Sudan

12/12/08 Background
 * Sudan**
 * Military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented governments have dominated national politics since independence from the UK in 1956.
 * Sudan was embroiled in two prolonged civil wars during most of the remainder of the 20th century. These conflicts were rooted in northern economic, political, and social domination of largely non-Muslim, non-Arab southern Sudanese. The first civil war ended in 1972 but broke out again in 1983. The second war and famine-related effects resulted in more than four million people displaced and, according to rebel estimates, more than two million deaths over a period of two decades.
 * The final North/South Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed in January 2005, granted the southern rebels autonomy for six years. After which, a referendum for independence is scheduled to be held. This is scheduled to happen in 2011.
 * A separate conflict, which broke out in the western region of Darfur in 2003, has displaced nearly two million people and caused an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 deaths.
 * The UN took command of the Darfur peacekeeping operation from the African Union on 31 December 2007. As of early 2008, peacekeeping troops were struggling to stabilize the situation, which has become increasingly regional in scope, and has brought instability to eastern Chad, and Sudanese incursions into the Central African Republic. Sudan also has faced large refugee influxes from neighboring countries, primarily Ethiopia and Chad. Things have settled drastically, but tensions are still high.
 * NORTH: Highly developed, highly prosperous, influenced by Egypt, predominately Muslim
 * SOUTH: Untapped resources (estimated 200 Billion Barrels of oil), highly poverish, resilient rebel movement.

Location Northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea largest country in Africa; dominated by the Nile and its tributaries Population 40,218,456 (July 2008 est.) //0-14 years:// 41.1% (male 8,451,576/female 8,093,609) //15-64 years:// 56.4% (male 11,407,233/female 11,275,685) //65 years and over:// 2.5% (male 518,822/female 471,530) (2008 est.) Sunni Muslims = 70% Indigenous= 25% Christian= 3% People living with HIV/AIDS 400,000 (2001 est.) HIV/AIDS deaths 23,000 (2003 est.) Executive Branch //chief of state:// President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993) //elections:// election last held 13-23 December 2000; next to be held no later than July 2009 under terms of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement Military Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF): Land Forces, Navy, Air Force, Popular Defense Forces; Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA): Land Forces (2008) Service age and obligation: 18-30 years of age for compulsory military service; 2-year service obligation (2006) Disputes the effects of Sudan's almost constant ethnic and rebel militia fighting since the mid-20th century have penetrated all of the neighboring states; as of 2006, Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda provided shelter for over half a million Sudanese refugees, which includes 240,000 Darfur residents driven from their homes by Janjawid armed militia and the Sudanese military forces; Sudan, in turn, hosted about 116,000 Eritreans, 20,000 Chadians, and smaller numbers of Ethiopians, Ugandans, Central Africans, and Congolese as refugees; in February 2006, Sudan and DROC signed an agreement to repatriate 13,300 Sudanese and 6,800 Congolese; Estimated 2.5 million displaced within Sudan with 150,00 fleeing to Chad
 * Accused of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in the past five years in Darfur. In July ’08, started reaching out to help the misplaced people of Darfur. International Criminal Court are looking into the accusations, and he could be the first sitting president to be brought up on charges.