History
The ancient and medieval history of the Sudan coincides with that of Nubia. Since the beginning of the century. XVI, Sudan was an independent state, built on the ruins of the ancient kingdom of Aloa, last of the medieval Christian kingdoms of Nubia, and dominated by the warrior race of Fung. For three centuries the fung repulsed the attacks brought from Abyssinia and the neighboring Darfur, but could not resist the invasion of Egypt in 1820, to which Sudan became first an Egyptian governorate and in 1899, after the liquidation of the Mahdi in Khartoum, a "condominium" Anglo-Egyptian (actually a British rule). The application autonomy of Sudan began to take shape between the first and the second world war, advocated by the Umma party patriotic, but in 1922, when Britain recognized the independence of Egypt, would not yield the Sudan and in 1936 the old building was confirmed. Even after the end of World War II, petitions Egypt to England, and the United Nations for the recovery of Sudan fell on deaf ears. On the other hand, began instead to have heard the appeals Umma for absolute independence, especially after the advent to power in Egypt by G. Nasser, in favor of the Sudanese nationalism. In 1953 the leader of this nationalism were able to enter into an agreement with the British government that established the preliminaries for the independence of Sudan, which occurred on 1 January 1956. The new national government was facing five major problems: the separatism of South Sudan, relations with Egypt, the antithesis of the left-right, the commitment of Sudan with respect to the Arab-Israeli conflict, economic development, social and cultural. In southern Sudan Nilotic populations and niloto-Hamitic, animist or Christian, wanted to defend their identity and dall'arabizzazione, from the first moments, showed a decisive and militant separatist desire, supported in particular by the Sudan African National Union (SANU ). The first attempts at suppression of separatism provoked a reaction force unexpected by the SANU and the Southern Front, which culminated in an armed revolt, led mainly by Anya-Nya guerrillas who inflicted heavy losses on government forces. Worsening situation ended for the time being a coup d'etat carried out November 17, 1958 by General Ibrāhīm ʽ Abbū'd. However, even the authoritarian regime of the latter in November 1964 had to cede the field to a civilian government that is dominated by the Communist unions, was unable to solve the country's problems. In May 1969 a new coup sponsored by the military gave full powers to a Revolutionary Council headed by Colonel Ga'far an-Nimeiry, who proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Sudan. Assuming first leftist positions, Nimeiry harshly repressed the right and squeezed ties with the countries of the communist bloc. Then, driven by the priority to pacify the nation, began a policy of reconciliation with the separatist South of internal balance between left and right and gradual disengagement from the aspirations of nationalism panarabico. The turning point is pointed out in the course of 1971, when Nimeiry dissolved the Communist Party and appointed as the sole legal political party the Sudanese Socialist Union. In 1972, he finally managed to agree with the establishment of a separatist South Region alone (peace Addis Ababa), temporarily putting an end to a guerrilla cost a million deaths. The structure given internally to the country was formally enshrined in the new constitution in April 1973. The difficult task of national unification, however, was met with persistent disagreements ideological and territorial rivalries. They caused incessant plots and violent protests against the person and the Nimeiry regime that, to tackle the situation, he alternated the hard line with various attempts at reconciliation. These tensions were added, especially after 1977, the effects of acute economic crisis exacerbated by the influx of thousands of refugees from Eritrea and Chad. In foreign policy, the difficulties intestine were reflected in a worsening of relations with Ethiopia and Libya (more than once accused of threatening the stability of Sudan) and a more pronounced integration into the moderate camp. With the military and financial support of the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, Nimeiry strengthened ties with Cairo. Was added to the economic crisis activism of the Muslim Brotherhood and the continuous revolts of blacks South Nimeiry in 1983 revoked the peace of Addis Ababa and established an authoritarian regime and strongly Islamic in character, reintroduction of the Shari'ah. On 6 April 1985, the General Abdel Rahman el Dahab Sewar deposed Nimeiry with a coup, he promulgated a new constitution and refastened relations with Tripoli. The elections of May 1986 brought to power the Umma party of Sadia el Mahdi, became Prime Minister, while the presidency passed to Ahmed Ali el Mirghani. As a result of the revocation of peace the armed struggle of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), which called for the abrogation of Islamic law (shari'ah) and autonomy of the southern regions, severely escalated, resulting