@Sudan
Introduction Sudan
Background:
Military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented governments have
dominated national politics since independence from the UK in 1956.
Sudan has been embroiled in a civil war for all but 10 years of this
period (1972-82). The wars are rooted in northern economic,
political, and social domination of non-Muslim, non-Arab southern
Sudanese. Since 1983, the war and war- and famine-related effects
have led to more than 2 million deaths and over 4 million people
displaced. The ruling regime is a mixture of military elite and an
Islamist party that came to power in a 1989 coup. Some northern
opposition parties have made common cause with the southern rebels
and entered the war as a part of an anti-government alliance. Peace
talks gained momentum in 2002-03 with the signing of several
accords, including a cease-fire agreement.
Geography Sudan
Location:
Northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea
Geographic coordinates:
15 00 N, 30 00 E
Map references:
Africa
Area:
total: 2,505,810 sq km
water: 129,810 sq km
land: 2.376 million sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly more than one-quarter the size of the US
Land boundaries:
total: 7,687 km
border countries: Central African Republic 1,165 km, Chad 1,360 km,
Democratic Republic of the Congo 628 km, Egypt 1,273 km, Eritrea 605
km, Ethiopia 1,606 km, Kenya 232 km, Libya 383 km, Uganda 435 km