1. Sudan was originally colonized by Great Britain, who split it into a northern and southern province. The north accepted colonization and benefited from investments in infrastructure, while the south resisted and remained poor.
2. After independence in 1956, tensions grew between the predominantly Muslim north and the Christian/animist south. A civil war broke out in 1983 after northern leaders took control of the government and imposed Islamic law.
3. The conflict in Darfur began in 2003 when African rebel groups attacked a military base, after which the government armed Arab militias (Janjaweed) who attacked civilian African villages, displacing millions.