Nesrine Malik writes that last week’s events in Sudan were started 20 years ago with the rebellion in Darfur (The seeds of Sudan’s collapse were sown decades ago, 23 April). In fact the seeds of Sudan’s tragedy go back further than that, with central governments of whatever political configuration waging war in the peripheries while keeping the central riverine region of the country free from violence. The Janjaweed/RSF are merely the latest in a long line of militias used by the government to counter regional opposition.
Sudan’s longest civil war, from 1983 to 2005, involved not just southern Sudan but the people of the Nuba mountains, Blue Nile and eastern Sudan as well, and the peace agreement of 2005 left those other conflicts unresolved.
Since no government, civilian or military, has seriously addressed the economic and political disparities in the regions, it was only a matter of time before the violence of the peripheries expanded to engulf the centre.
Douglas H Johnson
Author, The Root Causes of Sudan’s Civil Wars
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