Marginalisation and violence

The document examines the historical and political drivers of violence in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan, specifically contrasting the conflict formation of the 1980s with the post-2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) era. It argues that while resource scarcity is often cited as a cause of Sahelian conflict, the violence in the Nuba Mountains is rooted in a long history of systemic marginalisation by an Arab-Muslim dominated state hierarchy. The author details the role of the National Islamic Front (NIF) in launching a 'jihad' against the Nuba in the 1990s, involving forced Islamisation and the use of 'murahaleen' militias. The paper concludes that the CPA has failed to address Nuba demands for self-determination, leaving the region volatile ahead of the 2010 elections.

• The author argues that resource-based explanations for conflict in the Sahel are insufficient because resources only become conflict-prone within specific socio-cultural and political contexts that dictate their value.
• The Nuba have historically faced systemic oppression, including centuries of slave raiding by the Keira and Sennar kingdoms and later by the Turco-Egyptian administration and Mahdist rule.
• British colonial 'Southern Policy' attempted to isolate the Nuba from Arab and Islamic influences, but this failed and left the region marginalised in terms of economic infrastructure and services compared to north-central Sudan.
• Conflict in the 1980s was triggered by a combination of political marginalisation, the dispossession of Nuba land through the Mechanised Farming Corporation Act of 1968 and the Unregistered Land Act of 1970, and the frustration of the Nuba intelligentsia.
• The Sudanese government utilised 'murahaleen' (Baggara militias) as a counterinsurgency tool, which led to systematic violence, cattle looting, and massacres of Nuba civilians.
• Between 1992 and 1993, the NIF regime declared a 'jihad' in the Nuba Mountains, implementing a strategy of forced Islamisation, the creation of 'peace camps' for depopulation, and the deliberate provocation of famine.
• The 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) is viewed as an exclusive power-sharing deal that sidelined Nuba demands for self-determination, as the SPLM/A leadership feared such support would hinder its own objectives in the south.
• Post-CPA implementation in the Nuba Mountains has been hindered by a lack of integration between government and SPLM/A-held areas, resulting in parallel administrative structures and double taxation.
• The region remains highly volatile due to the proliferation of firearms, unemployment among ex-combatants, and the potential for the 2010 elections to be manipulated by the NCP to secure victory.

APA

Ylönen, A. (2009). Marginalisation and violence. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/P201.pdf

Chicago

Ylönen, Aleksi. Marginalisation and violence. Institute for Security Studies, 2009. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/P201.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ylönen |first1=Aleksi |title=Marginalisation and violence |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=October 2009 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/P201.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ylnen2009marginalisation, author = {Ylönen, Aleksi}, title = {{Marginalisation and violence}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2009}, month = oct, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/P201.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }