Here’s a look at Sudan, a North African country bordering the Red Sea, Egypt, Libya, Chad, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Between 2003 and 2008, at least 300,000 people were killed, and three million displaced during the Darfur Conflict, fighting between rebel groups and the government.
About Sudan:
(from the CIA World Factbook)
Area: 1,861,484 sq km slightly less than one-fifth the size of the United States.
Population: 36,729, 501 (July 2016 est.)
Median age: 19.6 years
Capital: Khartoum
Ethnic groups: Sudanese Arab (approximately 70%), Fur, Beja, Nuba, Fallata
Religion: Sunni Muslim, small Christian minority
GDP (purchasing power parity): $176.3 billion (2016 est.)
GDP per capita: $4,500 (2016 est.)
Unemployment: 13.6% (2014 est.)
Other Facts:
Sudan was the largest country in Africa prior to the secession of South Sudan in 2011. It is now the third largest, after Algeria and Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The size of Sudan is now approximately 25% smaller, with an area of 1.86 million square kilometers.
Sudan lost most of its oil reserves, estimated to be between five and seven billion barrels, after the secession of South Sudan.
The United Nations has called the Sudan/Darfur conflict one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.
READ MORE: Climate change could render Sudan “uninhabitable.”.
Timeline:
1955 – Prior to Sudan’s independence, conflict breaks out between Muslim Arabs in the north and Christian/Animist Africans in the south.
January 1, 1956 – Sudan gains its independence after an agreement between the United Kingdom and Egypt.
1972 – Seventeen years of civil war end with the signing of the Addis Ababa Agreement between the north and the south.
1977 – Oil is discovered in southwestern Sudan. Civil war in the 1980s and 1990s prevents much exploration or development of the oil deposits.
1980s – Prolonged droughts put pressure on water and farming resources.
1983 – Col. John Garang de Mabior leads a mutiny of army soldiers, reigniting the civil war.
June 30, 1989 – Lt. Gen. Omar al-Bashir seizes power in a coup.
August 12, 1993 – The United States designates Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism.
October 1993 – Al-Bashir becomes president of Sudan when the Revolutionary Command Council is dissolved, and Sudan is restored to civilian rule.
March 1996 – Al-Bashir is re-elected president with over 75% of the vote.
December 2000 – Al-Bashir is re-elected president with over 85% of the vote.
February 2003 – The conflict in Darfur begins when black African rebel groups attack government property, accusing the government of neglecting Darfur in favor of the Arab population in Sudan.
2005 – A comprehensive peace agreement is signed by representatives from the north and the south. Part of the agreement includes independence for southern Sudan within six years.
July 14, 2008 – The International Criminal Court files genocide charges against al-Bashir.
March 4, 2009 – The International Criminal Court at The Hague issues an arrest warrant for al-Bashir for a five-year campaign of violence in Darfur.
April 26, 2010 – Sudan’s National Election Commission certifies al-Bashir as the winner of recent presidential elections with 68% of the vote.
July 2010 – The International Criminal Court issues a second arrest warrant for al-Bashir. The warrant adds three new counts of genocide to the 2009 warrant.
February 7, 2011 – The Southern Sudan Referendum Commission announces that 98.83% have voted for separation from the north. US President Barack Obama declares Washington’s intention to recognize South Sudan as an independent state in July, when the Comprehensive Peace Agreement is scheduled to end.
February 21, 2011 – A party official announces that President al-Bashir will not seek re-election when his term expires in 2015.
April 27, 2011 – In a speech on state television, President al-Bashir claims the disputed oil-rich region of Abyei on behalf of the north.
May 22, 2011 – The United Nations condemns the violence over the oil-rich region of Abyei after multiple clashes between southern Sudanese forces and the northern Sudanese Armed Forces.
May 31, 2011 – The African Union announces that Sudan and South Sudan have reached an agreement over Abyei, in which a demilitarized, jointly monitored Common Border Zone is established.
