
* Halaween
* Halfaween
* Hamar
* [[Hausa people|Hausa]], historical migrants from Nigeria
* [[Hasania]]
* Horefaen
* Hawara
* [[Ja'Alin]]
* [[Jemi'ab]]
* [[Kinanah]]
* [[Kinouz]]
* [[Kawahla people|Kawahla]]
* [[Kazraj Ansar]]
* [[Mabaan]]
* [[Mahas]]
* [[Mahria]]
| col3 =
* [[Manasir]]
* [[Masalit people|Masalit]]
* [[Nuba]]
* [[Nubian people|Nubian]]
* [[Rashaida people|Rashaida]]
* [[Rubatab]]
* [[Shaigiya]]
* [[Shukria]]
* [[Sudanese Arabs]]
* [[Tama people]]
* [[Habesha]], recent migrants from Eritrea & Ethiopia
* [[Zaghawa people|Zaghawa]]
}}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! People !! Location
|-
| [[Fula people|Fula]] (Fulani) || ''Blue Nile, and West''
|-
| [[Rashaida people|Rashaida]] || ''east''
|-
| [[Fur people|Fur]] || ''west''
|-

==Languages==
{{See also|Languages of Sudan}}
The most widely-spoken languages in Sudan are:
#[[Arabic]]
##[[Sudanese Arabic]].
##[[Najdi Arabic|Najdi]] and [[Hejazi Arabic|Hejazi]] Arabic, (mainly in mid-north and mid-east regions).
##[[Chadic Arabic]] in western region, (mainly spoken by Baggara and various Arabized African tribes).
#[[Nubian language]] in far north, (mainly spoken by Nubians of Mahas, Dongola and Halfa).
#[[Beja language]] knows as Bedawit in far east alongside Red sea, (mainly spoken by Beja of Hadandawa, Ababda and Bisharin).

Before 2005, only Arabic was the official language.<ref name="LeClerc">Leclerc, Jacques. [http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/soudan.htm ''L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde'', "Soudan"]</ref> In the 2005 constitution, Sudan's official languages became [[Arabic language|Arabic]] and [[English language|English]]:<ref>{{PDFlink| [http://www.mpil.de/shared/data/pdf/inc_official_electronic_version.pdf text of the 2005 constitution in English]|492&nbsp;KB}}</ref>
{{quotation
|Article 8:
# All indigenous languages of Sudan are national languages and shall be respected, developed and promoted.
# Arabic is a widely spoken national language in Sudan.
# Arabic, as a major language at the national level and English shall be the official working languages of the national government and the languages of instruction for higher education.
# In addition to Arabic and English, the legislature of any sub-national level of government may adopt any other national language as an additional official working language at its level.
# There shall be no discrimination against the use of either Arabic or English at any level of government or stage of education.
}}

==Culture==
{{Expand section|date=April 2009}}
{{Main|Culture of Sudan}}
{{Further|Music of Sudan|List of Sudanese writers|List of Sudanese singers}}

==Education==
[[File:Sudan Khartoum Gordon College 1936.jpg|thumb|Khartoum University established in 1902]]
{{Main|Education in Sudan}}
Institutions of higher education in Sudan include:
{{columns | width=20em;
| col1 =
* [[Ahfad University for Women]]
* [[Al-Neelain University]]
* [[Bayan Science and Technology University]]
* [[Future University (Sudan)|Future University]]<br />(formerly Computer Man College)
* [[Omdurman Ahlia University]]
* [[Omdurman Islamic University]]
* [[Sudan University of Science and Technology]]
| col2 =
* [[The Catholic University of Sudan]]
* [[University of al-Jazirah]]<br />(also known as the University of Gezira)
* [[University of Khartoum]]
** [[Mycetoma Research Centre]]
* [[University of Kordofan]]
* [[University of Medical Sciences and Technology]]
}}

==See also==
{{portal|Geography|Africa|Sudan}}
{{Wikipedia books|Sudan}}
*[[Outline of Sudan]]
* [[Group of 77]]
* [[Nubia]]
* [[Sennar (sultanate)]]
* [[Alodia]]
* [[Maahes]]
* [[Meroitic script]]
* [[List of heads of government of Sudan]]
* [[Sudan Scouts Association]]
* [[Sudanese American]]
* [[Sudanese in the United Kingdom]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|35em}}