in the rapid disintegration of the social fabric and productive, and this organization of the state. In this context of strong tensions and political instability found space a new military coup (June 1989): The power was taken by a Council of the Revolution for National Salvation, whose president, General Omar Hassan Ahmed el Bashir, became head of state and government, establishing together with the fundamentalist leader Hassan al-Turabi, who was appointed chairman of the National Assembly, a two-headed Islamic military power. The new regime banned all political parties and trade unions, reduced so all the spaces for dialogue with the opposition, also highlighting the tension in the South because of its alliance with the Islamic National Front. Pursue with determination the Islamization also of the capital, in the south of the country, the government earned during 1992 with significant claims about guerrilla forces, weakened by internal divisions. In terms of international relations, however, were deepened relations with Iran, Libya and Iraq (held during the Gulf War), and strengthened initiatives in support of fundamentalist groups in North Africa. This policy led to the deterioration of relations with Egypt and with the western countries so that, in the early months of 1996, the United Nations and the United States accused the Sudan of supporting the international Islamic terrorism and intimated the government to extradite the fundamentalists sought for the attack on the Egyptian President H. Mubarak. Despite this, the power of Omar el Bashir was strengthened and legitimized by the presidential elections in March of that year. On the domestic front, thanks to the mediation of former U.S. President J. Carter, in March 1995 the Sudanese government seemed to reach a truce with the separatists in the southern regions (SPLA and movement for the independence of South Sudan), but soon resumed hostilities with a successful military offensive launched by separatist organizations, supported by 'Eritrea and Ethiopia (January 1997). A brief opening Constitutional occurred in 1998 when a referendum was passed a new Constitution, which provided, albeit with many limitations, a multi. However, in December 1999 Omar el Bashir, to strengthen its leadership and to remove from positions of power, the Islamic leader, Hassan Turabi, dissolved the National Assembly and declared a state of emergency. As the next step, the President was able to re-establish diplomatic relations with Uganda and Egypt. With the elections of December 2000, the president was reconfirmed for five years as head of state and to silence the opposition prorogò a state of emergency, securing in this way limiting the powers and individual rights. In subsequent years, a succession of international calls because the government would find a reconciliation with the forces of the south of the country, and significant advances in the peace process were made in October 2003 when Vice President Ali Osman Taha and John Garang, leader of the SPLA , announced his intention to end the civil war between the north and south of the country and, through the mediation of the United States and Kenya, in 2005 signed an agreement on the administration of the southern regions contention: was recognized an autonomous government in southern Sudan and provided for a referendum on independence in the region by 2010. While the government and the SPLA entered into an agreement in January 2004, government troops launched an offensive in Darfur (western Sudan), where, in a situation of conflict, the ten-year Army / Movement, Sudanese Liberation Army (former Liberation Movement Darfur) fought to respond to attacks by Janjaweed Arab populations: in 2005 it was estimated that more than 180,000 people had already died in this conflict. In the summer of 2005 J. Garang died in a plane crash and his death sparked unrest in the country, even though Omar el Bashir assured that the peace process would continue, in this period a new constitution was signed with the Sudan became a federal republic. On the front of Darfur, in May 2006, a new agreement was signed in Abuja (Nigeria) organized by the African Union between the government and the Army / Movement, Sudanese Liberation Army, but was not accepted by some of the formations rebels violence is also extended to neighboring Chad. To complicate matters, the UN Resolution 1706 (August 2006) that it had to send a contingent to support the military presence of the African Union, was not signed by the Sudanese government. In February 2007, the Presidents of Sudan, Chad and the Central African Republic in France jointly underwrote the "Declaration of Cannes" in which they undertook to accept a negotiating table for Darfur in the presence of the UN and the African Union, but in May 2008 still clashes as the rebels of JEM (Movement for Justice and Equality) attacked the capital Khartoum. Precisely because of the civil war in Darfur, in July 2008, President Omar el Bashir was formally charged with genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC). In February 2009, the JEM and the government signed a declaration of intent towards a ceasefire.
