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Sudan was a colony ruled by Britain’s allies in Egypt and founded for one reason: to protect [British solider sticks the UK flag into sudan]

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the Nile.

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The Brits worried that France or Germany might try to dam the Nile, causing famine and

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chaos in Egypt.

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So they pushed as far south and as far east and west of the Nile as they could, gobbling

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massive amounts of land as they went.

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This bout of binge eating is still causing the world a massive stomachache. [The Earth looking unhappy and sick]

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The British allies ended up creating a country made up of lots of random people…Bantu

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farmers, Arabs, nomadic herders….

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and a whole bunch of others. And what happens when we throw a bunch of people who don’t really have much in common

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into one room?

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Something that makes Wrestlemania look like two puppies tussling in the yard. [Dogs play fighting]

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Even though they have sweet oil reserves, the Sudan was extremely undeveloped as a society.

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But they do have a lot weapons.

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We think it’s safe to say that disorganized societies with lots of guns are about as stable

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a bowl of Jello.

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This has definitely been true in the Sudan. [Sudan with gunshot wounds]

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When people rise up, they really rise up.

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There are two regions in the Sudan where the fighting has been the worst: the South and

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a region called Darfur.

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The South is full of Christian Bantu farmers and has historically been ignored by the Sudanese

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government.

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The world community, though, loves South Sudan for its oil reserves. [Rest of the world patting South Sudan on the back]

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The South had been a-risin' in Sudan since the 1970s, but things heated up from the Second

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Sudanese War from 1983-2005. [War footage]

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South Sudanese forces used conflict oil and foreign support to win several key victories.

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As part of the peace process, the Sudanese government agreed to a referendum, or public

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vote, on the issue in 2011.

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And guess what?

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This referendum passed. [Man sat on the toilet with a newspaper]

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And South Sudan became the world's newest country.

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Welcome aboard, guys.

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Unfortunately, being a country is kinda hard. You gotta put together an Olympic team..

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And South Sudan is facing its own uprising by non-Christian and ethnically distinct Luo

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peoples of Kenyan descent.

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Darfur, a France-sized region in western Sudan, on the other hand, had no religious problems. [Darfur holding up 'coexist' sign]

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That was good, right?

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Oh, wait.

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It had non-religious problems, instead.

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Though virtually everyone is Muslim, big divisions exist between Bantu farmers and Arab herders.

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It's a lot like the conflict between farmers and cowherds in Oklahoma, just with less singing.

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And the weather has made tensions worse. [Intense sun on dry land]

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With the rise in global temperatures in the 1990s, the Sahara Desert expanded.

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Thanks, global warming.

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Many of Sudan's traditional grazing pastures have been covered by burning sand. [Cow stood in desert sands]

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And few good things come whenever anything is covered with burning sand.

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Desperate Arab herders started eyeing the cropland of Bantu farmers in Darfur.

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The government supported the Arabs against the Bantu.

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So, of course, the Bantu farmers rebelled in 2003. [Bantu farmer holding up a pitchfork to Arab herder]

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Hoping to crush the new rebellions, the government encouraged militia groups, called the Janjaweed

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to destroy Bantu villages and make room for Arab herders. [Janjaweed soldier chucks bomb onto Bantu farmer's home]

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Seriously, guys?

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The Janjaweed sometimes rounded up Bantu into camps, or attacked the outskirts of refugee

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camps.

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This has lead some to call the Darfur conflict a genocide and others to say…genocide shmenocide. Mumbling

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And even though it might sound cute, well not much good has ever come from anybody saying that. [Tomatoes are chucked at man]

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