ABSTRACT
Sudan is the largest state in Africa. Its population of 28 million is Muslim in the north and non-Muslim in the south, thereby making it an effective bridge between Africa and the Middle East. Independence was achieved on 1 January 1956, when the Nationalist United Party rejected union with Egypt. Before independence, the country had been designated the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. As the conflict in the south deepened, there were several unsuccessful coup attempts and eventually civil war resulted in the October revolution of 1964. With the military coup of Jaafar Nimeiri on 25 May 1969, there was at least continuity in that his regime remained in power until April 1985. He aligned himself with the communists, but tensions arose between them and his Revolutionary Command Council (RCC). The civil war then entered the international arena in that John Garang received support from Ethiopia, Libya, Cuba and Israel, while Nimeiri is the beneficiary in Africa of US economic and military aid.
