2004-5-21
This is Steve Ember with In the News in VOA Special English.
Sudan has had conflict throughout its history. The country gained
its independence from Britain in nineteen-fifty-six. The current war
in Sudan began twenty one years ago. Black southerners rebelled
against their treatment by the Arab government in the north. At that
time the government ordered non-Muslims to honor Islamic law.
Sudan has about thirty-million people. Most in the north are
Muslim. The south is mostly Christian or animist. Rebels of the
Sudan People's Liberation Army want greater self-rule for the south.
Two-million people have died in the war, mostly through hunger
and disease. Four-million others have been displaced. Disputes over
oil, ethnicity and differing cultural beliefs have added to the
conflict.
The current peace talks began
eight months ago in Kenya. A cease-fire is supposed to remain in
effect during the talks. The government and the rebels have been
attempting to settle final disputes. They have already signed
agreements to divide state and religion, form a new army and share
oil profits after the war ends.
But the agreements do not cover the conflict in the Darfur area
of western Sudan. Violence has continued there for more than a year.
The United Nations calls the situation in Darfur one of the worst
humanitarian crises in the world. Many people have been killed. Many
more risk starvation. And, more than one-hundred-thousand people
have fled to Chad.
The people in Darfur are black Muslim farmers. They rebelled in
February of last year. They said the government did not care enough
about them. They demanded the same compromises offered to Christians
in the south. Since then, armed Arab groups known as janjaweed have
burned villages and towns in Darfur. They are also accused of
widespread sexual attacks and murder.
The Sudanese government has faced criticism for not stopping the
violence. The government in Khartoum has denied any involvement. It
has offered to cooperate with the United States, the United Nations
and international aid groups to help the displaced people.
Under pressure, Sudan invited a U-N human rights team and the
head of the World Food Program to visit the area. And late this week
Sudan said it suspended the need for travel permits for aid workers
to visit Darfur.
Sudan still has other problems in the south. In recent days,
fighting re-started in the Upper Nile area. The Sudan People's
Liberation Army controls that area. The fighting has forced
thousands of people from their homes.
And, on Friday, the World Health Organization reported ten cases
of what it called an Ebola-like infection in southern Sudan. It said
four people in Western Equatoria province had died from the virus.
In the News, in VOA Special English, was written by Cynthia Kirk.
This is Steve Ember.