Darfur

Sudan was formerly Africa's largest country, roughly the same size of the continental US west of the Mississippi until the secession of South Sudan. It is ethnically made up primarily of Arabs living in the north and Africans in the new South Sudan; however there are literally hundreds of separate tribal groups with distinct languages and dialects. The area that is now Sudan was a nominally controlled by Egypt and Britain with the south being autonomous and owned by tribal boundries. In 1953, Sudan became an independent state and has been at war with itself almost continually since. The basic history is a struggle for representation in government between the numerous ethnic groups, represented mostly by a struggle between Arabs and Africans. The North and South signed peace agreements between 2002 and 2004 that effectively established a powersharing agreement. In 2003, the government began attacking Africans in Darfur. Rebel groups formed in response and a war between African-Muslims and the Sudanese government continues. Thus far, two million people have been killed in the fighting and Sudanese President Umar al-Bashir has been indicted on genocide charges by the ICC. Fighting still rages, with attacks against civilians by both the government and the rebels normal. Chad became embroiled in the conflict as the nephew of the Chadian president began supporting rebel groups as a way to destabilize both Chad and Sudan. Lack of resources, dire poverty and hunger, and ethnic differences continue the cycle of violence