SUDAN: A CRISIS WITH SHIFTING LOYALTIES, USE OF FORCE AND GLITTER OF GOLD

The ongoing crisis in Sudan has forced one million people to flee eastwards into Chad, ethnic cleansing and unprecedented violence.

- ANURAG AWASTHI

Sudan-the name originates from the Sahel region and was earlier known as Nubia by the ancient Egyptians.

Post the 16th century, the country, which is home to the confluence of both the White Nile originating from Uganda and Blue Nile originating from Eritrea, had distinct demographics. The northern part has been following the Islamic faith, and the southern part has largely been Christian, which eventually led to their separation in 2011. The Islamic kingdoms of Sennar and Darfur have existed in the western part since the 1500s and have a distinct cultural identity.

Sudan has also had various coups and regime changes with a notable one in 1718, which essentially promoted "Arabisation" of the state, while the Darfur region saw the rise of the "Tunjur" kingdom. In 1821, the Ottoman ruler of Egypt invaded Sudan and the Mahdiyya era began with the fall of Khartoum in 1881. The British and other colonial powers thereby began a campaign to control the waters of the Nile, and Herbert Kitch-ners's campaigns culminated into a decisive victory with the "Battle of Omdurman" in 1898. The ensuing inter war years had a British policy of running Sudan as two separate territories: the North and the South, with the country involved in the East African Campaign, militarily. This eventually paved way for Egypt's independence in 1953 and Sudan's independence in 1956.

Omar al Bashir seized power by a bloodless military coup in 1989 and Hassan Al Tarabi's outreach to Islamic fundamentalist groups during the 1990s began a bloody chapter. Eventually, to end international isolation, expelling these extremist outfits including Osama bin Laden, began to take shape.