North Sudan, the photo of which will be presented below, is part of a country that previously occupied the tenth position in the list of the largest in the world. Now he has moved to 15th place. Its area is 1,886,068 km2.
General characteristics
North Sudan is a country located in Africa. Most of it is a vast plateau. Its average height is 460 m. The plateau is crossed by the Nile Valley. The capital of Northern Sudan is located at the confluence of the Blue and White Nile. In the eastern territory along the Red Sea coast and the border with Ethiopia, the terrain is mountainous. Most of the country is occupied by deserts. Many travelers come to North Sudan just for them. The climate here is dry. The temperature in summer is from 20 to 30 degrees, in winter - not lower than 15-17. There is very little rainfall throughout the year.
Attractions
Sudan (Northern) attracts tourists from all over the world. They go to visit not only the Nubian and Libyan deserts. Here you can see many sights preserved from ancient Egyptian times. For example, these are the ruins of the pyramids between the Nubian desert and the river. Nile. The oldest buildings werecreated by the rulers of the times of the kingdom of Kush in the 8th century. BC e. Having conquered part of the Egyptian territories, they adopted their culture. It should, however, be said that the pyramids located in Sudan have not been fully explored to date. This is due to the difficult political situation and difficult weather conditions. In addition to the pyramids, the country's landmark is the sacred mountain Jebel Barkal. At its foot are the ruins of the temple of Amun, 12 more temples and 3 Nubian palaces. These monuments were classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003.
Country device
In 1956, Sudan gained independence from Great Britain. Since that time, the military regime of Islamic-oriented power has dominated national politics. There have been two fairly long civil wars in Sudan. Both of them began in the 20th century. The reasons for the conflicts were the contradictions between the southern and northern territories of the country. The first confrontation began in 1955 and ended in 1972. At that time, no one officially said that a new country would subsequently be formed - Northern Sudan. War broke out again in 1983. This conflict was quite fierce. As a result, more than three million citizens were forced to flee the country. In general, according to unofficial data, more than 2 million deaths were recorded. Peace talks were held only in the early 2000s. South and North Sudan signed agreements in 2004-2005. The final agreement was approved in January 2005. Under this agreement, South and North Sudan agreed toautonomy for 6 years. The treaty provided for a popular referendum to confirm independence. As a result, in 2011, in January, it was held in the southern part of the country. Independence was supported by a majority vote.
New conflict
It happened in the western part of the country, in the Darfur region. As a result of this separate conflict, about 2 million people were again forced to flee the territory. In 2007, at the end of December, the UN sent peacekeepers here. They tried to stabilize the situation, which was becoming more and more tense. The situation took on a regional character and provoked instability in the eastern territories of Chad.
Additional problems
Northern Sudan regularly receives a large number of refugees from nearby countries. Mostly refugees from Chad and Ethiopia are moving into the country. Sudan has a poorly developed transport infrastructure, there is no state support for the population, and armed conflicts periodically continue to arise. All these problems have become chronic. They significantly impede the delivery of humanitarian aid to North Sudan.
Roots of conflicts
Officially, the independence of South Sudan was announced in 2011, on July 9th. In early January, as mentioned above, a referendum was held in the country. 99% of the citizens of the southern territory voted not to depend on the policies of Northern Sudan. Khartoum was not recognized as an administrative center by those who voted. ReceiptIndependence was supposed to mark the end of the transitional period that was provided for under the Comprehensive Peace Treaty signed in 2005. This agreement put an end to the confrontation that had lasted for 22 years. The causes of the conflict, according to analysts, lie in the colonial past of the territory. The fact is that in 1884, at the Berlin Conference, European countries established such borders for African states, in which representatives of ethnic groups that had nothing in common with each other were mixed, and those who were close to each other, on the contrary, were divided. Since the beginning of independence, Northern Sudan has been in a constant state of tension, complicated by both external conflicts with neighbors and internal contradictions.
Resource dispute
There is another problem that North Sudan is trying to solve today. Oil for the former united country was the main resource. After the division of the country, the government lost most of its reserves. In the disputed area of Abyei, skirmishes between detachments of the divided territories still occur today. This conflict has been going on since May 2011. Northern Sudan has taken over the area, and its military formations are there to this day. In addition, before the declaration of independence based on the results of the referendum, another event took place. The northern army captured the region of Kufra, located in southern Libya. Also, military detachments took control of Jauf and the road to the center of the Misla and Sarir fields. Thus,influence extended to the southeastern territory of Libya, due to which the government secured a share in the oil market of this country.
Concerned Powers
As some experts say, Sudan's oil reserves can be compared with the resources of Saudi Arabia. In addition, the country has deposits of copper, uranium and natural gas. In this regard, the division of the territory is reduced not only to the contradictions between Juba and Khartoum. The "Chinese factor" is also important, as is the rivalry between China and America in Africa. This is confirmed by some official data. Thus, since 1999, China has invested 15 billion dollars in the economy of Sudan. Thus, he is the largest investor. Moreover, China financed the development of deposits in the southern territories, investing $ 5 billion in it. However, all these investments were made before the official division of the country. Now China will have to negotiate the implementation of its projects with Juba. In this situation, it should be taken into account that Beijing was interested in maintaining the integrity of the country, while other powers actively supported the division.
