Military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented governments have dominated national politics since independence from the UK
in 1956. Sudan has been embroiled in a civil war for all but 10 years of this period (1972-82). The wars are rooted in northern
economic, political, and social domination of non-Muslim, non-Arab southern Sudanese.
Since 1983, the war and war- and famine-related effects have led to more than 2 million deaths and over 4 million people
displaced. The ruling regime is a mixture of military elite and an Islamist party that came to power in a 1989 coup. Some
northern opposition parties have made common cause with the southern rebels and entered the war as a part of an anti-government
alliance. Peace talks gained momentum in 2002-03 with the signing of several accords, including a cease-fire agreement.
