More than two years after Sudan’s southerners voted for a country of their own, some people in lands along the new border with the old rump Sudan remain in limbo. Acuil Akol comes from Abyei, a triangle of contested territory whose residents are mostly Ngok-Dinka, an offshoot of South Sudan’s largest tribe. He and his neighbours were meant to…

More than two years after Sudan’s southerners voted for a country of their own, some people in lands along the new border with the old rump Sudan remain in limbo. Acuil Akol comes from Abyei, a triangle of contested territory whose residents are mostly Ngok-Dinka, an offshoot of South Sudan’s largest tribe. He and his neighbours were meant to…

A nomadic group in the disputed border region of Abyei threatened war if it’s excluded from a referendum over the area’s status, after the presidents of Sudan and South Sudan failed to end an impasse over the issue. Abyei is contested by the Ngok Dinka, who are settled in the area and consider themselves southerners, and Misseriya nomads who…

A nomadic group in the disputed border region of Abyei threatened war if it’s excluded from a referendum over the area’s status, after the presidents of Sudan and South Sudan failed to end an impasse over the issue. Abyei is contested by the Ngok Dinka, who are settled in the area and consider themselves southerners, and Misseriya nomads who…

Summary: There are a limited number of UK-based research institutes that include a focus on conflict and development in Sudan. Experts indicate that the Rift Valley Institute (RVI) is the main organisation involved in Sudanese research. Other research institutes that incorporate Sudan or South Sudan in their programming include: the Royal…

Summary: There are a limited number of UK-based research institutes that include a focus on conflict and development in Sudan. Experts indicate that the Rift Valley Institute (RVI) is the main organisation involved in Sudanese research. Other research institutes that incorporate Sudan or South Sudan in their programming include: the Royal…

At the beginning of term two students turned out to be pregnant. One was a sponsored student of ours. She wouldn't tell me, though it was obvious. Later she wrote me a letter admitting it. Sister P. was the one who had asked us to sponsor her. 'She has a brain,' Sister P. said, 'and her father said there was no point in sponsoring girls. He…

A huge transport infrastructure project due to link Kenya’s coast, Juba in South Sudan, and Ethiopia by 2030 is raising questions about the potential impact on the livelihoods of pastoralists, and protection and compensation for those adversely affected. The 1,700km Lamu Port and Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport Corridor (LAPSSET), launched in…

A huge transport infrastructure project due to link Kenya’s coast, Juba in South Sudan, and Ethiopia by 2030 is raising questions about the potential impact on the livelihoods of pastoralists, and protection and compensation for those adversely affected. The 1,700km Lamu Port and Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport Corridor (LAPSSET), launched in…

With its scrubland, unpaved roads and mud brick huts, the Jebel Amer area in Darfur, western Sudan, can look like a poor and desolate place. Under the ground, though, lies something sought by people everywhere: gold. In the past year or so the precious metal has begun to alter the nature of the decade-old conflict in Darfur, transforming it…