[Timeline] Pre-Darfur Conflicts

Sudan’s sitting president Omar Hassan al-Bashir was accused of war crimes and genocide in Darfur by the International Criminal Court. To understand this latest twist in a conflict whose roots reach back decades, it is crucial to understand the dynamics of the many conflicts that plague Sudan.

Here is a chronology of key events that are wrapped up in the many conflicts Sudan has suffered since its independence 1956 through the outbreak of the conflict in Darfur in 2003:

The roots

1956 - Sudan achieves independence following more than half a century of joint British-Egyptian rule.

1962-1972 Civil war, led by the Anya Nya movement, breaks out in the south until the Addis Ababa peace agreement with the government creates self-governing region in the south

1978 - Oil discovered in Southern Sudan

1983 - Civil war breaks out again in the south, this time between government forces and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), led by John Garang. President Numayri imposes sharia law.

The branches

1993 - Omar al-Bashir appointed president, dissolving the Revolution Command Council that had come into power after the successful military coup by National Salvation Revolution in 1989

1998 - U.S. bombs Khartoum pharmaceutical plant it accused of producing materials for chemical weapons.

2000 - Bashir re-elected for five year term despite boycott by major opposition parties

2001 - Islamist leader Hassan al-Turabi, head of the Popular National Congress (PNC) arrested after signing memorandum of understanding with the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), the armed wing of the rebel SPLM.

2002 - The Machakos Protocol lays out path to self-determination in the south following talks in Kenya between the government and southern rebels

2003 - Two rebel groups rise up, saying government neglects arid region and arms Arab militia against civilians. Turabi released from prison. This year marks the beginning of the current ‘Darfur crisis’.

For a chronology of the Darfur conflict see the Darfur conflict timeline http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2008/07/24/53533.html#001