Point by Fascinating Point

Sudan has a long history of conflict. In fact, the current conflict is one more in a slew of conflicts that has gone on throughout Africa since the independence and gradual withdrawal of European colonial powers in the past century. The current conflict in Sudan dates from February 2003, and comes at the heels of Sudan’s older civil war (also Africa’s longest), just resolved in January 2005, that had been going on since 1983. That older conflict started with the dissolution of three southern Sudan states and the introduction of Sharia law. The division between northern and southern Sudan was a direct result of British imperial rule. For a more in depth history of the region, please visit the Wikipedia page on Sudan.

The current conflict is mainly between Darfur rebels, the Sudanese government, and the government-sponsored Janjaweed—Arab militias that France and the U.S. recruited to fight Libya’s Moammar Khaddafi. After Khaddafi was deposed, the Janjaweed were hosted in Sudan.

Though it might appear that the conflict is between Arabs and black Africans, the truth is probably more complex than a simple ethnic conflict. According to the United Nations Mission in Sudan, the two rebel groups—Sudan Liberation Army and Justice and Equality Movement—claim there have been years of political, economic and social marginalization in the region. The long-running civil war between northern and southern Sudan have contributed to decades of instability. Added to this, most surrounding nations are dealing with conflicts of their own, and each countries’ conflict is contributing to their neighbors’ problems. Right now, among neighboring countries, there are significant conflicts or crises occurring in Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Eritrea.

Why is Osama bin Laden interested?
Osama bin Laden recently released an audio statement encouraging followers to go to Sudan to fight the U.N. peacekeeping presence. Why? According to the International Crisis Group, in the 1990s, the government of Sudan gave safe harbor to bin Laden and other Islamic fundamentalist groups, which led to Sudan’s increasing global isolation. After the bombings of the embassies in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam in Kenya, the U.S. bombed Sudan in retaliation. Osama bin Laden supports the Sudanese government not only because it helped him, but also because it is an oil-producing Islamic country under sharia law.

From the United Nations Mission in Sudan, some fast facts:

• Capital: Khartoum
• Natural Resources: petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold, hydropower
• Population: 40,187,486 (July 2005 estimate)
• Major Languages: Arabic; English, tribal languages
• Ethnic Groups: African 52%, Arab 39%, Beja 6%, foreigners 2%, other 1%
• Religions: Sunni Muslim 70% (mostly in the north), indigenous beliefs 25%, Christian 5% (mostly in the south and Khartoum)
• Industries: oil, cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining, pharmaceuticals, armaments, automobile/light truck assembly
• Main exports: Oil, cotton, sesame, livestock and hides, gum

Some fast stats on the current conflict:

• Estimated death toll: this varies from source to source. All agree that there are many more than the number they have published. Darfurgenocide.org reports 400,000. International Crisis Group reports 180,000. Eric Reeves reports 450,000.
• Estimated internally displaced persons: 6.1 million. (Source: U.S. Agency for International Development.)
• Estimated refugees to surrounding countries: 578,000. (Source: U.S. Agency for International Development.)

All parties in the current conflict have been accused of human rights violations, ranging from looting to raping of civilians to mass killing.

According to Amnesty International, the Sudanese government has given janjaweed militias free-rein in the Darfur region to attack and destroy non-Arab villages and property, kill, rape and abduct people, and loot livestock. Dissenters have been “disappeared.”

For more information on the Sudan conflict, check out packages in the NY Times and The Guardian UK and from Doctors Without Borders. The World Health Organization has mortality projections for the Darfur region, but they were last updated in 2004. Eric Reeves, a Smith College professor, has posted his research and mortality estimates on his Sudan Research site.

Sudan and Darfur in Context

(Source: USAID, 4-21-2006 Sudan Situation Report #14; Point by Point Publishing.)

The New York Times has a fascinating interactive market sector package that compares company returns to the S&P 500. The graph responds to changes in the category and time period. The bubble graph displays a multitude of data in a clean and simple way through bubble color, size and placement. The raw data is organized in a column to the right for all you data junkies.

Hello and welcome to Point by Point’s new weblog. All of us are excited to present some of the data[tags]data[/tags] we’ve encountered. We look forward to showing you some of the interesting things going on in the world of information and data graphics. Stay tuned for more!