It is 17 years since the Darfur conflict began in western Sudan. It led to hundreds of thousands of deaths and charges of genocide against Sudan’s former president.
The worst of the violence was more than a decade ago and the UK has granted asylum to some of those fleeing continuing instability in Darfur.
However many more migrants from there are still determined to reach the UK — hoping to find safety and economic security.
Mishal Husain presents BBC News at Ten reporting from Fergal Keane, who reported from Darfur in 2004. He’s been talking to two cousins who are from Darfur – and now find themselves on different sides of the Channel.
The Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, Libya to the northwest, Chad to the west, the Central African Republic to the southwest, South Sudan to the south, Ethiopia to the southeast, Eritrea to the east, and the Red Sea to the northeast.
Sudan’s history goes back to the Pharaonic period. Independence from the British was proclaimed on 1 January 1956.
Islam was Sudan’s state religion and Islamic laws applied from 1983 until 2020 when the country became a secular state. The economy has been described as lower-middle income and relies on oil production. Sudan is a member of the United Nations, the Arab League, African Union, COMESA, Non-Aligned Movement and the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation.
