Civil conflict in Sudan has raged for 34 out of the past 45 years.

It has been responsible for over two million casualties and has displaced over four million people in the last 17 years alone. With no attention from major news organizations, the conflict continues to worsen, largely due to Western actions.

The seeds of the civil conflict were planted when Sudan was first colonized in 1898. The southern part of what is currently Sudan, then controlled jointly by Britain and Egypt, was arbitrarily added to the northern portion by the British. Culturally very different from the north, the peoples of the south are mostly black African—Christian and animist by religion—while the north is predominantly Muslim. The conflict is not, however, solely between these two culturally diverse populations; in central Sudan, another group of people, the Nubans, are involved. Organized religion is unimportant to the Nubans, and within one family, one may commonly find Muslims, Christians, and animists who follow traditional African religions. Because the Sudanese government is led by Islamic fundamentalists who feel threatened by cultures that do not follow their strict rules, the racial diversity in Sudan is the primary cause of conflict.

Since gaining its independence in 1956, Sudan has been controlled by several military governments. Omar al-Bashir has held power in the capital city of Khartoum since 1989. Although al-Bashir enforces Islamic law, or Shari’a, the enforcement is not as strict as in other nations. Sudanese women must wear headscarves, for example, but many of them are brightly colored, unlike the traditional blue or black veils. Opposing al-Bashir’s regime is the southern rebel army led by John Garang. His group, officially the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), is an eclectic mix of ethnic groups continuously in conflict with one another.

Conflict among these groups has waged continuously for the past 17 years after a short lull in the late 1970s, and it has been prolonged by the strategies of al-Bashir’s military. Pitting ethnic groups against one another, al-Bashir fights the war by ordering government-sponsored militias to torch houses, commit rape, and murder followers of Christianity, indigenous cultures, and Muslims who reject the government’s extreme form of Islam. Over three million people are at risk of famine after continual looting of foodstuffs by the militias, while the government continues to condone slavery.

In general, Sudan’s troubled relations with its neighbors exacerbate the problem. Sudan and Egypt have historically had tense dealings with each other. Egypt accuses Sudan of providing a safe haven for Egyptian Islamic militants who are responsible for various attacks in Egypt. Although the Sudanese government funded an assassination attempt on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in 1995, Egypt continues to give aid to Khartoum. Relations between these two nations remain unclear, although a plausible explanation for Egypt’s support is the similar Islamic ideologies of the two governments.

Despite the financial backing from Egypt, by early 1998 the war seemed to be nearing an end. The rebel armies had successfully fought off al-Bashir’s regime, and even though scattered disputes over land, water, livestock, and fuel persisted, religious persecution had largely abated. With the discovery of oil in late 1998, however, the Sudanese government began earning the equivalent of hundreds of millions of US dollars per year from oil exports. This new discovery meant greater means and a stronger motive to assault enemies.

Since drilling began in 1998, oil has provided the Sudanese government with earnings in excess of US$1 million per day. This new money, coupled with support from Egypt, allows government forces and allied militias to obtain weapons from China, Iran, Iraq, Russia, the former Soviet Republics, and Bulgaria.

With 200,000 barrels of oil produced each day in Sudan, the situation in the south is grim. Southerners face forced evacuation by the Khartoum government as part of a scorched-earth policy to clear the southern oil regions of civilians and make way for exploration by foreign companies. Millions of citizens have been banished permanently from their homes. Over one million Sudanese citizens have taken refuge in nearby countries from the jihad declared by the Islamic government.

In addition, the West has entered the fray. Western oil companies have inadvertently encouraged the oppressive Sudanese government to drill for more oil and further marginalize the Sudanese people. They are now transporting oil through the 1,500-kilometer pipeline which extends from the southern oil fields to Port Sudan on the country’s eastern coast.

Unless some action is taken with regard to the oil companies, the Sudanese civil war will not end. With the growth of the petroleum market, the Sudanese only face more destruction and displacement. Although the world spends more than a quarter of a billion US dollars a year on humanitarian aid to Sudan, oil production allows the government to earn almost as much from oil, undermining the efforts of the United Nations and other international aid organizations. The United States has already taken a stand against the Sudanese government by placing sanctions on private US investment in Sudan, but international pressure should focus on halting further oil development and exploration. Further sanctions against US stock exchange listings of oil companies that drill in Sudan would be a step in the right direction. Forbidding oil companies that drill in Sudan from entering the US market would provide much needed economic leverage against the government in Khartoum. The regime’s diminishing ability to provide basic necessities for its people, however, should be supplemented by international aid efforts.

As the situation stands now, the future for the south looks bleak. Unless the Dinka and Nuer people are able to create peace between themselves, the SPLA will not be able to effectively fight the economically entrenched government. The world should take some action in this deeply troubled corner of the world.