Sudan, one of the world’s poorest countries, has been racked for the past decade by a bitter war between the military government and rebels of the SPLA. All sides are guilty of gross human rights violations and of exploiting ethnic and religious divisions to cause biter local conflicts. This report describes the consequences for civil society in Sudan as the military government, which seized power in 1989, seeks to consolidate its control and reshape social institutions according to its ideological program of radical Islam. It also gives an account of abuses committed in the context of the war, both by government forces and by both factions of the SPLA. These include torture, killings, “disappearances” and enslavement of women and children and been reported from the north as well as from the south. The report concludes with AI’s recommendations to both government and rebels in Sudan and to the international community.
