Sudan

Sudan

Sudan (officially: the Republic of Sudan), is an Arab country located in northeastern Africa, bordered to the east by Ethiopia and Eritrea, to the north by Egypt and Libya, to the west by Chad and the Central African Republic, and to the south by the State of South Sudan. It is the third largest country in terms of area in Africa, as well as being the third largest Arab country in terms of area. Before the Sudanese Civil War, South Sudan was part of Sudan, but it separated in 2011. The dominant religion in Sudan is Islam.

Sudan is located in northeastern Africa and occupies an area of ​​1,865,813 square kilometers. It is thus the third largest country in Africa after Algeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the third in the Arab world after Algeria and Saudi Arabia, and the sixteenth in the world (it was the largest area in the Arab world and Africa before separation South in 2011, the tenth globally, with an area of ​​approximately 2 million km2).

The Nile divides Sudan’s lands into two eastern and western halves, and the capital, Khartoum, is located at the confluence of the two major blue niles, the main tributaries of the Nile. Sudan mediates the Nile Valley basin.

Sudan is one of the vast countries with diverse natural resources such as agricultural lands, animal and mineral wealth, forests, fisheries and fresh water. Sudan relies mainly on agriculture, accounting for 80% of the population’s activity, in addition to industry, especially industries that depend on agriculture.

A unified Sudan has produced oil since the 1990s, and production has been mostly from the areas bordering the current borders between the two current states of Sudan. South Sudan has enjoyed control of most production fields since the secession in July 2011. However, Sudan has maintained refining and export facilities in addition to pipelines carrying Red Sea ports.

Sudan is abundant with many tourism elements and its various types due to the diversity of its geographical, historical and cultural environments. In the north there are traces of ancient Nubian kingdoms that are considered the cradle of human civilization where the pyramids and pharaonic temples, and in the east where the waves of the Red Sea water collide with the Sudanese mainland, there are unique coral islands that are home to colorful fish and a paradise for diving enthusiasts in the sea waters, and in the west the sandy desert extends endlessly And volcanic peaks fade in an atmosphere similar to that of the Mediterranean, and in the south and southeast, flocks of deer, elephants, and lions flock among birds. In addition, there is the cultural tourism represented in the activities of the various tribes and ethnicities and the musical and traditional models it offers.

Man settled in Sudan 5,000 years ago, and Sudan is home to many ancient civilizations, such as the Kingdom of Kush, Meroe, Nobatia, Alwa, Maqra, and others, most of which prospered along the Nile. The ancient history of Sudan overlapped with the history of Pharaonic Egypt over long periods, especially during the era of the twenty-fifth Sudanese family (the Black Pharaohs), who ruled Egypt from Sudan and among its most famous kings were Taharqa and Bennaki.

Sudan became independent from Britain and Egypt on January 1, 1956, and civil war erupted from before the declaration of independence until 2005 except for intermittent peace periods, as a result of deep conflicts between the central government in northern Sudan and rebel movements in its south, and the civil war ended with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the government of Sudan and the movement The People’s Liberation of Sudan, and South Sudan resigned in 2011 as a country, after a referendum following the interim period stipulated in the agreement.

Military coups were repeated in the modern history of Sudan, and in 1989, Brigadier Omar al-Bashir led a military coup, which overthrew a civilian government headed by Sadiq al-Mahdi, leader of the Umma Party, and became head of the Salvation Revolution Command Council, then president of the republic until he was ousted on April 11, 2019 after Public protests, as the army announced al-Bashir's removal from power and the start of a two-year transitional period that ends with elections for the transfer of power.