tion Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) in the form of guerilla warfare in the Darfur, Red Sea and Equatoria regions have occurred. These conflicts have resulted in death tolls between 200,000 and 400,000, over 2.5 million people being displaced and diplomatic relations between Sudan and Chad being put under very great strain.
The Sudanese government has supported the use of recruited Arab militias in guerrilla warfare, such as in the ongoing conflict in Darfur. Since then thousands of people have been displaced and killed, and the need for humanitarian care in Darfur has attracted worldwide attention. The conflict has since been described as a genocide, and the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued two arrest warrants for al-Bashir, the current President of Sudan.
Sudan has also been the subject of severe sanctions due to alleged ties with Egyptian Islamic Jihad and al-Qaeda. Sudan has scored medium in human development in the last few years, ranking number 150 in 2009, between Haiti and Tanzania. Statistics indicate that about seventeen percent of the population live on less than US $1.25 per day. Among Sudan's population of 30 million people, nearly all follow Sunni Islam, while Arabic is the Lingua franca spoken by all Sudanese, and English is also an official language.
Sudan has achieved great economic growth by implementing macroeconomic reforms. Rich in natural resources such as petroleum, Sudan's economy is amongst the fastest growing in the world. The People's Republic of China and Japan are the main export partners of Sudan.
Civil war and secession of South Sudan
In 1955, the year before independence, a civil war began between Northern and Southern Sudan. The southerners, anticipating independence, feared the new nation would be dominated by the north. Historically, the north of Sudan had closer ties with Egypt and was predominantly Arab or Arabized and Muslim while the
