For decades, the people of South Kordofan have been devastated by intervention from outside forces, beginning most notably with British colonialism and continuing right up until the present day, with the brutal Islamisation campaign of the current Sudanese regime. In recent times, many of the Nuba Mountain residents have been engaged in a guerrilla war struggle, along with the South Sudanese, against the Khartoum based government who are perceived to have marginalized the area and its residents through discriminatory practices and a variety of unjust practices. During the course of the conflict, approximately half the region became known as the ‘Liberated Zone’ while the other half remained under the control of the government.
The conflict in the Nuba Mountains, which has been brutal and hard fought, remains relatively unknown to the outside world; dwarfed by the conflict in Darfur, the region has been overlooked by the majority of the International Community. In fact, the conflict has often been underplayed, with the magnitude of the violence often being described as being of less significance and/or ferocity than what has occurred in Darfur. In fact, this is not true and there is a case to be made that the acts which have occurred in the Nuba Mountains amount to genocide. The African Rights Group used the term ‘genocide by attrition’ in reference to the conflict; it is an apt description of the relentless and exhaustive assaults which have been waged against the regions residents, some of which were directly sanctioned by the state, others which are an indirect result of the government’s policies and actions.
As South Sudan readied itself to become the worlds newest nation during the Summer of 2011, violence once again flared up in South Kordofan. Areas controlled by the insurgent movement SPLA were bombed by government forces and land mines laid across the region, posing a huge danger to the civillian population and making daily life difficult if not impossible.
All out conflict erupted in August 2011 forcing thousands of civillians to flee their homes. The government has refused to set up adquete relief structures and many South Kordofan residents have been forced to find shelter with friends or family in other parts of the country.
The situation remains tense and unstable.
