Sudan: A country divided

During 1991 and early 1992 the Sudanese government began evicting people from the squatter camps that circle the country's capital of Khartoum. Close to half a million squatters were taken from their homes at gunpoint and dumped in camps far out in the Sudanese desert with little access to food, water, or sanitary facilities. At least a dozen people were shot in December alone as they attempted to prevent the government from bulldozing their makeshift homes. This Update will shed some light on a silent war that is often unnoticed in the international press. The first section will discuss some general facts about Sudan, and the second will provide a brief historical overview of the causes of the civil war. The third and fourth sections will deal with the southern and northern forces respectively, and the fifth section will cover the plight of the Nuba people who have been the innocent victims of the war. Finally, the last section will discuss the current situation in Sudan as northern forces continue an offensive in the south.