Sudan
Since Sudan’s independence in 1956, only 10 out of the 58 years have been peaceful. The rest were filled with the violence and bloodshed of two civil wars, and the war in Darfur. Northern Sudan is populated by people who practice Islam, while Southern Sudanese are followers of traditional religions and Christianity.
In 1947, despite the religious and cultural differences, the British and Arab-Egyptian colonizers decided to make Sudan one country. This led to the first civil war, which lasted from 1955 to 1972, claiming the lives of 500,000 people, of whom only 1 in 5 was considered an armed combatant. Hundreds of thousands more were forced to leave their homes.
Between 1983 and 2005, a second civil war between the north and south erupted. Nearly 2 million people were lost to bloodshed, famine and disease. Four million people in Southern Sudan were displaced.
The war in Darfur began in 2003, when rebels took up arms, accusing the government of unfair practices in the region. The United Nations says as many as 300,000 people may have died.
On July 9, 2011, South Sudan became an independent nation. Although religion is a major factor in the Sudanese conflicts, it is not the only one. Many analysts have described the wars in the oil-rich nation as a fight over its resources.
