Opinion – The Sudanese Conflict and the Abyei Dispute

Jul 18, 2023 | Ben Jackson
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Despite the arbitrary nature of the colonial carving up of Africa, the borders of African states have rarely changed over the preceding decades. Since African states began to gain their independence, they have operated with the hand that was dealt them. Rarely has a secessionist movement been successful, such as Biafra in Nigeria and Cabinda in Angola. The Sudanese civil war was one of the rare conflicts that ended in the creation of a new African state. While the borders between South Sudan and Sudan were agreed, one region was left unallocated. Abyei has remained a disputed territory for well over a decade, with the recent war in Sudan having halted any progress that was being made to finding a resolution.