Sudan Fights for Independence

·         Northern Sudan was taken by Egypt in 1821

·         Southern Sudan by the British in 1877

·         Mahdists were defeated in 1898 from the revolt started by the Muslim leader

·         Has experienced little relief from civil war between the Arab, Islamic north and African south.

http://africanhistory.about.com/b/2008/01/01/1-january-1956-sudan-gains-independence-from-britishegyptian-rule.htm

·         Sudan achieved independence on January 1, 1956

·         separatist Southerners began an initially low-intensity civil war aimed at establishing an independent South

·         the war lasted from 1955 to 1972

·         southern region experienced civil strife

·         origins of the civil war in the south date back to the 1950s

·         late 1960s, the war had resulted in the deaths of about 500,000 people

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/sudan-civil-war1.htm

·         January 9, Sudanese are to vote on the future of the country's unity

·         Southern= widely expected to vote for separation from the mainly Arab and Muslim north.

·         most say they feel discriminated against and marginalized by their Muslim-Arab compatriots

·         "They never, never give any rights for non-Muslims and they never, never value any non-Muslim to be a human being like them. They call you names, they put you in [a] very difficult categories and you get yourself, you are very, very different from them. So it is hard to stay with such a people."

·         "The south never benefitted from the unity,"

·         results of the referendum might lead to renewed violence between north and south

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/South-Sudanese-Want-Independence-From-North-104785179.html