Sudan country profile

Sudan is the largest and one of the most geographically diverse countries in Africa. Mountain ranges divide the deserts of the north from the swamps and rain forests of the south, and the River Nile splits the country from east to west.

However, the country is due to split in July 2011. The people in the south voted in a January 2011 referendum to separate and form the continent's newest state.

The country has been beset by conflict. Two rounds of north-south civil war cost the lives of 1.5 million people, and a continuing conflict in the western region of Darfur has driven two million people from their homes and killed more than 200,000.

Humanitarian crisis
Civil war in Darfur region is seen as "one of the worst nightmares in recent history"; tribal clashes in south have been escalating

Politics
President Omar Bashir faces war crimes charges over Darfur. He heads a unity government formed after a peace deal ended 20 years of southern civil war.