Uganda
This country acts as the main strategic partner of the RUS in the fight against the para-Christian nationalist rebel group "Lord's Resistance Army". Along with this, Uganda is today considered the main conductor of Western ideas in Africa. According to a number of analysts, the pro-American orientation of thiscountries.
America
According to the US military, after years of resisting the capital of Northern Sudan, the crisis in the country can only be eliminated through intervention, since all international diplomatic means against the head of government did not bring the desired result. According to the collection of documents published by Elliot, the joint resolution of the African Union and the UN on the peacekeeping contingent in the province of Dafur is considered the reason for the intervention. In February 2006, the US Senate adopted a document requiring the introduction of UN peacekeepers and NATO troops into the region. A month later, Bush Jr. called for the deployment of reinforced formations in Dafur. In addition to America, China is also showing interest in the province.
North Sudan Gold
After the division, the country, having lost a major source of income, nevertheless did not remain without raw materials. On its territory there are reserves of manganese, copper, nickel, iron ore. In addition, a significant amount of resources is gold. For the extraction of minerals, the development of mining is necessary. The potential of this sector is quite high in the country. This is understood by the authorities of both territories. Intending to develop mining, governments thus seek to reduce dependence on oil production. At the beginning of the year, the administration announced its upcoming plans. Thus, the government of Northern Sudan has set the task of extracting 50 tons of gold. Increased attention to this fossil is due to its priority in modernconditions in export activities. Through the sale of gold, Sudan managed to compensate to a certain extent for the losses after the division of the country.
The situation today
According to unofficial data, about half a million miners are searching for and developing deposits of the yellow metal. The government encourages this activity, provides work even for inexperienced citizens. As representatives of the mining industry note, the country today occupies a leading position in the list of African states that are of particular interest to world-class mining companies. This is due to insufficient knowledge of the reserves of the territory. Sanctions imposed by America, as well as endless armed conflicts, have weakened the interest of mining companies in the recent past. Today, however, investors again turned their attention to Sudan, which was facilitated by a rather high price of gold. The country's government, in turn, issued licenses for the development of deposits to Iran, Turkey, Russia, China, Morocco and other countries.
Khartoum
This city was founded by the British in the 19th century. The capital of northern Sudan has a relatively short history. At first, the city acted as a military outpost. It is believed that the capital got its name because of the thin strip of land at the confluence of the rivers. It looks like an elephant's trunk. The development of the city was quite fast. Khartoum reached its prosperity during the peak of the slave trade. This was between 1825 and 1880years. Khartoum became the capital of the country in 1834. Many European researchers considered it as a starting point for their expeditions to African territories. Currently, Khartoum is considered the richest and largest among the Sudanese cities that exist today. In addition, it is recognized as the second largest Muslim territory in this part of Africa.
Interesting places
In general, modern Khartoum is an unremarkable and quiet city. Of interest here may be its colonial center. The city remains peaceful, trees are planted along the streets. Nevertheless, signs of the colonial center of the era of the British Empire can still be seen in its appearance. As for architecture, the Palace of the Republic and the Parliament building, as well as museums (ethnographic, natural history and the National Repository) may be of interest to tourists. The Sudanese and African collections are preserved in the library of the Capital University. The National Office of Records (Records) holds the main collection of historical documentation. The National Museum presents exhibits of many civilizations and eras. The collections include, among other things, earthenware and glassware, figurines and sculptures of the ancient kingdom and Egyptian pharaohs. The frescoes of the ruined churches, dating from the 8th to 15th century, represent the Christian era of ancient Nubia. There are two temples in the garden of the National Museum. They were transported from Nubia and restored in Khartoum. Previously, the temples of Semna and Buen were located on the territory flooded by Lake Nasser, which, in turn,formed after the installation of the hydroelectric dam. These structures were originally erected during the reign of Pharaoh Thutmose III and Queen Hatshepsut. The ethnographic museum of the capital is relatively small. However, it presents interesting collections of products related to village life. The collections, in particular, include items of clothing, kitchen utensils, musical instruments, hunting tools. The most attractive place is the confluence of the Blue and White Nile. Almost on the shore there is a kind of amusement park, from where a magnificent panorama of the river opens.
Conclusion
The history of Sudan is rather complicated and consists mainly of constant conflicts and confrontations. This area is of particular value because it has large reserves of minerals. Due to the difficult political situation, the industrial and transport sectors are rather poorly developed here. Nevertheless, the country attracts a large number of tourists. Many foreign investors are also showing interest. The mining sector is particularly attractive. Monuments of ancient eras have been preserved on this territory, some of which are under the protection of the world community.
