A brief historical overview of the situation in Bahr el-Ghazal, Southern Sudan

Historical background - 5000 BC - 2000 AD

The Sudan has a long and complicated history, much of it marred by war, slavery and religious conflict. About 5000 years ago the Egyptians were raiding Sudan. By 2000 BC parts of Sudan had been colonised by Egypt, and though their domain over the northern parts of Sudan suffered periods of decline, Egyptian occupation continued until about 750 BC. At this time a Sudanese kingdom rose up and the tables were turned when Egypt came under the control of this dynasty which was centred on Napata and then Meroe. After the overthrow of Meroe in 350 AD little is known about Sudan until the Empress Theodora sent Christian missionaries in 548 and two Christian kingdoms appeared in the northern part of Sudan. These kingdoms resisted Muslim incursions until finally at the end of the 15th century Muslim kingdoms had replaced both of them. By the early 19th century Sudan had been long riven by anarchy and the Ottoman Empire stepped in and quickly conquered the area. The Sudanese however were not so easily suppressed and Ottoman/Egyptian rule was not accepted.

In 1881 Muhammad Ahmad el-Mahdi led a revolt which culminated in the capture of Khartoum, the capital and the death of Charles Gordon, a British soldier brought in by the Khedive to suppress the slave trade and institute reforms. Despite the Mahdi's death in 1885, Sudan remained under Mahdist rule until 1898 when a combined Anglo-Egyptian force defeated the Sudanese forces at Omdurman. In 1899 the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium was set up whereby Sudan was jointly governed by the two countries and the Anglo-Egyptian Agreement of 1936 confirmed the 1899 agreements. Apart from the continual slave raids and, in the 19th century the colonial or imperial aspirations of the European powers, southern parts of Sudan are seldom mentioned in recorded history. Even during the Condominium very little development occurred in the South due to a policy of separate development which effectively isolated the south from outside trade whilst the North benefited from rapid development. When, after the end of World War 2, the idea of independence became a reality the southerners were immediately at a disadvantage, having had little or no political exposure or experience.

Since independence in 1956, Sudan has known little peace and much of the blame for this has been laid at the door of the British administration. It is not so simple and much has been written concerning the failure of Britain to include the promised safeguards for the South of the country and the pressure brought to bear on Britain by America and Egypt, particularly. Most of the post-independence years, until 1972, have been characterised by civil war. In 1973 the Addis Ababa Agreement set out regional autonomy for the South, but this period of relative peace ended in 1983, after the government in Khartoum began to institute Islamic law over the predominantly non-Muslim South.

Since 1983 civil war has devastated the South. Fighting continues sporadically and in recent years has spread northwards into Darfur in the west and towards the Red Sea in the east. In the Nuba Mountains, both Christian and Muslim Nubans, are targeted by the government. Factional fighting in the South has also contributed to the suffering of the people. Peace talks and cease fires have little long term results and so the conflict rumbles on. Little interest is shown by the rest of the world, either from politicians or the media and, although the United Nations manage Operation Lifeline Sudan, the General Assembly itself, has made few efforts to find a solution to the conflict.

More about the South

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