==Bibliography==
'''Books'''
* [[Winston Churchill|Churchill, Winston]] (1899; 2000). ''[[The River War|The River War — An Historical Account of the Reconquest of the Soudan]]''. [[Carroll & Graf Publishers]] ([[New York City]]). ISBN 978-0-7867-0751-5.
* [[Paul Clammer|Clammer, Paul]] (2005). ''Sudan — The Bradt Travel Guide''. [[Bradt Travel Guides]] ([[Chalfont St. Peter]]); [[Globe Pequot Press]]. ([[Guilford, Connecticut]]). ISBN 978-1-84162-114-2.
* Evans-Pritchard, Blake; Polese, Violetta (2008). ''Sudan — The City Trail Guide''. [[City Trail Publishing]]. ISBN 978-0-9559274-0-9.
* [[Mandour Elmahdi|El Mahdi, Mandour]]. (1965). A Short History of the Sudan. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-913158-9.
* Fadlalla, Mohamed H. (2005). ''The Problem of Dar Fur'', [[iUniverse]] ([[New York City]]). ISBN 978-0-595-36502-9.
* Fadlalla, Mohamed H. (2004). ''Short History Of Sudan''. [[iUniverse]] ([[New York City]]). ISBN 978-0-595-31425-6.
* Fadlalla, Mohamed H. (2007). ''UN Intervention in Dar Fur'', [[iUniverse]] ([[New York City]]). ISBN 978-0-595-42979-0.
* Jok, Jok Madut (2007). ''Sudan — Race, Religion and Violence''. [[Oneworld Publications]] ([[Oxford]]). ISBN 978-1-85168-366-6.
* [[Godfrey Mwakikagile|Mwakikagile, Godfrey]] (2001). ''Slavery in Mauritania and Sudan — The State Against Blacks'', in ''The Modern African State — Quest for Transformation''. [[Nova Science Publishers]] ([[Huntington, New York]]). ISBN 978-1-56072-936-5.
* O'Fahey, Rex Seán; Spauling, Jay Lloyd (1974). ''Kingdoms of the Sudan''. [[Methuen Publishing]] ([[London]]). ISBN 978-0-416-77450-4. Covers [[Sennar (sultanate)|Sennar]] and [[Darfur]].
*Peterson, Scott (2001). ''Me Against My Brother — At War in Somalia, Sudan and Rwanda — A Journalist Reports from the Battlefields of Africa''. [[Routledge]] ([[London]]; [[New York City]]). ISBN 978-0-203-90290-5.
* [[Gérard Prunier|Prunier, Gérard]] (2005). ''Darfur — The Ambiguous Genocide''. [[Cornell University Press]] ([[Ithaca, New York]]). ISBN 978-0-8014-4450-0.
* Welsby, Derek A. (2002). ''The Medieval Kingdoms of Nubia — Pagans, Christians and Muslims Along the Middle Nile''. [[British Museum Press]] ([[London]]). ISBN 978-0-7141-1947-2.
* Zilfū, ʻIṣmat Ḥasan (translation: Clark, Peter) (1980). ''Karari — The Sudanese Account of the Battle of Omdurman''. [[Frederick Warne & Co]] ([[London]]). ISBN 978-0-7232-2677-2.
'''Article'''
* "Quo Vadis bilad as-Sudan? The Contemporary Framework for a National Interim Constitution". ''Law in Africa'' ([[Cologne]]; 2005). Vol. 8, pp.&nbsp; 63–82. {{ISSN|1435-0963}}.

==External links==
{{Sister project links|Sudan}}
* [http://www.sudan.gov.sd/en Government of Sudan] ''official website''
* [http://www.presidency.gov.sd/en/ President of Sudan]
* {{GovPubs|sudan}}
* {{dmoz|Regional/Africa/Sudan}}
* {{Wikiatlas|Sudan}}
* {{Wikitravel}}
* {{CIA World Factbook link|su|Sudan}}

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Revision as of 18:25, 22 June 2012

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