June 5, 2011 – Fighting between the northern Sudanese Armed Forces and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army of southern Sudan erupts near Kadugli, the capital of oil-rich Southern Kordofan state. The UN also reports violence in neighboring Blue Nile and African Unity states.
June 15, 2011 – The United Nations says that 102,000 people have fled from the disputed region of Abyei.
June 20, 2011 – Representatives from Sudan and South Sudan sign an agreement calling for the immediate withdrawal of Sudanese troops from Abyei and for joint supervision of the disputed region.
July 9, 2011 – South Sudan becomes an independent state, with a population of eight million people.
July 12, 2011 – President al-Bashir announces economic austerity measures in a speech to parliament. He also details plans for a new constitution, new currency, and greater political freedom.
September 8, 2011 – According to UN officials, the governments of Sudan and South Sudan reach an agreement that will allow the withdrawal of their troops from the disputed border region of Abyei.
October 2011 – In his first visit to Khartoum since South Sudan’s independence, President Salva Kiir meets with Sudanese President al-Bashir to “reach final solutions” to address continuing differences between their countries.
October 31, 2011 – Government officials announce that Sudanese troops have killed hundreds of rebel fighters during a battle in the border province of Southern Kordofan.
January 23, 2012 – South Sudan shuts down oil production after accusing Sudan of stealing $815 million of its oil. Sudan says it confiscated the crude to make up for unpaid fees to use the pipeline and processing facilities in its territory.
January 24, 2012 – According to Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, more than 78,000 people have fled Sudan’s South Kordofan and Blue Nile states since August of last year.
February 10, 2012 – During talks mediated by the African Union, Sudan and South Sudan sign a nonaggression pact aimed at bringing peace to the border region.
April 12, 2012 – South Sudan forces claim the oil fields in the town of Heglig, which account for about half of Sudan’s oil production.
April 20, 2012 – South Sudan announces the withdrawal of its troops from the contested, oil-rich area of Heglig. Sudan claims that the South Sudan troops were “forced to withdraw.”
April 29, 2012 – Sudanese President al-Bashir declares a state of emergency for cities in the provinces of South Kordofan, White Nile and Sinnar, which are on the eastern half of its border with South Sudan.
September 27, 2012 – Sudanese President al-Bashir and South Sudanese President Kiir sign a deal to resume oil exports and establish a demilitarized zone and principles of border demarcation, but do not reach a deal on the status of Abyei, a disputed region claimed by both countries.
January 6, 2013 – Sudanese President al-Bashir and South Sudanese President Kiir agree to temporary arrangements for the oil-rich Abyei region.
March 8, 2013 – Defense ministers from Sudan and South Sudan sign an agreement to soon withdraw their respective military forces from the 14-mile-wide demilitarized zone between the countries.
April 6, 2013 – A splinter group from the Justice and Equality Movement, the largest Darfurian rebel group, signs a peace agreement based on the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) with the Sudanese government.
April 9, 2013 – Countries pledge $3.7 billion at a conference in Doha, Qatar, for the reconstruction and development of Darfur.
January 6, 2014 – President al-Bashir travels to South Sudan for talks with South Sudanese President Kiir. Unrest in South Sudan has left more than 1,000 people dead and cut South Sudan’s oil output, effecting the economies of both countries.
February 1, 2014 – The International Committee of the Red Cross says that Sudanese authorities have ordered the Red Cross to halt its activities in the Sudan, citing technical reasons. The International Committee of the Red Cross says it has worked in Sudan for 36 years.
January 28, 2016 – Sudan’s president orders the opening of the border with South Sudan for the first time since the South seceded five years ago, Sudan’s state news agency reports.
March 11, 2016 – The United Nations releases a report focusing on South Sudan. It details a scorched earth policy “with massive use of rape as an instrument of terror and weapon of war.” A South Sudan military spokesman claims the report is not genuine.
September 29, 2016 – The Sudanese government is accused of using chemical weapons against the people of Darfur, according to a report released by Amnesty International. According to the organization, up to 250 people have been killed by chemical weapons since the Sudanese military campaign began in January.